Katniss Needs Nipguards (Day 4)
Today’s walk wasn’t too extreme as far as terrain went but I did get my first sustained dose of Spanish sun. My review: the sun is hot. To this the Spanish would say, “sin mierda peregrino” (no shit pilgrim). We were walking beside the rolling fields outside of Pamplona and it was nice to be back in the quiet countryside. Except that I felt like I was being baked like a biscuit. I have a great long sleeve merino wool lightweight shirt that I wore to ward off the sun (along with my super cool hat) but there are a couple of problems with it. Problem one, when i put my backpack on it pulls the shirt tight and it becomes a true bodysuit type look. Remember the suit Katniss had in the final Hunger Games movies? It’s like that. If you didn’t see the Hunger Games movies then neither did I (and I’m firmly Team Peeta - Gale didn’t deserve her). So this not only looks kind of ridiculous but it also leads to problem two. With all the bouncing of the pack and the 6 hours of walking it begins to chafe the nipples. I’m sure that you’re first response to this is, “you should put some of that foot balm stuff that Michele gave you on your nipples, that’ll help”. That was my first response as well. So when I stopped at the halfway point I did. Not such a great idea. In this land of miracles a new one was born; the heavily bearded, lactating pilgrim. Saint Glenn The Leaky.
Because it’s a Vaseline type balm it didn’t just dry and disappear either. I was rocking the dark nip stains all the way to the end. What’s worse is that it didn’t work. I came to realize that I, and probably Katniss when she was fighting The Capital, need Nipguards. It’s what saves me from this pain when I run at home and it’s what I needed now. When I finished the hike I went out to find some. I went to a sporting goods store but struck out. I then went to the Pharmacia and searched and searched. The staff there were all female and kept trying to help me but they had very limited English. I started to pantomime what I needed and quickly realized that was going to get super awkward super quick. Band Aids it is.
Aside from this the walk went well. I only have a few photos but you’ll get the idea of the terrain. The town I’m in is small and comfortable and this is being typed on a bench in a cobblestone street. I’m enjoying the quiet and a cool breeze. But my nipples are still on fire.
There was a pretty good hill on this one and the descent was pretty hairy.
You know you’re on the Camino when the dentist has a side gig as a foot doctor
