El Camino: Palas de Reí

That. Was. Hard. 

But beautiful.

I started out just after eight this morning, walking the first couple of hours in a foggy mist. It was all uphill, but I took it slowly, stopping often to admire the beauty revealed in each turn of the trail.

The first 12km went well. Really well. I was less sore than I’d expected to be, and I reached the midpoint of the trail in good spirits. I stopped for a longish lunch, in the spirit of my Mexican friends from yesterday, minus the wine, and was ready to tackle the rest of the trail.

I was in good shape, but wasn’t sure I was up to another 12km, so figured perhaps I could walk just 1km, that isn’t very far, and do it 12 times. And, by this point, it was mostly downhill, so I’d at least be able to balance out the strain in my calves.

That theory worked until kilometer 8-ish, when my feet decided they were done. The remaining four kilometers were a long and painful slog. The good news part is that once my feet filled my shoes like balloons ready to pop, they didn’t try to continue to expand. I mean, at least it was a nice steady pain level.

To tell the truth, I can’t even remember the last kilometer.  I know I had just 20 minutes left to walk. (Thank you, Google), and it took all I had to concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other.

I walked into the hostel, almost in a trance, around 4. Good thing I didn’t have to answer any hard questions on the way in. (I did still know my name which is the only thing she asked.)

I made my way upstairs to my room, collapsed on the bed, and almost cried. My shoulders, my calves, my feet were on fire. (My hips, surprisingly, were doing almost ok!) When I took my shoes off, I found a big blister on my toe that I hadn’t even felt because everything else hurt so bad. *sigh* What was I thinking when I signed up for this trek????

Over the next three hours, and it took three hours, I managed to take some Advil, drink some electrolyte water, shower, stretch, and begin to work out some of the cramps using my handy-dandy yoga therapy balls.

To my surprise, by 7, dinner time, I felt almost human. It’s now 9-ish, and I’m ready for bed, but thinking just maybe I’ll be able to walk again by morning. Tomorrow’s walk is shorter, “just” 15km.

Piece of cake???

I’ll let you know how it goes.

Photos: on my way out of town in the mist; tree tunnel as the mist lifted; the view from today’s high point on the trail