Whispers from the Camino—Day 24

September 28. Leon to San Martin del Camino. 24.8 km.

I woke up unsure of how much healing had taken place with regard to my blister. What I think I did gain during my day off was some practice on how to dress it to protect it and take the pressure off of it. Essentially I used moleskin and cut an oval hole in it about the size of the blister and then covered the whole thing with lots of adhesive tape. I had tried just using the moleskin the day before, but the rubbing from each step kept shifting it off its original placement.

First things first. I reserved a private room in San Martin del Camino 25 kilometers out. I really wanted to make sure I had a secure place to count on since I was feeling a little uncertain about how well my dressing would hold up on this first day after trying to let it heal some.

Things did not start off well. Despite the good dressing each step gave me a jolt of pain and I had to limp to lessen the pressure on that part of my foot. I was starting to regret that I had reserved a room 25 kilometers out. With a healthy foot that would have been a normal day’s walk, but with the pain of each step I dreaded trying to walk for six plus hours to reach San Martin.

At the six kilometer mark (La Virgen del Camino), I stopped for a good breakfast of fresh-squeezed orange juice, a pastry, tortilla (a Spanish omelette) and cafe con leche and spend some time deciding how to proceed. It was clear that I was not going to be able to walk a full 25 kilometers on this foot. I decided that I would try to lance the blister a second time (I had done that the day before but the fluid returned), redress it, and then look for an albergue in the next five kilometers. It meant losing the money I had already paid for my reservation, but that was a small price to pay. This is one of the reasons that the “purists” on the Camino recommend that one simply “trust the Camino to provide.” When your body says, “Stop,” stop and trust that there will be accommodations one way or another.

It took a few minutes and a few blocks before I could find a pharmacy where I might be able to find a blister kit with a lancing needle. I finally found one, but arrived a few minutes before opening time. I waited out front until the clerk came and opened the door. I found more moleskin, but not a blister kit. The clerk did not know English and I did not know Spanish so we spent a few minutes in a back and forth charades exercise. She brought out a couple of items that weren’t what I needed. Finally we connected and she emerged from the back with a good needle in a sterile packet that I gathered was usually reserved for medical staff.

I lanced the blister, redressed it and then prayed that I could stand the pain until the next small town. Surprisingly, it worked better than I had expected. The blister was still painful, but it wasn’t the flinch-every-step type of pain that I had endured earlier that morning.

Albergue La Huella in San Martin del Camino

I settled into a more normal walk. My mind turned toward what “home” was again. I found myself asking, “Was it being close to my children and grandchildren?” “Is it where my work takes me?” “Is it in a loving committed relationship?” “Is it simply feeling it in my body so that home is wherever life has me at that moment?” I didn’t really have any answers, but I recognized that the yearning had returned, at least for the day.

I arrived in San Martin de Camino as I originally planned delighted that the day had gone much better than I expected. But my left rehabbing leg was shot. Despite having alleviated the pain earlier in the day, the blister still had an impact on my every step. I was so glad, however, that I made it all the way to my planned albergue, La Huella. It had a large yard in the back, an oversized area for washing clothes and plenty of clotheslines to accommodate every pilgrim. The food in the restaurant was better than average and the company of pilgrims marvelous.

But, best of all—it had a swimming pool with lounge chairs all around it. It was just what I needed after a punishing day!