Vilalba to Baamonde, Spain

This morning we had our simple breakfast at our accommodation and while doing so I did a review on the place. The lady and older gentleman running it pour their hearts into the place and I gave them top notch reviews. We were finishing up when the man walked into the breakfast room with his hand on his heart, phone in the other hand showing the review that he got via email. He was so grateful and was saying gracias with such appreciation a couple times and showing his gratitude for the review. Jeez I didn’t think he’d see it so soon, but obviously these reviews are very meaningful and important to them so they check for them. Glad I took the time to do it. In planning all of these stops and accommodations I read a ton of reviews and researched for hours on end. When you need to book places for 35 +\- days, in a different location every day, it takes a lot of time and planning. Not going to miss this part of the trip!! I based my choices on the reviews (and prices too of course!), so I understand very well that reviews are important to do and are helpful, not only to travelers, but also to the owners who take great pride in their hospitality and accommodation. I don’t always take the time to do them, but will make more of an effort now after seeing the joy in his sweet face.
We set off around 8am in the misty morning fog, cool temperatures, and from what the guide book said, “easy walking”. This stage was only 18.6Km and the book didn’t lie, it was easy walking. However, with my foot/leg pain it wasn’t as enjoyable as it could’ve been. Every bend of the foot, every step, was really painful. I can see the swelling, but it’s nothing serious, just an overuse injury that will subside once I stop walking like this. I kept the ibuprofen and Voltaren going today every 6 hours to help, but honestly it didn’t kill the pain much at all. I did however manage to pull some joy out of the trail today. The cooler temperatures are a godsend. I met a lady from Madrid, Monica, who was walking with her 3 cousins. She’s in her mid 60’s and was an airline stewardess for 44 years and said she loved it. She speaks French, Spanish, and really good English. Her foot has some pretty painful blisters, so us two gimps walked together for a bit. She was so friendly and easy to talk to, it passed the time and took my mind off my pain and made me feel grateful I wasn’t dealing with blisters. I stopped in at an open pharmacy when we got to town and went in to see if there was a bandage or sleeve I could put on my foot and to also check in with the pharmacist to make sure I was doing all I could do, and the right things. She spoke great English, which is super helpful! When I showed her the location of my pain, she knew exactly what it was and confirmed it was from overuse. She suggested ibuprofen and Voltaren gel. Perfect, that’s what I have been doing. She recommended icing it, but that’s not so easy for me to do here. She also gave me a bandage to wrap my foot/ankle area with. But, she basically said what I figured, stop walking, rest, and it’ll get better. But she knows very well most people have 4-5 days left to reach Santiago and there is no stopping yet hahaha!! Yikes, only 100Km left! A measly SIXTY TWO miles!! A month ago it seemed forever ago and now looking back, it doesn’t seem so long ago. We are going to do it in 5 days rather than 4. Tomorrow is another short day and the next one will be about 25km. The remaining days will be around 20Km. Hopefully by having 2 shorter days, the 25km won’t be too dreadful. There’s nothing to explore in this town, which is a blessing, it forces me to rest and not feel like I am missing out on anything I will regret not seeing. The albergue we are staying at is nice (thanks to the reviews, it was an easy choice!), it has a restaurant attached, big courtyard for lounging, and the owner is really great too. I have been blessed with everything I need right here. Holly, being the sweetheart she is, once again ran our laundry down the street to the laundromat and got our clothes washed and dried so I didn’t have to walk another inch today. I offered to do it this time (hard for me to accept help..), but she insisted. I love her heart.
That’s all I have for today, I’ll try to talk about other things tomorrow and not focus on my ailments so much, I know that’s not to interesting to read about!! Hugs and Loves. ❤️🙏🏻👣Read more