Crippled on the Camino

Yeah. I do not know what happened. One day I was waltzing along, cheering for my healing blisters and strong legs. The next day, I could barely walk. Porcupines of pain were brawling up into my torso. And it keeps getting worse.I know some people do this pilgrimmage for penitence....I didn´t realize I had this kind of karma coming to me. I must have run over a nun with a dump truck in my past life. It is kind of scary to be walking alone and come over a crest of this almost flat land, and to see the horizon so far away. Just the path, and pain, and no village in sight. But, I am tough, and have made it to where I am, which is more a mind-set than a geographic location. I have decided to let go of the mania with which people approach Santiago. I need to take a break, be a normal tourist for a bit, and maybe continue walking in a little while. I might get X-rayed (although I have realized I have a pretty acute phobia of hospitals after those 4 days in the Nicaraguan military hospital). I think the best medicine will be rest, and some space from this overzealous stream of pilgrims. I am so tired of advice about how to continue walking. I have yet to hear someone say the smart thing, which is "Take a break!" So, I am exiting the flow of bodies towards Santiago, and leaving part of Spain untraversed. I plan on going to Leon. Thrilling to me, there is a huge festival today in honor of Farming Tools and Heavy Machinery. I am in heaven just looking, and I am dreaming of hitching a ride on a bulldozer or a steamroller.....oh,how I drool over industry. Ok, enough for now. There are packs of drunk pilgrims, slobbering and staring at my back, waiting to use this computer. Amor-Nina