Camino Day7 – Chris

Hi folks… losing track of the days here… it´s Monday, so that would make it day 7?  Yes… day seven.

Stayed at a nice little Austrian hostel two nights ago… think the town was called El Corton?  My memory is really bad for town names these days… lots of character, and delicious German blond beers… barely made it to the place, I was hobbling so bad.

Woke up with intentions of taking the local bus to the next big city, about 20km away… from there, I was going to look for new footwear, and generally take it easy… let the blisters heal a bit.  The masses in my dorm room started stirring early as usual, and so I figured I would stay out of their way for a bit, let the place clear, before getting out of bed.  Some time later, I went to retreive my laundry that I had left on the line the night before, and stopped to pick up my boots on the way back.  They weren´t where I had left them!  I searched the whole premises to no avail.  When the albergue was almost empty, there were only two sets of boots left on the rack; one pair that looked nothing like mine, and one that kinda looked like mine… light brown Keen´s, with a blue insole, size 42… only problem is… they weren´t MY boots!

Now, when people start out in the morning, it´s usually still dark; outside and inside… they don´t turn on many lights as to not disturb the slumber of weiry pilgrims… I´m thinking mine were taken by what  I have to believe, was an honest mistake… but what was I to do?  I had a bus to catch, and a camino to walk, and you kinda need hiking boots for the latter… so in the end, I got me a new(?) pair of boots… they are probably about the same age as my old ones, and despite being the same size, they seem to have a tiny bit more room in the toes… just what my aching pinky-toe(s) need!

I put the word out that my boots had been taken (by mistake), and I´m sure that by dawn´s early light, my fellow pilgrim MUST have realized his mistake, but who can be sure?  Perhaps I´ll run into my boots (and the fella that´s in them) at some point down the road, at which time, we´ll have to take stock of the situation… but I´m actually hoping it doesn´t come to that… I walked relatively pain free today, and I´d hate to give them up!

Any thoughts from anyone on what I should/could have done or should do?

Christina and I hope that our ramblings on this site are enjoyed by all, they cost a small fortune to produce when you consider it costs a euro for every twenty minutes, and I type a helluva lot slower than I walk…

Until next time,

Chris