Shoe surgery
Deadly tunnels to Castro
I'm in fancy Castro Urdiales. The path went through an abandoned mine. They had pulled something out of the water with a large metal contraption. At first it looked like a no route at all, but then there were some tunnels, and after that the path went under the contraption. Then there was some climbing. They don't pay too much attention to prevent accidental deaths here. The railing was decorated with flowers. Maybe someone had played down there between the rocks?
I didn't find good options for spending the night in Castro, so I'll keep walking after a little floating session at the beach and visiting the tourist information for a map. The infos are very valuable since I didn't bring a smartphone. If you're lucky you get a map with the camping areas marked on it.
Mini-holiday
I took a few days off on a camping site, letting the feet heal. I still have a couple of blisters, but they are getting better. The shoes are breaking down. The bottoms have strange warps.
I don't know if the temperature is higher or have I become lazy. Hard to get up to speed. I followed the coast and climbed up a horrific hill, but the path ended into a nice view into a vulture's nest. Had to climb back down. Now back on the pavement. It is really hot. Maybe 30 degrees? Sometimes there is a relieving wind. The town I was staying in had been cut in a funny way by a river. At high tide you couldn't walk to the other side. The other side was it's own town, even thought they were right next to each other. I was trapped by the tide, on the wrong side of the river from my camping site. So I hung around the beach all day and visited restaurants. I feel rested now, all the gear is clean. The tent was tested. It's a bit big but nevermind.
Yesterday I walked the beaches. Something was going on with the other shoe. It had a warp in the bottom that was squeezing the pinky toe between the top and the bottom. The toe was messed up good. There is a blister on three sides. I was thought of a shoe store, but then I decided to open up the shoe. It was sand that had gone in from the top and worked it's way between the layers of fabric. I got the sand out and considered walking in flip-flops. It was a waste of time taking it easy for the past days since the feet are broken again. I got to a camping area before a thunderstorm. Now I have to dry the camping gear and find out where I'm at.
Yesterday was quite the torture. Even so I think I did 25 km, sometimes to the wrong direction. I managed to find a camping spot next to Somo. Are the shoes a wrong shape for my feet? Maybe they are too tight on the sides of the toes? All the problems are about the pinky toe and the next one. But if I was to get proper hiking shoes, that would suck my budget and I would not get further than Oviedo. I've already spent so much on the tent and the rest of the gear. Well, I have only one toe now that is messed up, but that one is properly trashed. The skin is now gone around the toe. Where can I get a coffee here?
Yesterday after Santander I ended up in an albergue with Stefan, who I knew from the boat ride between Somo and Santander. I also met Carmen and Kendall. The other was working during in the evenings, and the other had foot problems. She will take the train. I got the laundry washed and dried in a machine. Washing by hand is not optimal and it was very wet yesterday, so it's nice to get everything properly dried. The toe starts to feel sort of ok. No further blisters. I have now vaseline between the toes, baby powder around the toes, two socks to reduce the friction and more baby powder around the sock in case the shoe is not completely dry after yesterday. At the moment the weather is good, meaning cloudy, but later it is supposed to rain.
Walking alone and staying in random places, without the other walkers, there is a deterioration of motivation. You start thinking how possible is it to get through this trip. But when I meet the others, and hear about their problems and how they are solving them, it gives options for my own planning. Kendall said they've been camping in the following way: They walk up until it's dark, make camp and leave at dawn. There's no one to see their camp, since the Spanish don't wake up before nine. I also hear that the Camino Primitivo will be mostly unpaved, and that is supposed to be better for the feet. But until then it is 70% paved. I don't know if the pavement is such a problem for myself, since I practiced in Helsinki mostly on pavement.
