Day 6

So this is the end of my rather sorry little tale.  I'll be heading off to the airport in a couple of hours and I'm really hoping to get to Brisbane incident free.  Surely I can manage that.

This morning Beate wheeled me to the Palace Real and as I'm disabled and shes my carer they let us in for free and a lovely man took us a special way and into a 100 year old  lift so we could start wondering around in there. He even told us about a few things along the way the we wouldn't have seen otherwise .   I thought for a minute we might even bump into the king himself.  No that would have been funny.   What a great thing to offer disabled people free entry.  So after or lovely trip around the very beautiful palace we found somwhere for lunch where Beate could sit in the sun and I the shade.  She's German and will soak up any bit of sunshine she can find  unlike myself and we found a table that was perfect.  Then we started the trip back to the hotel and as it's the labour holiday here today there was a street parade too.  All vey exciting.

So I'm all packed and ready to go home and I'll wait and see what happens next.

Adios amigos.

Day 5

We waited for the city bus tour for ages and it was freezing.   We eventually gave up and went back to the hotel where we found out that it wouldn't be on until later today.   Turns out we weren't on the same tour bus as te German pensioners were after all.  So I got some warmer clothes on and we headed out on a sightseeing tour of our with Beate pushing the wheelchair she kindly hired for me. We went to the Madrid Cathedral.   It is beautiful and my photos don't capture it at all.  We lite some candles said our special prayers and headed out .  There was an ITU triathlon on and we watched that for a while hanging around a triathlon brought back some memories.   We saw the Palace too.  Then we headed back to the hotel.  Some of the way back was uphill an Beate had to push like crazy so I used my walking sticks as well to help and we were quite a sight to see.  We had quite a few laughts.  Some of the pavement is cobbled type and evey vibration is felt in my leg so laughter was the best distraction from that.  I  was exhausted though and  we got a about an hours rest before heading back out to finally get our tour bus for a wiz around the city.  It's beautiful and I'll come back some time when one can look around properly. 

At dinner our German pensioners friends all wanted a chat and we shared our adventures of the day with each other.  It was a very lovely evening.

We're heading out for more sightseeing today before I head home tonight on a flight I'm not looking forward to one bit.

Day 4

This morning Bernie and I had a teary farewell and I waved her and Alvira off into a day of nasty weather.  I would have swapped that day in a heart beat if I could.

Istvan collected Beate who is comig with me to Madrid and I and took us to his pension to wait until it was time to go back to the train station in Pamplona.  As we drove away from Burguete we listened to the music of our dear friend Peter Manchon and I surrendered to the tears as I watched the pilgrims walking over some familiar paths that I had so recently envisaged myself on.   How quickly things can change in our lives. 

We arrived at the train station and Beate found a wheelchair and the bar.  Things were looking up.  The platform supervisor scurried up to us saying something about his wheelchair and we realized we probably shouldn't have just taken it.  He was lovely and went about organising assistance for me at both Pamplona and Madrid stations.   It's quite an adventure being hoisted up on a lift onto a train and the service has been fantastic.  The train to Madrid took 3 1/2 hours and I enjoyed sitting and watching the beautiful scenery wiz by.

Our accommodation in Madrid is central, modern and very comfortable.   We had a very nice buffet dinner and there were about 20 older Germans who are on a tour.  They were all gorgeous and wanted to chat.  Most of them spoke very good English and so now it turns out Beate and I are going to be on the same bus tour of the city tomorrow.   I never saw that coming.....walking the Camino suddenly morphed into a bus tour of Madrid with the German pensioners.  Life is just so full of little surprises and I'm wondering what's coming next especially as Beate has organized another wheelchair for the next couple of days. .......oh well here goes.

Some more of day 3

We had another lovely dinner yesterday at Corazon Puro made by my amazing hosts Barbara and Istvan and shared with the new arrivals 2 lovely Americans Chuck and Skip, an American lady and an Australian Scottish guy Hugh.  They were great fun and we had lots of laughs. 
In the morning after breakfast I waved them  off and wished them a Bien Camino.

Istvan then drove me to Burguete to the accommodation where I was going to meet Bernie and Beate.   It was very quiet and there was  nothing to do.  The hotel restaurant and bar was shut and I wanted a coffee.  I tried to head out along the street hoping to find a bar so I could sit in the sun have a coffee and watch the world go by.  Well I didn't get more than 50m and I realised that on cruches and in my condition that was probably a long way.  I'd worked up quite a sweat and I couldn't see anything that looked open so I headed back to my hotel to wait for lunch time.  I was hoping to have lunch in their outside area but it was closed so I had to stay inside.  I felt like a prisoner and wasn't happy being caged indoors when all I wanted to do was sit quietly and watch the world go by.

Eventually Bernie, Beate and another lovely lady Alvira arrived exhausted but excited from their very tough day.  It was an emotional reunion as we all got chance to catch up on the events of each others past couple of days.   Beate has decided to accompany me back to Madrid as it was me she came to see in the first place not to necessarily walk the Camino and I'm very grateful.  Bernie is going to be just fine on  the Camino and I'll look forward to her story.

We all had a lovely dinner together with heaps of laughter.  Bernie even managed to get my trousers off for me which I've been wearing since I left Brisbane because I didn't want anyone to cut them to get them over my leg as they're my favorites.  Now she's just going to have to help me get them back on again.  This could be a challenge.

Day 3

Yesterday was a real mixture of things and emotions.
I was sad to be in the car driving Bernie and Beate to the start in St Jean knowing I wasn't going to be starting with them but I was also happy  to be seeing the beautiful and some familiar scenery wiz by.  It brought back many memories of my previous time here and I thought about all the people I met and spoke to and even clearly remembered how I felt at those familiar places.  Funnily enough where I'm staying is just round the corner from a bar we had a cafe con leche and we would have walked right past this place where I'm staying this last two nights.
It was also a very busy day with hospital and pharmacy things to take care of.  The hospital was so efficient.   It blew me away.
I was very well looked after and quickly too.  A had few moments of panic though when I can see them discussing my xray and I knew straight away things weren't good.  I was very relived when I realized I had momentarily misunderstood my need for surgery and a cast would suffice.   It seemed odd to be happy about that but I was not wanting to have surgery.
Then the pharmacy to get my needles and crutches was hilarious as I could only hop.  I got exhausted with that quite quickly and my host Istvan and a new pilgrim we had just collected from the bus station carried me.  Oh if onlyI had a picture of that.
So there were 4 new pilgrims here last night.   Really lovely people and we had a great night and quite a few laughs.  I felt like I'd known them for ages when I waved them off this morning so they could start their Caminos.
 
Later today Istvan and Barbara  my very amazing hosts will take me to Burguete where I'll find Bern and Beate and find out about their adventures over the last two days.

Day 2. Hospital adventure Camino de Hospidal

Fractured fibula. This little pilgrims coming home😵  I must say a huge thank you to Istvan and Barbara at Pension Curazon Puro.   They are incredible people.  They have made me so welcome and gone above and beyond the call of duty.  I would have been lost without them.  Anyone planning to come to the Camino  Frances definitely check them out.  It'll be a great way to start your pilgrimage and the foods fabulous too.

The Spanish hospital in Pamplona was incredible, so efficient. I was in and out of energency including xrays and plaster cast in under two hours.

I  have to have a needle everyday while the cast is on to prevent  thrombosis.  I've never heard of anyone having to do that before but being as I'm flying it seems like a good idea.  So..the nurse tells me this information,  arrives with syringe.   Gives me my needle and then tells me I have to do that to MYSELF for the next 6 weeks....everyday.  No mucking around with lessons on how to shoot up or crap like that here.  Just suck it up and get on with it.  It's not even an epi type thing.  So tomorrows needle is going to be interesting. 😩  
It's been a very interesting day..

Brisbane - Curazon Puro travel day 1.

Brisbane - Curazon Puro. Travel day

Amazing things happen on the Camino.  All sorts of unexpected things.

Bernie (Bernadette) I got through the airport and onto the plane without a hitch.  Then a couple of hours into the flight I felt unwell and fainted in the toilet.   It's a very small space in there and came round with my ankle all twisted and very painfull.  So we got met on the plane by the paramedics in Dubai who wisked me off to the very well equiped airport medical centre.  So as I didn't want to miss my connections I opted not to get xrayed there.  So they gave me a needle rubbed on some cream bandage me up and wheelchaired me back to the plane.  It's certainly the best way to navigate the airport.

Arrived Madrid airport where my new mode of transport was waiting for me and wisked me away by a very helpful wheelchair operator, after collecting our baggage I got wheeled to immigration where the scan the boarder patrol people do was a problem  when they  swabbed the bandage on my offending limb.  It returned a positive test.  Positive to what I can only imagine but after a couple more security people had a go at  repeating the swab I was passed onto the Guarda Civil. (Police ).   Lot's of questions followed they even wanted to know my parents 1st names...why?!!!!  Anyway I was eventually cleared after lot's of questions to be wheeled out to our flight to Pamplona.  All I can say is it must have been really good cream that the nurse rubbed on in Dubai, I'm very glad I can manage to speak and under stand some Spanish as this could have  (and was a bit) a scarey situation.

Arrived Pamplona met wheelchair again and then we took a Taxi to where we where to meet my dear friend Beate who has come from Germany to share the first couple of weeks walking with Bernie (Bernadette) and I and also the lovely man Istvan who was meeting us to take us to his pension Curazon Puro.  I highly recommend these guys and their service.   They are very helpful and lots of fun. Barbara is a great cook too and made us a fabulous 3 course dinner.   They're going to be looking after me for a couple of days and will get me to medical help after dropping the others that are staying here at St Jean so they can start their journey.  Unfortunately I won't be starting with them and I'll decide what to do after I've seen the medical people today.
Never a dull moment.....