….can go pearshaped very easily. In our case, it was a massive blister and a head cold, which both arrived on day one of our Camino trek. And both are mine…

We left León early on Wednesday morning, full of enthusiasm for the day ahead. Our destination was Villadangos Del Paramo, a distance of 22 klms, so not too difficult.  It was quite cold when we set out, around 6 or 7 degrees, which for me was perfect, for Kate, not so much, she feels the cold dreadfully.  She is rugged up to the nines, and I’m revelling in the fresh coolness. The landscape leading out from León was very industrial, so not the prettiest, but we made good time, stopping for coffee along the way, at a little cafe at Virgen del Camino, where we met Sarah, from Hungary, Sam from China and Song from Korea, all of whom were walking the camino to Santiago as well.

After having read many stories of the problems with blisters on the camino, before leaving León, I’d taped my feet and toes up well and had my anti blister socks on, but by lunchtime I could feel there was an ‘issue’ with my left foot. Out came the very well stocked first aid kit and repairs were made, but unfortunately for me, it was too late. By the time we arrived in Villadangos, I had a very impressive blister on my inside left heel. Not to be outdone, I was suffering from the early stages of a head cold. Not exactly the start I was hoping for!! The coolness of the morning had increased to around 25 degrees by midday, so I struggled walking the last few hours, in the heat, with a blister and feeling like misery, due to the cold. We arrived at about 3pm. Kate had been told that we should lie on our beds with our feet up on the wall to relieve lactic acid build and cramping, so we dutifully did as we were told, which looked ridiculous but seemed to work, so we’ll keep doing it. I fell asleep within minutes, suffering the effects of both the head cold and the heat. Great start!

Nothing for it but to continue on though. There’s no benefit to being princessy about it as the only way to get to Santiago is to walk.

After dinner at our hotel in Villandangos, we went to bed early, me drugged to the nines in the hope of minimising the head cold effects. It seemed to work, as I felt a bit better the following morning

With a heavily padded left foot, my well worn in boots packed away, my Nike Air gym shoes roped in as an alternative, plus cough medicine and Demezin tablets sorted, we headed off.

The route from Villandangos was much greener and rural than the scenery from León, so it was much more enjoyable. My foot coped reasonably well and since we had 2 nights booked at our next destination, Astorga, where we knew I could really give my foot the attention it needed, we continued on. We went through the village of Saint Martin del Camino, a small austere little place, and decided to stop after 12 klms at the delightful Hospital de Órbigo for a coffee break. While the medieval village itself is lovely, the Puente de Órbigo is the star of the show here.  This 13th century bridge, has 19 arches and is the longest bridge on the Camino. I’d say it would be the most photographed too!

At the cafe (conveniently located overlooking the bridge) we were able to sit and enjoy the view, me with my foot on a chair, and have a great coffee. With all our travels to date, Jeff and I have never really found European coffee to be particularly good, so  it’s been a lovely surprise to find the coffee here is great, so far at least. We sat and talked to Gail (from Sydney) and Joan (from Denmark) for ages here, they were both really friendly. Both had walked different sections of the Camino in the past and had refreshing attitudes to it, as neither felt it necessary to do things the hard way, if time, injury or personal choice indicated otherwise. It was good to hear that, as I know there are some die-hard trekkers who consider the camino hasn’t been experienced properly, unless you carry a huge back pack, stay at the alberques (sharing dormitory accommodation, showers and toilets with 50, or more, others). Not my cup of tea at all.

We arrived in Astorga, mid afternoon. A city rich in Spanish architecture, with Roman ruins, it still has a modern feel to it, with many bars and restaurants. Our accommodation  here is at the Hotel Astur Plaza, which faces onto the Plaza de España, which is home to the 17th century Town Hall (Ayuntamiento) and also where the festivities and processions for Samana Santa are continuing, so we have been very lucky.

The clock on the town hall features Maragato figures, which strike the bell every hour. Like León’s Casa de Los Botines, Antoni Gaudi features here, having designed the Episcopal Palace. Also beautiful are the Iglesias de Santa Marta and the stunning Catedral Astorga. Both were very crowded, since it is Good Friday here, so we were only able to manage some external shots, to give you some idea.

And Astorga is Spain’s chocolate capital (who knew?) There are chocolate museums all over the place, so I’m a bit disappointed that I don’t really like chocolate that much.

I have had to buy some walking sandals, to cope with the blister issue, so you can imagine how glamorous that looks! But if it means I can continue on, I’m prepared to forgo any hope of gracing the catwalks of Paris Fashion Week, so be it.

The weather continues to be unseasonably warm, even the Spanish have been commenting on it. Once I’ve got this blister sorted, I am concerned about my ability to walk distances in the heat, but I’m hoping that as long as we start very early in the morning, I’ll manage – fingers crossed! If either of us had known how warm it would be here at this time of year,  we would not have come in April so March looks like it may have been the better option. If it becomes too hot, I won’t walk the whole way, which was certainly not my plan, but I’m not going be silly about it either. Time will tell, que sera sera…

Happy Easter, everyone!! I hope the Rabbit has been kind…

 

xx