With a forecast for a cloudy but warming temp we arose early so we had breakfast and were gone by 7am... but were faced with a cooler ,overcast day with odd periods of light drizzle , downright cool at times ... Day 2 on the Meseta and we are still waiting for its dreaded hot and demanding reputation to materialise ... but we have plenty of time left for it to leave its mark.
After a late dinner last night we agreed to mix up meals...some lighter and smaller options with no alcohol...may be even be adventurous and make our own.☺
The walk was over 22km's with infrequent villages though once we left Hontanos we walked mostly through valleys and along tree lined roads...the cooler temps helped us make good time into Castrojeriz which sits at the foot of the 9th century castle, Castillo...a very picture perfect small sleepy Spanish town.
As usual we meet the "world" each day from a group of 16 Irish doing a few weeks on the Camino each year, a Spanish couple cycling to their daughters wedding at Portomarin...on electric bikes...and a lovely French couple who we sat with at last nights dinner, they had already walked from Le Puy in France clocking up 500kms more than us already unfortunately they could not speak English and we French....we did laugh when they showed as a pic they had taken that day of me with my umbrella...something that continues to attract lots of attention. It reminded me how limited we Australians are with just one language where most Europeans have 2 or 3.
Walking with the smell of moist wheat fields in my nostrils my mind wondered during the day...one thought was around the no. 1 topic on the Camino...blisters. there are lots of expectations coming about how to avoid them but even if you are well prepared as we were they are most likely going to happen...don't feel down...you are not a bad person just treat them sensibly and get on with walking.
Our routine has been to
- massage our feet with Voltarin at the beginning and end of the day
- treat blisters at both ends of the day...for what its worth i generally released the blister fluid(in as sterile conditions as possible) and dosed with betadine then applied a light bandage or compeed depending on location.
- other beneficial aids we use are
> glide on feet to reduce friction inside the sock
> toe protector
> felt to relieve pressure particularly if blister is under foot.
....and when your feet complain..stop and deal with them..as simple as shoe off and a massage.
So that's as much wisdom as i can muster...so till tomorrow
After a late dinner last night we agreed to mix up meals...some lighter and smaller options with no alcohol...may be even be adventurous and make our own.☺
The walk was over 22km's with infrequent villages though once we left Hontanos we walked mostly through valleys and along tree lined roads...the cooler temps helped us make good time into Castrojeriz which sits at the foot of the 9th century castle, Castillo...a very picture perfect small sleepy Spanish town.
As usual we meet the "world" each day from a group of 16 Irish doing a few weeks on the Camino each year, a Spanish couple cycling to their daughters wedding at Portomarin...on electric bikes...and a lovely French couple who we sat with at last nights dinner, they had already walked from Le Puy in France clocking up 500kms more than us already unfortunately they could not speak English and we French....we did laugh when they showed as a pic they had taken that day of me with my umbrella...something that continues to attract lots of attention. It reminded me how limited we Australians are with just one language where most Europeans have 2 or 3.
Walking with the smell of moist wheat fields in my nostrils my mind wondered during the day...one thought was around the no. 1 topic on the Camino...blisters. there are lots of expectations coming about how to avoid them but even if you are well prepared as we were they are most likely going to happen...don't feel down...you are not a bad person just treat them sensibly and get on with walking.
Our routine has been to
- massage our feet with Voltarin at the beginning and end of the day
- treat blisters at both ends of the day...for what its worth i generally released the blister fluid(in as sterile conditions as possible) and dosed with betadine then applied a light bandage or compeed depending on location.
- other beneficial aids we use are
> glide on feet to reduce friction inside the sock
> toe protector
> felt to relieve pressure particularly if blister is under foot.
....and when your feet complain..stop and deal with them..as simple as shoe off and a massage.
So that's as much wisdom as i can muster...so till tomorrow
Buen Camino
post script..we passed by the much vaunted San Bol today...the oasis on the meseta (no power etc), maybe it was the cloudy and colder conditions that made it less than the romantic picture we had in our minds...we walked on by.
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