Day Three: our first casualty

Thursday, we left at 6:10 AM and were so much more organized than previously, it was ridiculous.  The streets of Barcelos were empty and the Camino went through the center of town.  It was very cool.

Exiting the city,  we were quickly in the countryside.  Another gorgeous early morning moving through farms, woods, and tiny towns.  The forecast was for scorching weather, so the plan was simple: cover as much ground as possible before it got crazy hot.

Soon, it became evident that we had a problem.  Julia not only had blisters, but a probable case of tendinitis in her right knee.  Other pilgrims passing us shared stories, and Michelle got on line and researched it.  Tendinitis is the most common Camino related injury after blisters.  The remedy is rest-days of it.  This was clearly a big problem.

Julia wanted to slog on, so we emptied a lot of the weight out of her backpack, and carried  it ourselves.  Lesson for everyone reading this: never take an ounce more than you need.  Even little items add up.  My pack weighed six and a half kilos at the airport, but on the road you're carrying water and food.  You feel it on your shoulders, joints, and feet.

Our pace was snail like. The heat was oppressive.  We still took cool pictures, but it was apparent that this situation was untenable.  Eating a lunch of odds and ends from our backpacks (linguica, cheese, peanut butter, chocolate covered almonds...) In the shade of an olive tree, we made a decision: Julia needed to return to civilization, or we were never going to make it to Santiago.

We called a friend in Spain, Sol, who we were planning to visit in three days and asked if we could send Julia on a bus.  Sol said she was visiting her mom in Goian, a little town on the Portuguese border and could come after lunch to retrieve our injured pilgrim.

We walked to a little town and waited.  Michelle photographed the map out of our guidebook and texted it to Sol.  Sitting in a bar, we gorged ourselves on bottled water, soda and ice cream.  It still took a long time.

Waiting in the shade for Sol

Sol came and took Julia back to Spain.  Michelle and I walked three more kilometers to a beautiful Quinta right on the Camino.  Built from the ruins of thirteenth and sixteenth century houses, the place is beautiful.  The owner is a retired Dutch businessman who restored the place himself.  Dinner and breakfast are included for 30 Euros per person.  There are farm animals and fresh fruit.  The owner cooks for you. 

There were only two other guests, a German and an Irish businessman. They were a lot of fun to talk to.  Both were walking the Camino. We all had dinner in the main house with our host. The food was marvelous and the local wine (from a bottle with no label) flowed.  I kept thinking of all those horror movies where the couple seeks refuge from the rain in the castle and they have dinner with Count Dracula. I think I was tired...

Tomorrow is supposed to be hotter than today. The plan is to leave at six AM and push ourselves to reach our destination before 1 PM. The one complication is the 400 meter mountain we have to traverse.  I'll let you know how it turns out. (Unfortunately, as perfect as this place has been, the WiFi isn't working.)