Day 14 and I’m broken….

I have been walking for two weeks now. According to the guidebook, I have 209 miles to go which means I must have walked 281. So a bit of quiet reflection is really called for and some wise words on the journey. However I just want to rant. Today was the toughest yet despite it only being a bit under 25 miles. The reason? I chose the Roman way.

Another Roman Bridge

The day started off pretty innocuously. Crossed a Roman bridge (rebuilt a couple of times but still recognisably Roman) out of Sahagun, walked a couple of miles and came to a choice. Left to walk on a path next to the main road; right to walk the ancient Calzada Romana. This road was used to transport silver from Galician mines to pay Caesar’s troops; the Visigoths used it to defeat a Swabian tribe; Charlemagne marched down it; countless millions of pilgrims over the last 12 centuries have used it. How could I resist – it was only a couple of miles longer?

Easy if you’re in the Roman Army

After about 5 miles I did wonder why I seemed rather alone in this choice. It really is a Roman road; the cobbles are pretty loose and you have to watch your step or risk stubbing a blister (previously known as toes). I came to a small village at 11am, had coffee, stared in disbelief at the Spanish guy eating bacon and eggs with a large glass of red wine and chatted briefly with an American woman, Carol, who followed me in. So I set off. After yesterday, with its cheerful cafe, I was expecting somewhere to stop and rest, buy a coke, use the wi-fi etc.

Nothing. Rien. Nada. Sod all. The only place to stop was below. It provided a brief amount of shade and a mud wall behind which one could do what would otherwise have required a tree. But there were no trees.

The Service Station

Just mile after mile of trudging. I ran out of food at the service station and was rationing water after 5 miles. The fountains were dry. I think the only thing that saved me was that Carol caught up with me and we acted as joint pacesetters.

What bird is that?

Amidst the trudging I did manage to photo the bird above which, with its mate, did a great job of scaring me off from its ground nest. I would appreciate knowing what it was so if anyone can enlighten me, please add a comment.

15 unrelenting miles later and I arrived at Mansilla de las Mulas. I expect the name is comical but at this stage I really don’t care. Came to the place where I had booked a room and was turned away – the owner tried to say he hadn’t had my email, a claim holed below the waterline by him sending me a “sorry, we’re full” reply to my email of yesterday about 30 mins later. Just wait until I add my review to TripAdvisor. I found another place without too much difficulty and inspected the damage. Let’s just say my feet are reaching the end. I think there is a Compeed event horizon. When your foot is more Compeed than, say, skin, then you know you’re in trouble. Today’s sunburn was pretty bad too. I emailed Dara a grossly offensive picture of one of my hands looking about 90 years old and she had a go at me and sent me to the pharmacy. At the pharmacy, the chemist – one of those immaculate white-coated competent women you only ever find on the continent – also had a go at me, with much the same vehemence as Dara but in Spanish. Deciding that I was truly incompetent, she not only sold me the after-sun gel, but insisted on opening the pack and applying it. I felt about 5 years old but probably deserved it.

Anyway, after two weeks of walking, this last day has pretty well trashed my body. I have to say respect to the Romans. Those boys would march 40 miles a day, carrying a pack, wearing hob-nailed sandals and then do a bit of slaughtering. I suspect the promise of being flogged to death for looking a bit tired probably helped with motivation but all the same you can see why the Romans did so well at the conquering and subduing business.

Tomorrow, Leon. I am going to find a nice hotel in the centre of the city, get there early, find a table outside and nurse half a glass of beer for the day. I will do the cathedral but every other site of interest can wait until I can see my feet, rather than just Compeed.

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