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I walked out of the terminal, turned right and right again and more or less just followed that road to the coast where my first pension was, after 24hrs on a plane it was a good way to get some blood flowing again and start the Camino that way. Heading back to Porto tomorrow and will spend some...
I am just about to finish my Camino and whilst I am by nature strong and independent, loving my own company this experience was sometimes really tough because I got injured and am often in so much pain that everything becomes just too overwhelming. Even though I made the long trip from Australia...
Judge not those you see walking with Crocs instead of 'proper' shoes because it may just be the one ones left they can tolerate wearing when Achilles tendonitis strikes.
A few people asked me if I was seriously walking in those Crocs.
No, I started off with broken-in, good fitting trail runners...
Met my Camino Angel in the host of pension Mosende. This pension is off the path before Porriño but the host will pick you up from the path and drop you back there, or take you into Porriño even.
I was crippled by excruciating heel pain and Manuel jr. bent over backwards to help me out. Since I...
Three days into the Camino my feet stayed swollen overnight and it just got worse as the day wore on. I realised later that it was due to lack of adequate hydration, so once I started to really fill up with water during the day it settled down dramatically.
Switched from coastal to interior yesterday by bus to Ponte de Lima. Already had a few very wet days and it doesn't look like it is going to change anytime soon. It poured relentlessly during the night and I have abandoned my plans to tackle the climb and descent to Rubiaes. Taxi it is, but that...
it was Shirley MacLaine's memoir, which I'd read back in 2001, that put the Camino on my radar and I was determined to experience it for myself. Life took many twists and turns and when I was finally ready for it the CF had turned into something quite different from what I wanted to experience...
booking ahead by phone and not speaking the language (well enough) - any hints? There are many places listed in the guidebooks that don't have a website but a phone number. I don't feel confident enough to call and make a reservation (yet).
if you have 20/20 vision perhaps, some of the maps are downright illegible, even with glasses on I cannot read a word on some of them. It is a lot thicker (and therefore heavier) too.
I favour the Camino Portugués from CaminoGuidebooks.com over the Brierly.
Compeed gets a mention frequently. An good alternative (if Compeed is unavailable, too pricey etc) is Duoderm extra thin or Duoderm - both work on the same hydrocolloid treatment base as Compeed and is widely used in wound care.
It is wonderful also for split heels or fingertips - you know those...
Prep and training has commenced in earnest, less than 3 months to go now.
I started training, walking daily with one rest day per week, gradually increasing distance and the load of my backpack. (Disclaimer - I am closing in on 60yrs and what I could do 'no worries' not so long ago seems now...
thank you for the wonderfully detailed lists. Interesting that you were able to tolerate gluten over there? Not a coeliac then? You mentioned GF rolls, where do you find them? Supermercado?
cheers
thank you, everyone, many valuable suggestions, very much appreciated!
It is the unpredictability of when it might strike that has me unsettled but I am going to chance it.
If I get struck down on the Camino I know I can hang out here for good company :)
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