Quite a lot happened since my last post. We walked some more 150km, stayed in on cheap hostel, 2 camping sites, saw some paths, walked some more, saw some more paths and during all of that I somehow managed to get so many blisters and bruises that I could hardly walk anymore.

They were not just blisters, they were like little monsters that grew and seemed to become more and more by the minute. Not only did they give me a hard time, but they also decided to stay, not minding the blister plasters I put on, foot cream I treated them with or desperate attempts to destroy them.

After overstretching my ankle when I slipped whilst crossing a little brook (yeah, my own fault), with a hurting knee, hurting feet and hurting arms (that were badly sunburned), I felt a little like a cripple. After 3 or 4 days I decided that it’s enough for me at this stage. I definitely experienced my personal limits there and that’s a big part of what I wanted to achieve.
Right now, I’m just a little sad that I had to give up so soon. I sure could have walked a few more days, but what difference would it have made (besides that my feet would have been even more screwed up now)?

Well, after saying good-bye to Philippe at a motorway station, I decided to hitch-hike the rest of the way to Portugal. That went relatively good till about 100km before Madrid, where I had to stay overnight (camping in a cornfield next to a motorway CAN actually be fun!). After not getting a ride for a couple of hours the next day, I decided to just hitch-hike to Madrid.

And: I actually managed to extend my dislike for Madrid. It’s really hard to find something good about this boiling concrete city-hell. To build on top of the unbearable heat, they decided to build a tropical garden in the middle of the main train station, so you could not only feel the heat, but also the moisture of the rain forest. Woohooo! Congratulations!
After waiting for 7 hours, I could finally escape in an air-conditioned night train to Lisbon. The sheer slowness of the train (9 hours from Madrid to Lisbon!) didn’t matter the least bit to me. It was quiet, well conditioned, I could soothe my feet and sleep relatively comfortable. Nice :)

Some 3 hours later I arrived in Porto where I was most hospitably welcomed by my Portuguese friends. This is where I am right now, no need to mention that we have a great time! I’m planing to visit some friends in north Spain and then fly back to Germany at 7 July. Perhaps I’ll throw a little party for my birthday 2 days later, who knows?

Cheers & kudos to all of you
Burgi