I can now do a 20 to 22 km day!

I don´t know how but now I can walk 20 km in a day, which I need to do to get to Santiago on time. As it is I think I am going far too slow and I may need to do 25 or 27 km days. Fortunately I have not had a single blister!!! You should see the blisters some of the men have! I think it is because they think they are blister proof...yesterday I met a handsome policeman, from Valencia, who was doing the Camino in 18 days, because that was all the time he had. Jesus was walking because his 18 year old son fell down 8 floors while working, and broke several bones, and he swore that if his son survived and walked again, he would go to Santiago....he did 50 km yesterday and of course I haven´t seen him since!

After 115.5 kilometres; with asthma, sore and exhausted in Estella

I am not feeling well today! Yesterday, around midday, I started feeling wheezy and my throat was fiery. I have been enjoying the glorious little flowers which grow along El Camino and in farmer´s fields. My favourites are the little red poppies which are so bright and so red and just one poking up it´s little face up in a large field of green wheat is enough to cheer anyone up.

But there are also a large variety of other flowers which are delightful, except for one, which I haven´t managed to name yet. But they are white and are on trees and they release what I call cottonwool snowflakes which float silently in the air through fields and through the towns, collecting in doorways and corners and I guess, in my lungs. Last night I thought I would have to catch a bus to Logroño today, I felt so bad...but as we all know, once you get up you feel better and I did manage to walk the required 15 km today. But now, at 7pm, I am feeling rotten again. :-(

We usually arrive exhausted in towns, about half past one, which is near midday closing time, and we push ahead on our wobbly and sore legs to find a grocery store to buy some bread, tuna fish, fruit and juice, or cheese and ´jamon´, because the bars, where we can get cafes con leche and sometimes a bocadillo, only open for meals around 7:30pm, by which time I can hardly keep my eyes open. Today is Saturday and tomorrow will be even harder to find a place to eat.

Haven´t been keeping up my blog because it is not always easy to find computers at which I can sit long enough to check my emails and do some writing as well.

The weather has been mostly quite cool. When we start walking it can be 10 degrees C and maybe get up to 15 or 18 during the day. We have been very lucky not to have had rain since Roncevalles although is has been around every day, as you can see from the mud we have to walk through quite often. Mud can be deep, and very slippery, and sometimes you just have to step in it!

El Camino can also be very steep and of course when you go up you must also come down! Ahhhh!

Sometimes we are lucky and get a great Roman road to walk on! :-)

When we get to the top of high places (just because we crossed the Pyrenees doesn´t mean there are no more high places!) it can be quite windy, and I get quite cold!

GTG, It´s bed time. Til next time, Clarisa