Tuy / Day 5

When I get up my blister has filled up with liquid again and my ankle is still red and swollen.

waiting...

I decide to skip the next 15km and go to Valença by bus. Uschi agrees to join me because she too has quite a few blisters. As it is a Saturday, there is only one bus. We decide to walk to the market and have a coffee, then we'll take a taxi from there. The owner is nice enough to call one for us. I forget my walking stick (again!) but Uschi sprints back to the market to get it for me. I am indeed very thankful for that, because without my stick I couldn't walk even just 1km.

The ride takes about 20 minutes and costs 23 Euros. The driver drops us off at a pharmacy in Valença. It is 8:30 and it's still closed. Uschi and I exchange phone numbers and I promise her to keep her updated. Then we say good bye for the time being.

When the pharmacy opens at nine I go in and ask for some bandages and blister pads and show them my foot. They tell me to go to the hospital in Tuy because they suspect an infection.

... between Portugal and Spain

International Bridge

I hubble through the old town until I reach the "International Bridge". It crosses the Rio Miño - the border between Portugal and Spain. I suddenly feel much better knowing that I am about to cross the border on foot. And even though I "cheated" today it fills me with pride to have come this far. I really hope I can walk again tomorrow.

Entering Tuy, I follow the sign pointing me in the direction of the tourist information rather than the (now less frequently) yellow arrows. I am sure I'm on the right way because there are huge scallop tiles on the ground. The old town of Tuy is very nice. I hope I'll have the energy to walk around later.

I find the tourist information and ask for the hospital, which conveniently is just around the corner. It is actually just a community health center and I'm shocked by its appearance on the outside. But the nurses are really nice and there is a young doctor who speaks English. They suck the fluids out of my blister with an injection (thank god they didn't cut it open!!) and put on a special ointment before bandaging it. Then the doctor prescribes me antibiotics which I have to take 3x a day for a week. Great - no more vino tinto for me on this Camino. I thank them sincerly and hobble towards the square. The albergue opens at 1 PM so I have about an hour and a half to kill.

I am a little bummed out about all this and decide to sit down in a café to call home and tell the news. Suddenly I hear music and turn around. It's a folklore procession! I hang up and promise to call back later. They play the bagpipes and drums and walk around the square where I sit. The music softens as they walk past me into the opposite direction. A few minutes later I'm startled again by a loud bang behind me. I turn around and see that the group has assembled in a semi-circle just in front of the café where I sit. They start to sing and dance. This is great! I take loads of pictures and videos and take in the positive energy they all seem to radiate.

Later I check into the albergue and am glad to see that there's only one more bed occupied in my room... maybe I'll get a good nights sleep. Wouldn't hurt.

After washing my clothes and a short nap I decide to grab a small bite to eat. Down on the square I run into Egon and am most happy to see him. I thought that after losing Sandra and Thomi yesterday and Uschi today I wouldn't see any familiar face around. We enjoy the afternoon sitting in the café talking. After a while Egon wants to go back to the official albergue (huh?!? I didn't find that one...) to take a shower and we agree on having dinner together later. I go back to my albergue and decide to update my journal and relax my foot.

Egon and I have dinner at a different café - it's not very good. But it's food and we're hungry so we eat it anyway... After all, we're pilgrims! We sit and talk for a while and wafe to the two Belgian brothers who pass us by. Egon is not the only familiar face after all.

When I return to the albergue later that evening I can't believe my ears. The only roommate I have snores like a 500kg wild boar. ... great.

Once again I am very glad that I brought ear plugs..


Distance covered: 15km by taxi, 4km on foot