Why do Hungarians walk so fast??

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These and other questions have been at the forefront of my mind for the last week!

I left you in Leon, where I was recovering from food poisoning - blah (literally). Tip from the road: When you order paella in a restaurant and they start rooting around in the freezer next to you, take that opportunity to leave! Really!
I said bye to Michael (belated thanks for an awesome 400km, drink more milk, don´t do drugs and may all the pretty girls look at you the longest), met up with Jamie the crazy scotsman again - though his feet were too bad to walk far (see you in Santiago!!!)

Since then, I´ve walked another 200 or so km, over 2 mountain ranges and almost out of my boots.
My feet have finally toughened up, I don´t walk like I´m crippled any more (although the ´dead´toe decided to shed ALL its skin yesterday) and I don´t have blood poisoning from my blisters (like one guy we met!)

SO feet 1, boots 0. The boots started to die on the mesita (about 250km ago) when the soft inside between the rubber and the laces started to pull away and fray. So I decided to start a science on the camino experiment to wrap my boots in various tapes to try to get over the 2 mountain ranges I had to go, and the remaining 350km.
Results so far: Elastoplast - about 5km (heavy rain) 6-yr-old gaffa tape from Australia - about 40km (heavy rain and mud...I walked through it eventually) Spanish duck (sic) tape - 2 mountain ranges and 200km. DUCK TAPE = winner!

The mountains were amazing, we were SO lucky with the weather and got to see the views and all the gorgeous flowers. There is a guy who has made his own Templar knights society and lives at the top of one of the mountains, offering year round assistance to pilgrims! CRAZY - think a slice of Nimbin at the top of a mountain and youve got the idea!

A quick word about accomodation, usually I´m staying in pilgrim refuges provided by the councils of the various provinces. Think up to 150 people in the same dormitory, and a diet rich in beans. The ripsnorter-hear-from-3-beds-away-even-with-earplugs-in farts are legendary. It makes me giggle when people wake themselves up and try to cover up with a coughing fit! Oh yeah, and the snoring...

Just over 100km to go Should be in Santiago on Saturday!

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Comments

[Elly]

Oops!
Best go with the bacalao in that area! Safest and yummiest dish by far. Yay for duck tape and Yay for feet! So proud of you mrs! xxx