Day 49

Day 49: Bus ride, 33.6 km back to Ponferrada

This post could actually be titled "what I didn't tell you yesterday".

Which is that when I stopped to ice my foot, it was because I couldn't bear weight any longer. And even though I did feel better walking 5 kilometers beyond that, I stopped in Trabadelo because it had a pharmacy, which I wasn't expecting for another 50 kilometers.

And while waiting for the pharmacy to reopen after siesta (just because it says 16:00 doesn't mean the pharmacist will actually be there before 16:30), a man came up to me and asked what hurt.

I had just been praying for God to give the doctor/pharmacist wisdom and understanding when this man appeared. He looked Asian, wanted to speak German, but his English was far better than he gave himself credit for.

"Can I look at your foot?" he asked. "I am doctor."

So right there on the side of the road I received a medical exam.

"Look how swollen. No walking for one week. And go to hospital. You need x-ray. You understand? Walk tomorrow and it fracture, if not already."

By the time I had my shoes back on he had disappeared. Replaced by the pharmacist, who gave me a 20-day supply of Diclofenac for 3 euros.

Which is how I ended up on a bus today to the nearest hospital, back in Ponferrada (remember this town?? Where I took Rowena to the clinic!). It took an embarrassingly short 20 minutes and 2 euros to get there.

Peter told me last night about having to take a cab back 20 kilometers because he forgot his passport at the previous albergue. How humbling it was to make the roundtrip in 30 minutes when he had "slogged" all day to do it on foot.

Humbling indeed! It was ages ago when I came through Ponferrada!!

Long story short, I didn't get an x-ray. But the doctor did say I have an inflamed tendon in my foot. He gave me meds to take 3 times a day. Made me a soft cast from foot to knee. And I have instructions to "be more quiet" (don't walk) for "as long as it takes". Which the nurse says could be days or weeks.

The cab driver who picked me up from the hospital said I needed to stay somewhere nice tonight, to feel better. He drove me to the castle, walked me across the street to a hotel, and told the receptionist to take good care of me.

So here I am, across the street from a castle, figuring out my next steps, which apparently don't involve walking...