Day 18 Carrion de Los condes to Sahagun

Got up at 7am and only started walking at 8:30am as we wanted to take it easy after a hard day walking in the rain yesterday. 

Today was also the day we had to carry more water and bring food as its 17.5km till the next town. The extra food and water made a lot of difference to the weight of my pack as I was struggling from the morning onwards. 

Again long stretches of the meseta gravel roads with no shade. Met Kate and Rob from Sydney again today and it was good to catch up with their news. Also bumped into Anka the woman whom I met yesterday and this time it was her who stop to help me look at my blisters. My blister from yesterday on the right side of my heel has bubbled up again and I also now have blisters on the left side of my heel. By noon after walking around 10km those 2 blisters joined and became one so I now have a whole blister on my heel and its painful as every step that I take there is friction. I pop them both at a picnic table along the way and dressed it properly and continued on. There just is no choice to stop.

Made it to the town of Calzadilla de la cueza at around 2pm as I was walking so much slower now with blisters. Had a quick juice and ate my sandwich and decide to go 6km further to Ledigos. The sun was out today and it made it a lot hotter to walk in. Made it to Ledigos at 3:30pm again very slowly but the alberque was really scary and toilets are dirty so I decide to then walk it to the next town of Terradillos de Los Templarios which is only 3km away. But by now the heat and friction has created a new blister on the same heel and when I got into town and was told all the accommodation was full and I had to walk 3km more to the next town's alberque, I decide I have had enough at that stage. I had already walked 26km in total so I don't really want to limp another 3km more and makes the blisters worst. 

I asked the lady to call me a taxi and take me to the next biggest town of Sahagun instead. Skipping 13km of walking for €13. 

Once in Sahagun I picked a quiet pensione, paid €15 for a room with my own bathroom and then limped into the nearest pharmacy for more compeed. Had some simple tapas and a beer and then it's back to my room to warm up and rest up in preparation to walk again tomorrow. 

Planning to do a short 18km stage and praying that my blisters will heal and no new ones will form. Amen.