Camino Day 10 August 1 Torres del Rio to Logroño (Albergue Muni) 13.7 miles Total to date 121.2 miles.
Well I made it to Logroño on my own two feet. So now it is 116.6 miles! The knee did well the first half of the trip and did better than yesterday the second half of the trip. The brace worked but is obviously not the whole answer. I have decided that if rest and whatever else the doctors can do fail to alleviate the pain, I will be leaving the Camino. I understand adversity, but this has ceased to be anything I want to do. Today I used John's method of counting my steps twelve at a time. This helps distract me from the pain but I'm not enjoying the walking or scenery, it's become a forced march. I am hoping that rest and a doctor will solve this difficulty, but if it doesn't I'll be coming home.
On the road outside of town I looked up and there were two young men off the side of the road with bicycles. As they saw me they moved out to they center of the road. My first thought was not, "how nice a welcoming committee." I thought they were up to no good so I stopped to assess the situation. One old woman alone limping, two young men with a fast get away (bicycles) Hmmm Then one of them flashed me the peace sign. I thought what the hell. It turns out they were two students selling snacks on the road to earn money for an educational trip to Italy. Hell, I was so glad they didn't want to rob me I gave them five euros. They asked me if I wanted change. lol. I said no and declined the snacks. They seemed offended and said they were made in their own house. I assured them I believed they were fine snacks, but that I don't like to eat a lot when I'm walking.
Further down the road I ran into the gate keeper, Felicia's daughter. Felicia welcomed peregrinos for years stamping their credentials in exchange for a donation. Felicia died and now her daughter carries on the tradition. Hopefully she has a daughter, because she looks very, very old. It would be a shame to loose such a fine tradition. When I first approached the boys I asked if they were there for Felicia, they laughed and said, "No."
Coming into town I was walking by a cemetery and decided to go in and walk around. It was a fairly large one and wins the prize in my book for the most interesting tombstone. The thing looked like Gaudí designed it. It was about ten feet tall with all sorts of curving lines. I was impressed.
When I got to the albergue I met a young man named Lucas who had just taken a bus to another hospital by bus for a hurt shoulder. He's German so he has a EU medical card. Makes things easier. A little later Jacob, the young man I met last night walked up. It turns out they are buddies. So now we are all in the same room.
Getting to see a doctor here is a lot more difficult than any of my prior experiences in Spain. Fortunately, this nice young (and I might add good looking) man from the albergue walked me through the first part or I never would have got it started. We went to the hospital, but there are no doctors, or at least no doctors seeing walk in patients. So they sent us to the clinic where I got an appointment to see a doctor for 125 euros. The catch is I can't just hand them cash. I have to go to a bank and give the money to the bank and then take that piece of paper to the clinic for my appointment. Next problem, nobody could tell me where there is a bank, so I walk all over town with my knee screaming looking for a bank. The banks are open from 8:30 to 2, so I have to go back in the morning.
We'll see. If I don't get to see the doctor I will rest and ice for a few days and see if I can go on.
The problem with these "rest days" is I starting sinking into negative stuff and I stop reaching out to those around me. Most of the people I've met on the Camino are now down the road, though there are a host of new folks to meet, for the moment I've lost my enthusiasm. Maybe it fell under my bed. lol
Well everyone is here in the kitchen making dinners in their little groups. So I think I'll go out and see if I can get a bite to eat. I found a lovely little plaza and had some dinner. It did improve my mood a little. I’m trying very hard to stay positive.
After dinner I was sitting in the kitchen icing my knee with frozen vegetables when this young man came over and asked me if I was American. I said, “ yes” and asked him why he guessed that I was american. He said it was my accent, I'm thinking I don't have an accent. He said that he too is an American. He's from Santa Cruz and his name is Michael He started asking me about my knee and said he noticed it was a little swollen. He explained that he is an Emergency Medical Technician and a premed student. He said he is fulfilling the stereotype because he is Asian American. lol He was really nice and we chatted for a couple of hours about hospitals, doctors, medicine, etc. He is very interesting young man. He's already done the Camino. He's doing it again in connection with a study he is doing. When he told me this he got all apologetic and told me that's not why he talked to me. His brother is joining him today to walk the rest of the Camino. His brother is in a Phd program in anthropology, I think. I really should take notes when I'm talking to people. Hehehe
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