Yesterday I walked in pretty serious discomfort most of the day. My ankle had been hurting off and on for quite a while. In the night it crossed the line to unbearable. Well, I lived through it, so I guess it was not unbearable. But I bitterly regretted turning down the codeine that a fellow traveler had offered as I crawled across the floor to avoid screaming on my way to the toilet.
In the morning, the staff at the Albergue arranged for a taxi to a health center in the nearby town which would return in an hour to bring me back. I have just enough Spanish to say "My ankle hurts a lot". The staff at the health center did not speak English, but made a copy of my passport, got my address, and told me the doctor would call me soon, which he did almost immediately. A brief inspection and our combined language skills produced "You have a distended internal ligament. STOP walking! No less than five days. Take ibuprofen 3 times a day. It will get better each day. No you do not need arch supports. Just rest take ibuprofen and stop walking.
Within an hour I was back at the Albergue where they agreed to let me stay, transferred me to a private room and said I could pay with a credit card. This last was important as these little towns do not have cash machines and I am not carrying that much cash on me. While I was waiting for the room to be ready, a grandmotherly woman came by to check on me and offered me a hug and chocolate.
Most of the rest of day 17 I spent in bed. Much the same has happened today, day 18. My ankle is much better, with just enough pain to assure me that more healing remains. The one thing I regret about this place is that Internet is only available in the public spaces. But I have divided today between doing blog posts and sleeping. And having some conversations with fellow pilgrims. If I did not have word from a doctor I would have set out today. But I would probably have been in pain again before long.
I'm extremely grateful for a good place to stay and patient and caring people to stay with. I'll have to take a bus over some part of the route to finish on schedule but I will make that decision later.
In the morning, the staff at the Albergue arranged for a taxi to a health center in the nearby town which would return in an hour to bring me back. I have just enough Spanish to say "My ankle hurts a lot". The staff at the health center did not speak English, but made a copy of my passport, got my address, and told me the doctor would call me soon, which he did almost immediately. A brief inspection and our combined language skills produced "You have a distended internal ligament. STOP walking! No less than five days. Take ibuprofen 3 times a day. It will get better each day. No you do not need arch supports. Just rest take ibuprofen and stop walking.
Within an hour I was back at the Albergue where they agreed to let me stay, transferred me to a private room and said I could pay with a credit card. This last was important as these little towns do not have cash machines and I am not carrying that much cash on me. While I was waiting for the room to be ready, a grandmotherly woman came by to check on me and offered me a hug and chocolate.
Most of the rest of day 17 I spent in bed. Much the same has happened today, day 18. My ankle is much better, with just enough pain to assure me that more healing remains. The one thing I regret about this place is that Internet is only available in the public spaces. But I have divided today between doing blog posts and sleeping. And having some conversations with fellow pilgrims. If I did not have word from a doctor I would have set out today. But I would probably have been in pain again before long.
I'm extremely grateful for a good place to stay and patient and caring people to stay with. I'll have to take a bus over some part of the route to finish on schedule but I will make that decision later.
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