Jo's Camino

Yes, if you look that up on a map you will find that the distance from Los Arcos to Logroño and from there to Najera is just over 60km. In two days.

Which is probably why I feel like I'm dying a very slow and painful death. So slow in fact that I'll end up not physically dying but having to live in some sort of hell on earth of feet so blistered and painful that I can hardly walk and leg muscles that won't even stop hurting when I'm lying down. And big rashes on my ankles, which still haven't gone away but have flared up again massively - so I'm not reacting to those socks after all. Maybe I'm allergic to the wool of my thick socks over my thin socks. I don't know. Whatever it is, it's painful and burns when I touch it.


Yesterday's walking was still ok, but today's was hellish. After about 10 minutes my feet hurt just as badly as they did after 30km the day before, and by the time we got here (Najera) I was one bawling, hurting mess walking in some sort of delirium and having no idea of where or why I was going. I really don't want to walk tomorrow. It hurts, I have blisters all over the place, and even after that wonderful foot and calf massage that the hospitalero (who is wonderful but only speaks Spanish) gave me upon seeing the state of my feet and my limping I can only hobble around in pain. And I'm so tired and dizzy and not feeling very great at all. I'm scared to take painkillers because then I won't be able to feel if something goes really wrong and I'm scared to walk because it hurts and every day is just a new test of how much pain you can be in and still walk. It's been a week now and nothing is getting easier, just harder every day. Worst of all, Ariel seems to have boundless energy, not a single problem with her feet or legs and not a single pain or ache or bruise anywhere. It's so not fair.

So anyway, tomorrow I shall try and hobble around town and find some new socks and then I shall probably be forced to walk another 20km to Santo Domingo de la Calzada and arrive in worse state than today and end up walking myself to death and never even finding out what I got for my HSC. Yes, I know it's overly dramatic, but it's seriously not fun right now and I have no idea why I started this whole thing in the first place, because I was obviously not aware of the pain outweighing the nice scenery. Of which I noticed just about nothing today, due to thick fog until about 12pm and after that the delirium.

Anyway, this is getting really ridiculous so I'm going to shut up now, eat some chocolate and go to sleep. Perhaps by miracle I will be able to get up and walk tomorrow.