Mileage to date: 134 miles (in 9 days)
Let me tell you why I chose the title for the post. We have been a bit behind schedule even though we have walked for 8-10 hours a day. Yesterday, we decided to go for it and make up the mileage. In 10 hours we walked 31 km (19 miles) to Santo Domingo. There came a time during the day when I was having a lot of pain in my ankle and was going very slowly. My mom was about 30 yards ahead of me and was waving something. As I got closer, I could hear her saying, ¨Cookie, cookie, cookie!¨ She was trying to get me to walk faster by bribing me with a cookie! I yelled out, ¨I don´t want a flippin´cookie! In fact, I don´t even like those cookies!¨ LOL Needless to say, I finally made it over to her. We were in the midst of farmland and there was a shallow cement canal. I took off my boot and soaked my ankle in the icy water. Ahhhh! My left ankle has been swollen and feeling very bruised for the past 3 days. I chalked it up to long days and many miles. With the help of Motrin, everyday I was able to move on. Although yesterday did push my limits. During the last few miles into the town, all I could do was shuffle. I had to stop and wiggle my ankle about every 100 yards. This would help me go a little bit farther. Finally, we reached the abergue!! I was relieved to get off my feet. In my mind, I wondered if I would be able to continue with this kind of pain. At some of the albergues there are volunteers who massage your feet. At the one we arrived at, there was a physical therapist--free of charge!! He had many people wanting his help and I patiently waited. When it was my turn, I explained that I had no blisters or sores, but that my ankle was very sore/bruised and the tips of my toes were numb. Right away he started to poke & twist my ankle. I cringed and yelped at the pain. After a thorough inspection, he said, ¨You have a dangerous injury. It seems to be a problem with your ligaments. If you twist your foot on a rock, you will probably break your ankle. This is something that you don´t want to mess with. I can wrap it, but you need to stay off it for at least 1 day. And you should not carry your backpack for 2 days.¨ I told him that I couldn´t stop and he warned me that if I kept going in this shape, I would severely injure my ankle. He also said that I could just ship my backpack ahead and then I won´t have to carry it.
So, we received special permission to stay in the albergue one more day. Unfortunately, we will have to take a bus to the next city, which is Burgos. I´m disappointed because it will take a few miles off of my total, but I guess it will be worth it in the long run. I must say that it has been nice to rest. I am finishing a book and catching up on the blog. I am also uploading a video and will post some more pics later today.
Overall, we are doing great! Having fun, meeting so many new people and enjoying good food!
I'm telling you now ankle injuries are the worst! be careful!!!
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