After a long night with no sleep, both Jenny & I decide that we will need an extra day to complete errands & get rest before setting off to climb Alto del Perdon, which means "The Hill of Forgiveness"
At this point we've learned that anything which merits enough attention to receive a special name deserves respect & preparation. Because of this, many have decided to stay over and spend more time in Pamplona. It is not possible to stay a second night in the albergue because they must make room for the new pilgrims arriving each day. We begin pairing up and searching for a nice, inexpensive pensione. By sharing we can split the 30-40 euro price and keep the cost much lower.
Allison (Ninja) from LA and a new friend, Belinda (Thumbelina) from Melbourne, Australia, decide to head out, as does Klaus (Rocket Man), so we say goodbyes and then set off for the pharmacia.
Strange new things are happening with my body. Under each of my arms I have developed a bright red circular rash the size of a softball. It hurts to the touch or anytime I move my arms in any fashion & stings when I sweat. The only time it doesn't hurt is when I am laying naked & flat of my back with my arms over my head...which is never.
I also have a recurring rash on my feet, ankles, & lower calves that seems to be climbing. While this one is nothing new for me, it has taken a much stronger hold than ever before. I know it will improve with time because it always does, but it looks awful & people get truly concerned when they see it. I have approximately 65+ people each day who want to lend me cream to help it. Because we are a group who cares for one another's ailments, this is a constant source of angst for many of my fellow pilgrims.
It turns out that the pharmacist we select is not only a very sweet woman & most helpful, but the wife of one of our fellow peregrino's. He has been on the Camino for two weeks and she misses him. Mostly because she is working full time and has two young daughters at home and he is normally with the children. She is a very pretty woman, but Jenny & I agree that she does look tired and he should get home.
She carefully inspects my rashes and retrieves three tubes of cream from the back room. She shares with me what to do with the rashes and then shows me ibuprofen gel and tells me to rub it on my feet & legs each night. This stuff is simply pure magic. She also hands me a small plastic box full of the second most amazing pilgrim product there is. It is called Compeed, and it's made by Johnson & Johnson. Thick gel bandages to place over your blisters. These things adhere to your skin tightly for days preventing any kind of infection & cushioning your sore blister to relieve pain. My question is why didn't I know they existed? Can it be that they are readily available in the US and I've just missed it? Further investigation on this is needed. Pilgrims at rest can often be seen making Compeed trades. It goes much like trading baseball cards but is based on size & shape. It sounds a bit like this, "I'll trade you one large heal oval, for two small toe tear drops"..."Hmmm, but I really need a medium side foot oval. Can you spare one of those?" This can go on for long periods of time.
This first time I saw this very serious negotiating process taking place between 4 adults, I began to laugh uncontrollably. It reminds me of the days when my kids had Pokemon cards. But I had no blisters then....it's much different now. Now I understand completely.
After the pharmacia, it's off to the outdoor store for new poles, and as a bonus, Jenny convinces me to buy a much smaller & lighter sleeping sack. This will enable me to send mine away with the rest of my excess supplies this afternoon, making loads of space in my pack. Considering that it's been too warm for me to even get inside my giant but lovely Kelty 0 degree goose down sleeping bag....it seems like the right thing to do. While in the store, aptly named Caminotecha, the clerk tells us that we can send things ahead to Santiago and a man there will hold it for up to 60 days for a small fee. This is great news considering that I just spent 113 Euro replacing things I already had, that and posting things back to the states is very expensive. She is kind enough to give me free walking tips for my new poles as well.
We stop off for post cards & stamps and then check into our pensione. It's not the nicest spot but will do. We set about with hand washing in a tiny sink & get everything hung up and then head out for the post office. I am able to send two very large boxes weighing 3 kilos each to Santiago. It feels so nice to let it all go!
We decide to be relaxed the rest of the day, sitting in the square and writing our post cards while we sip wine and eat Paella in the sun. After an hour the sky suddenly changes & a storm moves in with heavy rain. We are so sad because all of our clean clothing will now be soaked.
On the way back in the rain, we duck in shops along the way to stay dry and to gather the food we need. At one point the rain is too heavy so we sit in a coffee bar and drink molten chocolate. We are in agreement that this is the most decadent hot chocolate we've ever had. The demi spoon literally stands straight up in the thick pudding like drink.
When we finally make it back to the Pensione, we find that Rosa, the owner, has gathered our laundry & hung each piece ever so carefully inside her conservatory. We are so relieved & touched that we have tears when she tells us. This tiny woman, who wears a house coat at all times and pats us on the back of our hands to show her affection, is our absolute hero.
The pensione is now bustling with pilgrims & I head into our room to get off my feet & write in my journal. After about ten minutes, Jenny appears with a new face. His name is Olaf, he is from Germany & he is a beautiful martial arts trainer/physical therapist who is beginning his walk tomorrow from Pamplona. He asks if he can buy us a bottle of wine and hear of our experiences so far. (I know this sounds very strange but these things happen all the time on the Camino) I am in bed already but I can tell Jenny is interested so I agree to sip a little wine, as long as I don't have to leave the comfort of my bed. Olaf speaks no English & I can now speak 5 words in German...I figure this means the won't be much required on my part.
It all starts off well, they are chatting and I am in my bed writing in my journal & making the walking plan for the following day. As the night carries on, Olaf is not showing any signs of leaving & is only getting more animated in his conversation. Then, for some reason, he decides he needs to include me and we stumble through an additional 30 minutes of broken conversation with Jenny translating. When Jenny & I had both had more than enough and were only wanting to sleep, Olaf grabbed one of Jenny's trekking poles and began to fling it around martial arts style to show his skills. At this point we literally scolded him like a child and sent him to his bed.
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