thecatalanway
Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- I hope to walk the Camino Frances in Spring 2015
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Hence the tendonitis?!Wow you already made it to Astorga...
Hence the tendonitis?!
I am far from lean, and not tall either. The thin and tall walk past me giving me the tumbsmup and telling me I can do 30 Km a day. And wouldn't you know it, a few days later I pass them as they have to spend 3 or 4 days t aliviate their tendonitis
Hey Kate
Big Hug!!!!
Firstly!....you have done a great thing in being gentle to yourself and allowing your body to rest.
I had to do that in Leon (2013). I get how you can quickly feel disconnected with other pilgrams....and how lonely it can be.
I think Astorga is well known for chocolate......and dark chocolate has magnesium in it.....which is great for helping to relax muscular aches......
So.......it is almost a medicinal requirement to go out and get some and eat it....
I hope you are able to fully recover and soon be on your way to meet a new wave of pilgrams.
Thank you Kanga for all that great advice. Will go and hang out in cafésHi @thecatalanway - sorry, I'm not the answer as I'm in Sydney. But I did spend a few days in Astorga a few years ago, waiting for my husband to join me. The authors of The Pilgrimage Road to Santiago (Gitlitz and Davidson) say they always spend two nights in Astorga as there is so much there. If you can download a copy of their book there is a very informative chapter on Astorga, with pointers to lots of things to see.
As for company, if you find a bar near the albergue, or on the Way, with tables outside, plant your pack beside you, you will soon have company. You could also consider getting a lift to Rabanal - it's a small place but with three albergues (one staffed by the Confraternity of St James, so usually English speaking hospitaleros) and lots and lots of pilgrims. Ask the tourist office in Astorga - they could book you a room in one of the hostels/hotels in Rabanal. There is at least one hotel/hostel, often with guests doing a commercial Camino tour.
hi LiseHey....
I know exactly what you are going thru.
I had to. ..."pause" my Camino in Leon.
I cried hard..huge tears...infact I didnt leave my hotel room for a whole day. I was pretty miserable.
In the end stoping before I did major damage was one of the greatest learning experiences of my life. Normally, I tend to run myself into the ground.
At this stage.....I dont know if I will return....but the peace I felt when I realised it was ok to put me, my body and my heart first....for once.....remains with me today.
Massive hug!!!!
Hi Kate, sorry to hear you have tendonitis in your foot. If it is still painful on Monday, I suggest you get yourself home to Barcelona. The Camino will always be there for you to go back to another time. I got tendonitis on the South West Coast Path in England, and made it worse by trying to keep going. Finally, after 3 days holed up in a pub, totally unable to walk, my sister came and fetched me. Two weeks later I tried again and went back to where I’d left off, and within a few hours of walking the pain was back. I had to admit defeat, got myself to a train station, and changed my flight to get back home earlier. It took at least another month before it cleared up completely. My mistake was trying to persevere through the pain, only to make the condition much, much worse. All the Best! Jill
Oh yes I can imagine how disjointed it must have felt to be in Santiago. So glad you made it to finisterre. I will wait till I come back next time, it's not so far for me to come.Hey Kate..
Im like you. I have a very high pain threshold. Along with being very stubborn.
Yes...I stayed until my return flight.
I caught a train to Santiago. I had promised a Spanish women I would pray for her in the Cathedral and I wanted to honour my promise.
I also had to pick up items I had sent ahead to Ivar.☺
I spent a day hanging around the cathedral. Watching....listening. I had been before....but I felt disjointed from everyone. So maybe that wasnt a good move.
I then caught a bus to Finisterre and stayed in an amazing place. I couldn't really walk (ruptured calf muscle ) but enjoyed a beautiful sunset....from my room.
I then took a taxi to Muxia.
It took me two hours to hobble 4km down to the sea and the church. I was clam and so blissfully relaxed. I tossed my stone into the sea. It was amazing. I really felt like I was where I was surpose to be and at the right time.
Then I traveled to Porto, Nazare and Lisbon.
I hobbled everywhere.....but taking things slowly was something I have never experienced before. It was an incredible experience.
I had a great time after my Camino.....but.....the extra taxi's, trains, and buses did eat into my budget so my credit card got a work out.
If you do have to "pause".....then taking some time to enjoy Spain or Portugal would be good rather than heading home straight away. (If your injury isnt needing treatment though).
You are definitely not alone.....there are plenty of us on the Camino and this forum who have had to re-group and form a new plan due to an injury.
And my Camino was a Autum one.......and I can assure you the grapes ....and blackberries were spectacular!!☺☺
But my body knows best and after so many days rest if it still is no better then I just need to swallow the pill(ha!) and go home. I can try to return in the autumn and who knows what wonders await me then?
Hi JillHi Kate, well if you do decide to go home now, hoping to return later in the year, I’ll be in Astorga the evening of 7 November, on my way to Santiago, and would be happy to meet up for a glass of wine! Jill
Hi Kate, my husband and I "paused" our Camino in Astorga after he developed a clot in his leg. We were disappointed, so stayed there for three days hoping it would resolve and we could continue, but to no avail. Astorga is a beautiful place, the Cathedral is lovely, the ruins of the baths amazing and the town square a lovely place to just sit and watch the world go by. Try to be in the square when the clock strikes, its a lot of fun!! There is also a great open air market mid-week that is interesting. We will definitely go back and continue our walk, but Australia is a long way away so we will be planning for a while, I think! I hope your wonderful memories will sustain you in the interim, as ours have for us.....God bless and Buen Camino!
Dear
Dear Jill
Thanks so much for sharing your experience. I am sitting here in the main square of Astorga, waiting for my painkiller to kick in and really edging myself towards the decision to stop and go home. I always said that if I had an injury I would stop but now I am here I am surprised how hard this is to do.
There are the people who I will never catch up with.
There are the insights and decisions about my life I hoped to have while walking.
And I suppose too there is my ego which wanted to be able to say I did the whole camino in one go.
But my body knows best and after so many days rest if it still is no better then I just need to swallow the pill(ha!) and go home. I can try to return in the autumn and who knows what wonders await me then?
I have read about many people who have to stop before the end but I had no idea it was so hard. My heart and spirit long to get out there again but, it is a case of learning to accept the inevitable.
Thank you everyone! Kate
Hi, Kate.
I've had to come back home yesterday from Nájera, because of a swollen ankle.
It has been hard to do it; I loved walking alone through fields and mountains and seeing the rest of people at the albergue. I really enjoyed even the worst and painful days. The last kms to Nájera were a torture. It's hard to feel that you are not as strong as you thought.
Plus, I was starting to know some of my 'partners', to share things and thoughts with them, and now i will never see them again or, at least, to keep in touch. This train left and it hurts.
I will restart the Camino, maybe next year and I'm pretty sure that I will find a lot of good people and good moments then.
Anyway, I have to be happy with my decission, finally the swollen ankle is caused by an infection so now I'm with antibiotics. Maybe a bug.
Hi Jill
If i am here i will certainly be in touch! But it's so late....I hope to return October. See you in santiago!
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