Chuck's News: Day 5 - Monday, September 2, 2019 - -Carrion de las Condos to Ledigos - Cooling Down - 14.42 miles - Total Miles to Date

The weather has finally changed. Since we stepped off the plane in Madrid on Tuesday, a week ago, it has been near or above 90º everyday. The lows at night have been about 60º. In a word, it has been hot! Everyone walking the Camino has been getting up at or before 6 am so they can walk in the relative coolness of the early morning, before the punishing sun begins beating down. The goal has been to be to the town to be stayed at by 11 to 11:30. There is not air conditioning in any of the albergues we stay at, but most are constructed is such a way to minimize heat gain during the day, mostly with thick brick or adobe walls.

Yesterday afternoon the wind picked up about 3 and really started blowing around 5 or 6. It was still fairly warm, in the mid 80s, but the wind was bringing a change. All of us were checking the weather app on our phones with glee, noting that the nighttime low would dip into the 40s. Last night as I lay in my bunk I could hear the wind howling outside, but with 32 bodies in the room, the temperature did not drop much inside during the night.

Sally and I performed our sneak out of the room method at 5:15am and were the first downstairs. In a few minutes more trickled down the stairs as we taped her feet and packed our bags. One of the young men running the albergue unlocked the door about 5:45 and threw it open. We could hear the wind and feel the coolness. We headed out the door a little after 6:00am into the blustery and dark morning. We walked through the darkened town, across the bridge and out into the countryside, relishing the cold wind.

Today, the trail was nearly perfectly straight for 10 miles without a town or village along the way. And it was nearly flat. Because the afternoon temperatures were not going to rise much, we did not feel the need to push quickly. We stopped more often, rested and talked with people.

To our surprise, at the five mile marker, some enterprising couple had set up a trailer, built a fire in a bar-b-que and was selling sausage, hot coffee and sodas. Nearly everyone stopped to get something to drink, mostly coffee to ward off the cold wind. Luckily, the wind was at our backs the whole day, and helped move us along the road. The road passed through fields of wheat stubble and drought shriveled sunflower plants, stark, yet beautiful in its own way. We could see for miles in all directions, rolling fields to the horizon.

At the end of the 10 mile stretch another enterprising person has built a new albergue and cafe. After the long dry spell, everyone stopped to have something to eat and drink. Most sat outside, but we moved inside to avoid the wind and take a look at Sally’s feet. They were serving a few dishes. We selected what appeared to be a spinach/potato quiche. We ordered one to split, with a bottle of water. That is exactly what it was and was it delicious! When we gobbled that down, we ordered another, all the while working on Sally’s feet, trying to ward off a blister forming on the ball of her foot.

Everyone on the way is hooked on the latest fad in blister repair, a product called Complee. It is a supple plastic bandaid affair that you stick to the skin. I am not a believer. I never stick anything to the skin over a blister. There is no way to remove it without removing the underlying skin of the blister. I saw this first hand last night when Karen, a nurse from New Zealand was working on Annamarie’s blisters during the “slumber party”. Even though she was exceedingly careful, she still tore a lot of skin while removing an old Complee patch. I always put a non adhesive patch over the blister so the skin does not tear away.

I was working on Sally’s foot, trying to cut some moleskin to make my repairs when a German man looked over my shoulder and offered his advise, in German, and then scurried over to his pack and rummaged through it until he found . . . you guessed it, Complee. I thanked him and tried to avoid using it, but he stood guard over me. I ended up using it, but not before I tore a piece of the backing off and stuck it to the adhesive where it would contact Sally’s fledging blister.

Everyone is an amateur expert on feet and blister repair. Each person entering the cafe stopped to give their advise on what to do. I have been fixing blisters since a Boy Scout hike/climb leader at age 15. I feel I know what does and doesn’t work. For the most part I ignored them and did my thing.

Once we downed our second piece of quiche, it was back to the road with 4.6 miles to go. Our original plan was to stop here for the night, but Sally felt strong, so we extended our 10 miles to 14.6. The day was still cool, the wind at our backs pushing us along and sun was warm and cheery.

We knew we were losing most people today, as they were traveling to the next town about 4 miles up the way. This saddened us. We had lost the Castillos the day before, now we were losing Regina, Sandy and the rest of the people we had been walking with. But, we knew we would meet new people along the way.

Once in our town of Ledigos, we found our hostel, The Morena, paid our 12 euro, and found a secluded set of bunk beds. There was room for about 20 in the room, yet only 5 of us occupied beds. The bathrooms were new and spotless. Sally laid down to take a nap and I found a quiet place to write. Those of you that suffered through yesterday’s blog can see I had plenty of time and a keyboard. Verbos.

Earlier in the day, along the 10 mile stretch, I had been massaging a muscle in Sally’s shoulder as people passed by. Every English speaking person asked how much for the same treatment. “50 euro a minute” was my reply. No takers. Darn. Anyway, one of those people was an Irishman of 78, Pat, and his wife Mary. We saw them again at the albergue and now they were just starting their “pilgrim dinner” in the albergue dining room as we entered. We asked if we could join them and they consented. We had a wonderful meal, lasting about 2 hours while getting to know them. Tomorrow is their last day. They come each year for a week, do a section, and then head home.

It was now after 9:00pm and time for bed. We stepped outside to return to our room and were struck with how cold and windy it was, although the stars shone bright and clear. We snuck up the stairs, trying to avoid disturbing our roommates. Teeth brushed and onto our bed. I say onto rather than into because it was warm in the room and there was no way I was getting in my sleeping bag.

In the reception room getting ready to head out.