Today

It is really hard for me to keep this blog up in the way in which I have been accustomed.  When we stay at hostels, the computers are generally super slow, so loading pictures is out of the question.  Sofia is usually waiting for me to be done, and the money clock is always ticking, so the two or three hours I used to take on a special post is whittled down to mere minutes.  I feel like I'm not able to say what I really want to say, is what I'm saying. 
Today is special because this hostel is amazing.  The computer is fast (a video clip loaded in about 2 minutes!) and only costs one euro an hour as opposed to the typical 2.20 euros an hour.  Also, Sofia is upstairs reading a book, we stopped early for the day, and someone left 40 minutes on the computer for me to use!  So I´m going to wax a bit reflective while I have the chance.

Yesterday marked the first day of my feet feeling a bit better.  The first two days of walking were fine, but things soon deteriorated.  I once thought that carrying a pack wasn't a big deal as long as you packed lightly and that I would be able to hike a 15 minute mile for sure.  I have been quickly taught otherwise.  Walking with a pack strains your feet beyond imagining.  One moment I can barely hobble up the stairs of a hostel to drop my pack on a bed, and the next minute Sofia and I will be strolling lazily through the city on feet sighing with relief.  I wish I had a pack animal.  A hand cart might even be a welcome change, but do not quote me on that.

The terrain, the weight, the heat, the amount you've already walked that day, AND the amount you walked the day before all affect your speed.  On my very worst day (see the video of me walking like an old lady) we made it to our stopping point in five hours, walking from 6 am to 11 am, for a total of 17 km or 10.5 miles.  In five hours.  That is approximately 2 miles an hour.  And we weren't even the slowest people to arrive.  Today we were up to about 6 km in an hour, which is more like a normal walking pace, but now Sofia's knee is twinging again. 

Which leads me to my next lesson:  You can't push yourself too hard one day, because it will mess up your next day.  My worst day occurred the day after we walked 29 km through what seemed like the desert.  We arrived in our destination at 6pm and started walking around 6am the next morning.  Twelve hours is not enough to rejuvinate the feet, especially after all we had put them through that day. 

Sofia and I are starting to see the wisdom in the typical pilgrim schedule that we had seen online and scoffed at.  Up before the sun, walk before the hottest part of the day, settle down in a hostel before one or two.  Then you shower, feel good, do laundry, eat food, take a siesta, and basically put yourself back together before the next grueling day.  That is how we have been able to feel better in the past two days.  Enjoying the camino seems much more possible under these circumstances, though we still hate the following:
1.  paved roads.  the difference on the feet from dirt paths is remarkable.
2.  industrial parks.  so boring to walk through.
3.  downhill patches.  the knees don't like them.
4.  rocky roads.  a rolled ankle would be bad.

What we do like (and I think I speak for Sofia when I say this):
1.  uphill patches.  they stretch the muscles wonderfully and have a short-term goal built in!
2.  a spot of tea in the morning.  i buy something herbal and Sofia always has some sips.
3.  small rainshowers.  they cool you off and provide dramatic views of the sky.
4.  naps.  all the Spaniards do it.  besides, nothing is open and the world is hot.  you might as well sleep.

All in all, I think we are getting the hang of it.  Maybe.  Knock on wood.  Some lady said that three weeks is a hard threshhold, and we met a Dutch lady who has walked all the way from Holland.  Eleven weeks!  And she is still hitting emotional barriers to work through.  So far, all my barriers have been purely physical.  I am not yet plagued, as Sofia is, by a lack of a "good enough" reason to get up every day.  For me it is simple: 

Why did the pilgrim walk the camino?  

To get to Santiago.