Preparing for the pilgrimage to Santiago De Compostela - 2 Final reflections before leaving. Finding the perfect walking shoe The plan was to buy my shoes 8 weeks before the off and gently wear them in over the ensuing weeks, whilst increasing the distance I was walking. 3 weeks before leaving I would start wearing the back pack and gradually increase the load until I was carrying the full weight. The final week would be a time for walking and relaxing and following my natural body rhythm to help build up strength before I left. The reality was completely different. I have an ankle problem from an accident 3 years ago and finding shoes that didn't cause me problems became a nightmare, I went to Alicante, Valencia and even Madrid in pursuit of the perfect walking boot or shoe, all without success . I bought a total of 5 pairs only to be told by the podologist or the physio that they wouldn't suit my foot. Then came the blisters About 4 weeks ago I tried to break in a pair that after only 2 kilometres rubbed blisters, I then covered up the wounds with the special blister plasters and carried on walking in an old pair of shoes. This philosophy of keep going proved to be my downfall and after 8 days I found that my foot wouldn't fit in my shoes and the open wounds were in a dreadful state. A trip to the Podologist confirmed my fears and I was to stop wearing shoes until they healed which proved to be 3 weeks.	Now I understand the look on his face. Blisters!
	Barefoot on the beach Undaunted I started walking barefoot on the beach at Denia, those of you who have walked in sand know just how hard this is and by day 3 I had to take the day off as I was unable to walk with badly aching muscles. A quick recap of my training methods found me walking on the hard sand by the shoreline and after some days I could finally go in the sea. However, whilst maintaining some form of training I was unable to try on or buy shoes. Walking out of time The podologist was having a special instep made to help me overcome my problems, I had to dash to Benidorm to take the template so that it would reduce the waiting time. When they finally came back they didn't fit the shoes I had and there was not enough time to alter them, it was also pointless adapting them to fit to a pair of shoes that I wouldn't be wearing and with the blisters still in evidence no chance of buying the shoes for a few more days.

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Tadeusz Sieracki Javea 2001-2003 (unless otherwise stated) - All rights reserved - Do not copy without permission