Unto Us a Child Is Born! (Friday 9-16-2016)
Camino de SantiagoFamily
(Lorca to Villamayor)
It’s the day we’ve been waiting for! Calvin James was born this morning in Rota, Spain, to happy but tired parents Chris and Krystle. He weighed 8 pounds 4 ounces and is 22 inches long. Calvin has so much long dark hair the doc they could braid it!
Meanwhile, back on the Camino, you haven’t missed the posts. There haven’t been any posts. I am incapacitated by extreme fatigue, a deep heel blister (suggestions for relief welcome), poor internet and, at the moment, a very small 12-bed dorm room. It is after ten, so that means the lights are out. I and the two young men in the top bunks to my right are propped up with our devices glowing. Three people are snoring gently. It is way too much trouble to access any photos. Once I get up here I am not coming down until morning. Actually, the structure of this bed is such that there isn’t much to grab onto to hoist myself up the ladder. As I paused to ponder on my way up tonight, a kind young Iranian-Brit came and offered his hand and strength. “Take your time, slowly, slowly,” he said. I must look decrepit.
I certainly feel decrepit. I had to walk in my sandals today, to keep the heel pain bearable. My two pairs of walking shoes are crammed into my backpack. Since one shoe weighs as much as my pair of sandals, I have added to my weight considerably. My shoulders hurt pretty much all the time, but it’s hardly noticeable now with the pain of the heel blister. We definitely must be nuts.
In other news, the pilgrim meal this evening at the only bar in town was incredible! We had three choices to select from for the first course; I chose gazpacho, fresh and cold and garlicky. The main course was roast chicken, perfectly seasoned, with a small salad and boring looking but amazingly delicious potatoes sliced thin and layered with big flakes of salt. Dessert was creme caramel, which is usually pretty bland, but this one came piled with whipped cream and drizzled with chocolate sauce. Local red wine rounded out the meal.
The young men have turned off their devices. Morning comes too soon, and Maurice will crack the whip. Buenas noches.
10 Comments
Your new grandson is very handsome. I know you can’t wait to hold him and get some loving.
I’m so sorry about the hill blister I hope it gets well soon, however I know most people to not recommend sandals for hiking back in my more fit days that is all I used for hiking. My Birkenstock, my Tevia, or a pair of sandals made in Isreal that I don’t remember the brand. So don’t be discouraged your heel will heal and you are getting tougher each day. I admire your fortitude.
Thank you for the encouragement, Janice, when what I really want to do is stop and take a nap! The blister is a bit better every day, and the sandals have been most suitable.
Congratulations! What a blessing. You can tell your grandson that you walked 500 miles just to see him. Could you mail your excess stuff to Chris to lighten your load?
We will tell him that. Maybe we’ll will him a backpack too. Yes, we can mail things to Chris, and probably will, as sson as we can figure out exactly what. Today I am trying one of each pair of shoes.
Congratulations Jan and Maurice! He is beautiful! We are praying for your feet, for healing, and for patience for both of you!
Thanks, Laurie. And thanks for taking time out of your vacation to give blister advice. It’s a bit better every day. Maybe you should start a camino from Canterbury!
Hey Jan and Maurice
Congratulations on the birth of another grandchild!
Jan, do you have mole skin?
A product like soft felt that is sticky on one side.
The idea is to cut openings where the hurting place is and build up the area around it. If you know what it is, you’re probably laughing at my explanation… And saying been there done that…
Good to read your post. I’ve been wondering and praying.
Psalm 62:5-6 Hang tough! Love you guys!
Thanks, Michele! Yes I do, plus I have the infamous Compeed. I’m going to try my shoes today.
Congratulations on the new grandson! He’s beautiful. After Pamplona, I sprained my ankle walking down the hill from the windmills. It hurt the entire rest of the camino and my only form of relief was 600 mg of IBUprofen (ibuprofeno in Spanish) from the farmacia every few hours plus several glasses of wine. Probably not the safest combination, but it was the only thing that made the pain tolerable. 🙂 If the blister pain gets too terrible, I recommend at least taking the IBUprofen.
That was quite a walk down from the windmills. Thanks for the Spanish “ibuprofeno” hint. The acetominophen substitute didn’t do much for me today, but that may be because when we finally stopped I discovered another blister sort of on top of the almost healed one. I was thinking today that this heel may hurt for the entire rest of the Camino.