Spanish homes are very pretty but zero thought seems to be given to noise reduction. Walls are paper thin (I try not to think about house fires!) and every grunt, cough, gasp and fart that is going on next door, will be heard by you. A person setting their chair back from the table sounds as though they are rearranging all the furniture in the house.
I woke at 5:15 AM, eager to get going today, but waited until my 5:30 AM alarm went off before contributing to the cacophony that invariably comes with mornings. Tony was up shortly after and with no other option, we slammed the front door closed as we left around 6:20 AM.
Chuck and Sue caught up to us 31km later, beside the river in Najera. Tony and I had already decided this town was not "pilgrimy" enough for us and we'd be moving on to the next village for the night. Chuck and Sue concurred. Off we went together.
"One kilometer to far" is probably what this blog should be named. By kilometer 38.5, my feet hurt soooo bad I wanted to chew them off to stop the pain! The village was worth it, but seriously, it was time for me to assess my goals here and contemplate the things I had been told about and those that few people mention.
Achy feet. No matter how far you walk that day, the ache becomes unbearable about 2km from your destination. People have talked about over-used knees, blisters and taxiing yourself or your pack to the next place, but never did I read about achy feet. Feet that cause hobbling. Hobbling that ends in boots being removed, revealing tender wee stumps from which shooting electric shocks into the legs, originate!
Imagine tapping the soles of your feet with a rubber mallet, kind of gently, but for 8 hours. Achy feet!
Today those feet are the reward for hiking in the dark, the rain, alongside a highway and through the most unattractive industrial part of a city- which also happened to smell like dog poop!
Ok. Yes, I would do it all again. And I enjoyed the changing sights, sharing my water with a stray dog, running into people I hadn't seen in over a week, the challenge to walk 40km and the unparalleled pride of accomplishment too. But. ... I was not convinced these feet would recover in time for tomorrow's hike!
I woke at 5:15 AM, eager to get going today, but waited until my 5:30 AM alarm went off before contributing to the cacophony that invariably comes with mornings. Tony was up shortly after and with no other option, we slammed the front door closed as we left around 6:20 AM.
Chuck and Sue caught up to us 31km later, beside the river in Najera. Tony and I had already decided this town was not "pilgrimy" enough for us and we'd be moving on to the next village for the night. Chuck and Sue concurred. Off we went together.
"One kilometer to far" is probably what this blog should be named. By kilometer 38.5, my feet hurt soooo bad I wanted to chew them off to stop the pain! The village was worth it, but seriously, it was time for me to assess my goals here and contemplate the things I had been told about and those that few people mention.
Achy feet. No matter how far you walk that day, the ache becomes unbearable about 2km from your destination. People have talked about over-used knees, blisters and taxiing yourself or your pack to the next place, but never did I read about achy feet. Feet that cause hobbling. Hobbling that ends in boots being removed, revealing tender wee stumps from which shooting electric shocks into the legs, originate!
Imagine tapping the soles of your feet with a rubber mallet, kind of gently, but for 8 hours. Achy feet!
Today those feet are the reward for hiking in the dark, the rain, alongside a highway and through the most unattractive industrial part of a city- which also happened to smell like dog poop!
Ok. Yes, I would do it all again. And I enjoyed the changing sights, sharing my water with a stray dog, running into people I hadn't seen in over a week, the challenge to walk 40km and the unparalleled pride of accomplishment too. But. ... I was not convinced these feet would recover in time for tomorrow's hike!
1 comment:
Looks beautiful! Thanks for the birthday card too - how did you do that from Spain? :)
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