Camino de Santiago Day 19: Calzadilla de Los Hermanillos

Blister Religion

I woke up this morning and said bye to my Camino family as they took off around 7AM. Today is a long 17.5 mile day. I sat at the breakfast table watching one pilgrim after another leave, looking at my foot and knowing I couldn‘t walk.

I bandaged my foot up, slid my shoe on and hobbled around the albergue just to see how bad it was and if I could manage with the pain. I could barely walk to the other side of the room.

So I sat back down and had no clue what to do next. After an hour passed, I decided that I had to deal with this blister myself. So I got out the needle, the thread, alcohol wipes, gauze, tape and performed some triage on myself. After about 20 minutes of trying to get things under control, I slid my foot back into my shoe with zero pain. I was amazed.

“Blister religion” is something we talk about often out here. What to do when you feel one coming on, what to do once it’s formed, how to treat, keep it clean etc. If you’re planning to ever walk 500 miles across a country, let’s chat and I can give you a few tips and tricks on how to handle these painful buggers.

I grabbed my trekking and poles and took off. Today, by far, was one of my best days yet. I walked through some of the most beautiful scenery and through some great small towns all with no pain. I walked past this adorable chapel, across rolling creeks, had one of the best tortillas yet, saw some local art hanging from trees near the cathedral and just had the best day. Here is my day in photos.

Tomorrow we head to Reliegos, a short 10 mile walk and only a town short of Leon. Until then, Buen Camino!