Day 8: Grounded!

The fourth toe on my right foot is red and shiny at the bottom, and white at the top. It's also enlarged and very painful. And I feel a bit sick (and not just when I look at the toe!)

As such, 8.30 this morning saw me present myself to the doctors' surgery considerately situated just a few mins from my bed. The very efficient secretaries took my EHIC card and address and I was ushered through to a doctor immediately. He agreed that antibiotics were needed, and also a day off from walking.

Nothing to pay, no problem, come back first thing tomorrow so the nurse can strap you up before you walk on. The nurse also popped a few other blisters while she was at it - unlike St John's these guys clearly believe in the therapeutic benefits of a well-popped blister.

I can't imagine a foreign walker in the UK would get such prompt, efficient attention. Hurrah for the EU and socialist medicine! 

An enforced rest day sadly means goodbye to my Irish walking buddies (who have been great fun) but hello to a lazy and sunny day in a pretty old town. 

I'm hoping that 24 hours of penicillin will put me back on my feet (literally), and that I will gradually make up the distance. Have to say the rest of me is not complaining at all about a day off and as I am already installed in a v nice hotel I see little reason to move. Kindle, snoozing and refuelling are now the major aims for the day.

On that theme, one of the cardinal features of the Camino is that it reduces everything down to such a small number of basic variables: where can I get food, where can I get water, where am I going to sleep tonight. (How much pain am I in is - we joke - the only other variable). 

Walk, eat, sleep, repeat. People do this for all kinds of reasons, and have all kinds of different experiences, but at the heart of it, it's just this very simple goal of moving forward every day which is surprisingly addictive. 

I find myself very grateful for IB-enforced Spanish lessons. Two beers please is manageable with sign language the world over, but when you need to talk to a doctor or to understand multiple options then even the relatively poor Spanish I have has been hugely helpful. (Note to self: try to learn at least some German before tackling the Danube).

In other news: just discovered one reason for the hazy glow on my photos is a protective piece of cellophane over the camera on my phone. So, with apologies to Anna, life may look crisper from now on!