Hi Jon, well done on your arrival into Santiago against all the odds.
The reason for the blisters is two fold ,too much weight in my backpack and far too much
road walking.
Not sure I agree with you there, though I am sure the backpack weight and the road walking didn’t help.
It rained very heavily
at times but i got through it and arrived in Pontideume many hours later with badly blistered feet.
There’s your problem for the blisters. Wet socks will cause friction, which will cause blisters.
And because it’s raining people don’t stop to do anything about it.
It is
imperative, as soon as you get a hotspot, to
stop and fix it, whatever the weather.
Stop under a tree, or wherever, take your boot off, and put something, anything, between the offending wet sock and the hotspot.
At the first proper dry shelter, stop again, and fix the hotspot more permanently.
Dry your foot thoroughly, then put on moleskin, or a large bandaid, or duct tape, a bandage, etc.
You can put your wet socks back on again. There is no point putting dry ones on as, in the pouring rain, they will also get wet.
You must keep at least one pair of dry socks in your pack, especially in winter, to put on when you get to the (possibly unheated) albergue.
Jill