This girl is on fire - literally !

Alicia Keys once sang ....

She's living in a world, and it's on fire
Feeling the catastrophe, but she knows she can fly away
Oh, she got both feet on the ground
And she's burning it down
Oh, she got her head in the clouds
And she's not backing down

This girl is on fire
This girl is on fire
She's walking on fire
This girl is on fire

I am literally on fire, yesterday my hips were searing, and after a night soaking and rubbing deep heat into my hips and balm into my feet, and a long soak in a bath full of salt water, I felt slightly better.

Stopped walking today after 4 hours, today it is my shins, that are burning, and I have become all puffy, (my fellow pilgrims tell me that this happens to quite a few people, as a result of your body adjusting to the amount of exercise and water being consumed not previously used to) this apparantley will change over the next few days as ones body gets used to the changes.

Came back to the hotel I stayed at lastnight, as it is in a village with a pharmacy, and supermarket and I needed to buy some extra sunscreen, blister packs, pain killers, headed out for a pilgrim lunch and bumped into Helen, she has ditched the bike as the terrain is too hilly and rocky to get over, and is going to do the next two stages on foot, she has also come back to this village as her bum is too sore and blistered and she also needs medical supplies. We had lunch with two guys from the UK, who told us this is their third Camino, and we were all sharing our stories, I shared that I had a few wobbles and tears yesterday, one over an orange, one of the guys shared that 6 days ago at the halfway point as he crossed the Meseta, he woke up and could not face it, and broke down over breakfast, he did not know why, but he had to arrange transport to take him to Leon, where he spent two days in bed crying and then as part of what happened they both decided to change, for no reason they know of, their Camino route.

We also spent a good hour discussing how the Spanish are so slim given their diet, and how despite us walking many many kms .. the Spanish carb loaded diet would surely pack it on ...  one of the guys shared he has added 7 kilos despite being on the Camino and covering over 500k.  Paella, pasta, soups full of potatoes and fish, everything fried, bread rolls, cheese, chorizo ...  if you think the Camino is about yummy food and weight loss ..  think again .. move your holiday to Greece.

As the bulk of my luggage has now been forwarded to next destination, I will spend the rest of the night, washing out my clothes to wear tomorrow, soaking my legs and cuddling my feet.

Today, maybe because of the physical, (where the pain was so bad I stopped and sat to pee and give my feet a rest, and found I could not stand from a squat position, without actually lifting my legs with my arms), and the short duration, the mental was easier.

My thoughts today ended up being about how lucky and free I am, and how lucky in life I have been.  I currently have no debts, no bills, no house, no house keys, no children, no accountabilities, no partner (woops, to close maybe, #sorry) and even no official address.

What I do have, despite some ups and downs is, friends, family & total freedom which leaves just one decision really ...  what next?

Camino tips

• Remember Spain sleeps alot, especially in northern towns and villages, where most places are only open from about 10am - 2pm and then again from about 6pm - 10pm, so you need to plan your day around this, walking early to beat the afternoon sun is great, but it means you land in towns when nothing is open, so you can't get a meal etc  plan to nap when Spain does
• Despite being a main tourist route, most folk in these parts do not speak any english, so learn more than the basics (funny how easily my basic spanish has come back, even funnier is how I seem to think I am somewhere else and randomly also start speaking in French and Greek)
• For me it is about the 10km mark before I actually get into a walking groove that feels okay, this is also the point where I want to quit, and have to yell at myself to push on, (this seems quite common amongst pilgrims at the 5km and 10km point).
• Take a notepad and pen, use your pictionary skills and be prepared to draw, funny how all languages come together with the use of a picture (watch out all, I am honing my skills to perfection)

all my love
CBT - x

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