Approximately 25 K.
Continuing from yesterday ...
Matjaz caught up with me sometime after coffee and we had a very pleasant day - a nice walk after the fog cleared off.
We have left the lush wine and olive country and are heading into what is called the Meseta. It's quite flat and dry and higher in elevation, so starting to get cooler. Along the route we discovered a note from Hanno, tucked in the back of a bench and addressed to all of us, letting us know where he hoped to stop for the night. It was about 40 k away, so we knew we were not going to catch up with him.
As Matjaz and I walked I couldn't help noticing how neat and smart he looked. Smart knee socks, clothing almost looked pressed and the Slovenian flag sticking jauntily out of his backpack. I don.t know what it is, but my backpack has taken on a life if its own. Everyone Else's looks so neat and compact, but mine looks like I am carrying some alien life form that is trying to break out. It´s lopsided and bulging, and dirty - and its wearer looks much the same. I lost my new comb that replaced the brush I lost, so that will give you some idea.
I decided to stop at Villafranca after 25 k (the next rest stop was another 12 K) but Matjaz decided to go on, and we said Adios.
A word on foot care.
Your feet are, hands down, the most valuable equipment you bring on this kind of trip, and maintenance is essential. I have already seen quite a few people drop out because of some kind of foot injury. Let me say up front that, despite my talk of blisters and sores, my feet are not painful when I walk. A tad tender perhaps, in some spots, and a little sore when I go beyond 25k, but all in all - OK.
My feet are so well swaddled every morning that they know not to complain. Numerous toes are wrapped in moleskin; a couple have blister bandages on them; 2 toes are encased in some foamy cushiony thing my foot the Dr gave me, and more moleskin is slapped on both sides of my feet. When everything is wrapped up you smear on a generous coat of Vaseline to prevent further blistering, and pull on your socks while trying to keep any of the bandaging from coming off.
(When, you ask, is this broad going to start having fun?)
Sandra, thanks so much for your note and Owen's picture and his comments.
I often think of him on my walks and the Christmas cookies we are going to make together on my return.
This walk is all your doing you know.
It all started with the book you gave me for Christmas, "What the Psychic told the Pilgrim."
Thanks so much for your posts. Love to get them!
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