Almaden to Real de la Jara

Bad day.  It was supposed to be an easy 13 km hike,  but my feet started feeling real bad.

Yesterday I picked up a second blister, but I treated it right away. It seems all right.  But when I took my shoes off at the hostel, I could see that my toenails were all white.  That is not supposed to be, and it is the first time that it has ever happened to me.

I am very confused at what is happening because I am wearing the clothes that I trained in, and I trained for these distances.

By the end of the day, I had three blisters and my left foot big toe had very severe chafing. I have never been a corpsman, but I do serve as a member of the workplace medical emergency team, so today I put my medical training to use. I pierced and patched the blisters, and a covering for the chafing.

This had better work or I will be coming home early.
My back up plan is to get to Monasterio tomorrow at a very slow pace which will expose me to a lot of sun.
If it does not get better, I will head to the medical clinic.


Day 4

Castilblanco to Almaden de la Plata

Today was a challenging day due to distance and conditions.

It was an 18 mile (30km) hike.  The first 9 miles were asphalt road which everyone uniformly agrees is the worst. What I remember most is that it was all uphill and behind every turn in the road was another hill.

The etiquette rule is that people get to walk at their own speed.  No one had to go slower or faster than they want.

I left with 2 other men but by 2 miles out they were ahead of me. I did my remaining 7 miles of pavement solo.  You talk to yourself, sing songs, swear and generally do what it takes to get into and stay in the zone.

The last 9 miles were in a national park so the scenery was much better. The sun was out in full force and it reached the mid-80's by that point.  The was almost no shade. Although I would occasionally pass or be passed by other peregrinos, the park was solo also.

The final 3 km was a 200 meter steep climb and descent of Calvary Hill. It was brutal. I think I rested 5 or 6 times. Amy place that I could find a shade tree. And that was few. This Hill is aptly named.

We started at 7:00 am and I reached the albergue at around 4:30 pm, chafed,  blistered and sunburned.

Kept crossing paths with Ushi and Bruno, a wonderful couple from Switzerland with whom I had dinner on Monday night.

After resting a bit,  at La Casa Concha, I had an incredible pilgrim's dinner of slamming pasta, lightly breaded and fried calamari, tinto verano (wine and tonic water drink) and custard with whipped cream and caramel sauce.

The Road to Almaden

Guillena to Castilblanco de Los Arroyos

Here are some words about todayś hike. It was all uphill, all the way. You can see by the rocks that it was quite a climb. Even at the last 4 kms, which was pavement, it was uphill. That made for quite a challenging day, and it was a relatively short hike (supposed to be easy).

Thanks to Genesee and Rochester Hiking Clubs for all the practice in the Ellison Park Wetlands and Irondequioit Park West.

Here is the story on the oranges. About halfway thru the hike, we came upon an orange grove which the workers were harvesting. On their way out, I asked if I could take a picture. They obliged and then gave all us peregrinos oranges. I can tell you that they were the juiciest oranges. The juice literally ran down my fingers.

Tomorrow we have the longest segment: 30 kms. In the heat, it will be a back breaker. 

Having dinner: 2 tapas (potato,  green pepper and tomato drenched in ice cold olive oil and calamari likewise).

To Carlos, my son: Thanks for the words of encouragement.  The champ will be thinking of you during tomorrow's slog. I just got word that it is 15 kms of pavement and 15 kms of trail. 

Just did some shopping at the supermarket as there are no facilities at all on tomorrow hike to Almaden de la Plata.

On the road - day 2

Seville to Guillena

My first full day,  and I had some very pleasant experience.

Here are my goals for today.

• Guillena at 23kms
• Start at sunrise at 8:00 am.
• Get 8 hours of sleep. I almost made that one. 

I spent the night at the Convento de Santa Rosalia. Unlike hostels,  I had a private room and sheets on the bed. I slept  pretty good after 24 hours of travel and being nerve-wracked.

Yesterday I did not meet any peregrinos in Seville.

I wrote a haiku for my first night.

White walls line cold tiles.
Convent Santa Rosalia
Silenciosa.

Vive Sevilla.
Ciudad de Sevilla
It lives for itself.

But last night I did have my first Tinto Verano in years, and it was fantastic.  Cold and icy.
Even if it was in a bottle,  instead of shaken,  not stirred.

On a physical note,  I have the feeling that the polyneuropothy has eased again.  I have more feeling in my feet ... Because of all the hiking.  I don't know.

And finally for the previous night ... I am reading The Three Musketeers on my tablet.  There is 512 pages so I don't think I will finish the book before I finish the El Camino.

So here is a bit about the hike.
I got lost in Triana. I end up getting out of the city by hiking on the expressway. On making it to Camas, I was ecstatic to be someplace that I was supposed to be. I should have eaten before I started out.  I was starving by the time I made it to Guillena, but it worked out.  Found a peregrino restaurant with an excellent meal: fish,  tortilla and salad plus a glass of the local white wine.







Photos Day 1

In Sevilla

After an uneventful flight,  Jorge meet me at the airport and after an eventful ride to the Convent of Santa Rosalia, I have a bed and a room for the night. Later on the trip, I can go with the more hostel type of accommodations. Tonight I just want peace and quiet.

Hear are some things that I accomplished this afternoon:

• Found my way to the cathedral. 
• Found my start point and way.  (Not necessarily how to get out of Sevilla proper.)
• Asked for help in Spanish from 3 strangers successfully
• Found this Starbucks and wi-fi. Really huge. 

Emotionally this is one big head rush to be all on my own and completely cut off from the outside world.  If I don't have wi-Fi,  I don't have connections.  It sounds so obvious but it is so true.  I have this huge nervous pit in my stomach when I am in the room to be so isolated.  How did people do it hundreds of years ago?  To be overseas meant to be away from loved ones for years with only letters to communicate.

That is why I had to call my mom,  granddaughter Adriana, grandson Jayden, Jaime and Carlos. I needed reassurance.

Oh beautiful Sevilla.  The streets are alive with people on a Sunday evening. Families are strolling thru the plazas.  Couples in love are holding hands in the shadows of buildings that are hundreds of years old. Friends are laughing in the plazas. Street musicians are playing.  This city is alive.

And to close for the night.  They write about the Via de la Plata that you must be prepared to be comfortable with yourself as you will be alone on many parts of the journey. Only now do I realize the total force of those words. As only being here can make it,  the aloneness is patently obvious.

Besides I trained in 0 C temperatures with snow and ice.  It's 25C and for me,  hotter than hell. There are people here with sweaters on. What is wrong with them?  Or with me?

Day 0 Sevilla

Leaving on a jet plane

Sitting at gate A6 at the Rochester International Airport, waiting for boarding.

 It is about to happen. Once I get on that plane,  the adventure begins.

 Yesterday was final preps day. The most important thing that I did was to stop by Eastern Mountain Sports one more time for a review of how the backpack worked. The csr (Dennis) was most helpful. I had forgotten some things about the straps and hooks and how to efficiently put the pack on and take it off. I'd say Dennis spent a half hour going over it all with me again. These backpacks are complicated. They are not just a standard shoulder pack.

 I am very grateful to Mercedes who is taking care of my dog and cat (Harold and Lola). She emailed me last night that both were doing well and that Harold had already taken over the couch. It was strange to not have them with me,  both when I went to bed and when I got up this morning,  but they are in good care.

****************

Made it to the Philidelphia USO. Free food,  wifi, couches, TV and a chance to relax in comfort. Makes me glad to be a USO donor.

... As I sit here in the the USO, there are two 20-somethings talking about their upcoming deployment to Khandahar and Bagram, Afganistan. 40 years ago, when I was starting my military service,  it was all about the Soviets and now it is about "what"? 40 years later and I am going hiking.

Everything had changed and nothing has changed.  

Final Practice Hike - 48 Hours to Departure

Harold and I headed out today at 9:45 for a hike from my place to Charlotte (8 miles), knowing that we would have to return that same distance. It was tough but we did it, and completing 16 miles was important psychologically to me, since several of my segments on the Via De La Plata will be that distance ( and a bit more).

It was quite the experience. For starters, we took a branch of the  Genesee Riverway Trail behind Riverside Cemetery. Unfortunately, the trail seemed to come to an end deep inside the cemetery. I was not too comfortable about taking a hole in the fence into Turning Point Park, but I had no desire at that point to double back. It worked out after finding a board put in place to ford a small creek.

Harold did quite well with his new companions for the month of April. He only got snippy once, and Beau put him in his place. Harold took a snack from Mercedes - always a good sign as he can be quite recalcitrant at interacting with people.

On the way home, Carlos (my son) and Josh (his good friend and co-worker) flagged me down. They were headed down St Paul and saw Harold and I headed south. It was great to stop and chat. My spirits were starting to flag at that point (about 14 miles at that point), and I needed a good jolt of encouragement to finish out the last two miles.

Boy, that was doable, and an accomplishment, and I'm ready for that distance, but it still was a tough hike to get under my belt - tough but necessary.

Less than 48 hours now till I board the plane for Spain ...

Harold	Me and Carlos