How To Walk

The one day of rain I was walking on cobbles in Portugal.  I was taking baby steps and still slipping and catching myself with my pole.  I was going carefully up hill when I saw an old woman carrying an umbrella in one hand and a bag in the other coming down hill without any problem.  She was walking with a rolling gate.  I tried to copy it.  Knees slightly bowed out, rolling from side to side with each step and I had no more slipping. 

Today was dry, but there were several steep descents.  I tried the old lady rolling stride again and it worked again.

The best walking surface so far has been the boardwalk on the first few days by the beach.  It flexes just little as you step and it doesn't wear on you like pavement.  Next is the forest walking.  Third is the Portuguese stone pavement.  Kind of like this, but with smaller gaps between the stones.

The stones are unevenly cut or set so you aren't putting pressure on the same spots with every step.  If you take a couple dozen chopsticks, cut them in half, scatter them in a confined space like a bathroom and walk across them in your boots you might get the feeling.  The stones aren't so uneven that you'll twist an ankle, just uneven enough to be surprisingly gentle on your feet.

My feet were discussed at lunch today.  The two Italians and two Spaniards who stayed in the same albergue in Mos with me had plenty of opinions.  My silk liner socks got some of the blame.  I was told that silicon was better, my boots were too small, and I'm not letting my feet air enough all in sign language and a few words of English.  The Italian women did have some foot cream that did seem to help one spot.

Lunch was a bocodillo, a ham and cheese sandwich.  I finally filled a page in my pilgrim passport, so it is included, too.

I'm in a large albergue outside of Pontrevedra.  It was much nicer with a small group of people last night in Mos.

Next task is finding the store.  Tomorrow is Sunday and most things are going to be closed.