On the 18th of April 2013, I walked from Uterga to Villatuerte Puente, a distance of about 25 kilometres. Although there were no mountains to climb, there were many never ending hills and the path contained a flourishing field of stones. The walking was grim. Adding to the difficulty of that day’s walk was the noticeable deterioration in my feet. Both feet had developed blisters and walking on the smoothest surface was an exercise in pain control. I bandaged my feet and plastered them in the ointments I had brought with me, but the pain was intense – particularly at the start of the day’s walking. After about an hour, my body became used to the pain of the blisters and the blister pain receded into the background. When I eventually arrived at the albergue in Villatuerte Puente, I could barely stand. I knocked on the closed door and there was no answer. I stood back from the door wondering what I should do. I had very little energy to walk anywhere. I was about to try and find somewhere for a coffee when Simone arrived. Simone operated the albergue and showed me my room, where I fell into exhausted sleep. I roused myself only for the delicious peregrino meal that Simone laid out for me and the other peregrinos who had arrived at the albergue.
By the 18th of April, my body was becoming bruised by the hardship of the long daily walks, but it had not yet become sufficiently toughened by the experience that I was able to shrug off the mounting tiredness I felt.
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I started walking before dawn on Thursday the 18th of April, but there was some light from the Moon. I was not the only peregrino who started walking before daylight.
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This is me while en route to Villatuerte Puente on the 18th of April 2013. My feet were very sore and the ache in my left shoulder was very painful by then. It is now 12 years later, but my shoulder still aches – even without a backpack.
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The Camino route to Villatuerte Puente is filled with stones and long, exhausting hills. I walked through the town visible in the distance. Walking for hours across small stones is hard work, particularly when your feet are bleeding and aching from multiple blisters.
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Stony Camino track, but this time with pretty scenery all around me – 18th of April 2013.
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I was not the only peregrino walking to Villatuerte Puente, but on that April day, the number of peregrinos was much less than when I drew closer to Santiago de Compostella.
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Diary Entry Made on Thursday 18 April 2013 at 4:15 pm
I arrived at Villatuerta Puente at about 1:00 pm today after leaving Uterga in the dark at about 6:45 am. The Brierley book says I covered about 25.1 kilometres today. I had previously calculated the distance as being about 28 kilometres. Otherwise, I would have planned to go further. It was a good thing I got it wrong. When I arrived here, it was all I could do to stand up. It looks as if I averaged about 3.5 kilometres per hour.
There were four big hills today and no outstanding countryside. Much of the Camino today was studded with stones and it required careful navigation.
Distance Walked Today: 25.5 kilometres.
Total Distance Walked So Far: 111.2 kilometres.
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Soul Song Number 5 - Stony Ground
(18 April 2013)
What a hackneyed metaphor this poem uses.
It is all about walking on stony ground,
Walking and walking,
Walking to Villatuarte.
Picking your way carefully over the stones.
It was impossible to avoid them,
So you did the best you could.
One slip and you would damage the only things that mattered,
Your real walking equipment,
Your feet, ankles and legs.
It would be better to bruise a rib than to disable this equipment.
Dawn became very busy while you walked.
Birds tweeted and the sky blossomed with light.
It felt wonderful even if you did have to pick your way through the stones.
Gerlinde had told you that the German for uphill was Die Berg.
There was too much die berg today.
This wasn't like the Pyrenees,
Then you were fresher and you knew what was coming.
This was different.
These die bergs kept sneaking up on you,
They were happy to inflict mountain climbing by stealth.
So you toiled up die berg,
Never daring to imagine that it might ever end.
Every time die berg did come to an end,
It was followed by another die berg.
Die berg and the stones,
They constituted the rhythm of the day.
This was a day for using raw physical power,
You had to use it with every step.
Like all days though,
This day did have an end.
The end of today's stony ground came when you met Simone,
At the front door of her wonderful albergue in Villatuarte Puente.
What a wonderful ending it was.
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This stretch of stony track on the way to Villatuarte Puente was easier to walk on because the surface was smoother.
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