the del Norte/Primitivo route.
Spain: From Irun to Santiago de Compostela, 530 miles.
Post 46; July 15, 2016, Friday.
Day 31: From A Fonsagrada all the way to Castroverde. On The Camino
Primitivo; Past Stage 9 of the Perazzoli/Whitson book, TNCs.
Mourning on the Camino.
5:00 a.m. I woke up early. Something was wrong in this little albergue in A Fonsagrada. I heard lots of murmuring. So, I went out to the kitchen. That’s when I learned about the terrorist attack in Nice, France, where a terrorist drove a truck through crowds of people killing at least 80. The French people on the Camino and staying at the albergue were talking about the attack, and telling me about it in French which I didn’t understand until I got out my phone and started pulling up the news. The news was horrible, and the French people were trying to call home and ask about friends and family, but they couldn’t get through from our little Spanish town. So, I sat and had tea with them, and we talked about it, and everyone was sad and horrified . . . and we realized there’s no getting away from the world outside of the Camino. As I sat and talked to my French friends I checked the status of my blisters and realized they are healing well and turning into callouses—but one of the French women saw me and insisted on explaining to me that I need to use Vaseline on my feet.
While worrying and talking about her friends from home she insisted that I take some of her Vaseline and rub it on both of my feet (she showed me how), and then how to properly place the first pair of socks on my feet, and then the second. It seemed to be stress relief for the woman to make me Do this, and help me. So, I did exactly what she told me to do, and I thereby learned of still another way to treat/prevent blisters. Blister treatment assistance is just another way that people bond on the Camino.
And so the morning began with all the people catching up with the attack in Nice. The place was somber. Simultaneously people were talking about the news, looking it up, eating breakfast, finishing their wash, going to the bathroom, packing their backpack, talking some more, and getting ready to do the next leg of the Camino.
It’s morning on the Camino. And we’re mourning.
Apple watch:
Calories burned yesterday: 1605 cal
Steps trekked yesterday: 41,953
Miles trekked yesterday: 22.45 miles
110 km to Santiago