Camino de Levante - La Marcha de la Muerte

So, while Vic updates me on his latest mani-ped, and tries to find the best Albariño to go with pulpo gallago, I’ve been toiling away, or rather suffering away. Not that I’m complaining about Vic, God knows that fella has been to hell and back with that twinge in his leg.  In Galicia now, really beautifully with lots of farming and mountains.  Mind you, I have a slight problem with my boot, not sure if it is going to make it. It’s been 75% split for two weeks now, but now it’s 100% split - see below. Not great. I’ve got five or six more days to Santiago and having to get new boots at this stage would be very painful, to add to my ongoing suffering (which I’m happy to endure if it saves even one other soul). I know Vic is hoping it goes completely so that I’ll be screwed, but I’m hoping it holds out just a little bit longer. There seems to be no rain forecast which helps a lot. Very unusual, they say it rains 300 days of the year in Galicia. 

On the various long-distance hiking trips that I’ve been on, the quality of the food along the way at various towns, villages and cities has varied greatly.  For example, the first long-distance hike I ever did, the GR-10 trail in southern France through the Pyrenees, I was quite spoiled with generally great food along the way.  The French are world-renowned for taking their food very seriously and this was evident in even the smallest villages where they took great pride in what they served.  It was a trip highlight.  On the other hand, the food encountered during the Scottish Coast to Coast hiking trip (The Southern Upland Way), the less said, the better.  Outside of a couple of exceptions, it was generally horrific - sometimes inedible.  For the record, that is not a fair characterization of British food in general, which can really be very good, but that route, in particular, is fairly remote, not used to tourism and it shows. Now, when it comes to this...

Well, as Frank advances onward (Frank - Someone has to suffer, after all) I am convalescing for several days.  I happen to be recuperating at a quite nice, small, medieval town called Puebla de Sanabria in a very enjoyable little boutique hotel, so while I’m missing out on what I came here to do (walk!), where I have ended up for a few days could be a lot worse. I’m continuing to periodically ice my leg and rest.   Unfortunately, the swelling and pain are still present.  Since the whole point is to rest, the sightseeing is very limited, which means it’s good reading time.  Good thing I have a good book - more on that in a future blog entry. I’ll see how I feel tomorrow to begin contemplating when I rejoin Frank and commence the final walk into Santiago.  My best guess as of right now is hopefully Wednesday. ( Frank - I know a nice ravine to finish Vic off in just after Ourense, put everyone out of their misery) 

Things have changed quite dramatically on the way. We have now connected with the Via de la Plata route (starts in Sevilla). This has led to meeting many more pilgrims and the sun is now fully on the back of our heads as we all head west. In Santiago you can nearly always spot a VDLP hiker as they will be way more sunburnt on their right hand side.  Aside from the sun, there has also been a major change in landscape. No more meseta, now we are walking in mountains, forests, over dams and much more. Yesterday, I felt like I was walking on the African veldt and today it felt more like Connemara. Plus it was blowing a hooley. Great walking in fairness.  Nearly everyone I have met in the last week since hitting Zamora has been retired. The French are all over the place but can be easily silenced by asking about the Vichy government; the Italians will go quiet if you talk about their national football team and, of course,  we all know what not to talk about when you meet a Ger...

Well, after walking another full day and a partial morning the next day following the last blog entry, I, Vic, had to wave the flag of defeat again.  The lower leg pain just became too much as I hobbled into the village of Olleros de Tera.  Although I’m not positive what exactly is the problem, the two most likely suspects are a shin splint or tendinitis.  ( Frank - could be both, the lad is crippled, ah well, that’s the way it goes sometimes, fair play for walking yesterday, it wasn’t a pretty sight)  Yesterday, Frank spotted another medical clinic along our way, so I went in again using Frank’s EU medical card and got another shot in the bum to help with the pain and inflammation.  Now, it’s clear I need to supplement that with a few days of rest and periodically ice it.  It’s quite disappointing but I am hoping to salvage the final week going into Santiago. I’m waiting now for Frank to arrive into today’s destination, Mombuey, and then tomorrow, I’ll tak...

Well, we’ve completed another day and are now resting in our destination for the night, Tábara.  We have just around 200 miles left to go and are currently anticipating arriving into Santiago either Monday or  Tuesday, May  27th  or 28th - 12 or 13 more days to go, and I, Vic, just completed my 8th consecutive day of walking in a row. Unfortunately, that lower leg pain issue has begun to resurface the last two days - although not yet debilitating - and I also find myself fighting a small cold.  I rarely ever catch a cold, so I’m definitely thinking my body is feeling a little rundown.  But, I am fully committed to finishing this mother of a Camino. ( Frank - It’s obvious that Vic is really enjoying himself at the moment! Which is great ‘cos I haven’t seen him in days since he went off with that South Korean chick - Yung-Kim I think it was- a one armed piano teacher from Seoul with leftist tendencies)  As I walked into Tábara this afternoon, I noticed s...

I hope to get another Compostela from the Bishop of Santiago. This will wipe all my sins to date. I’m not sure what Vic’s status is in that regard what with the whole Russian/ Jewish /Mongolian thing. Maybe 50% given they did crucify God and that can’t sit well with the Bishop. A question for the purists perhaps.  Zamora has a very cool historic center with the usual ten 12th century churches, and great bars and restaurants on the Plaza Mayor. Those in the know, however,  favour the tapas area at Plaza del Maestro.