I could hear one of my very dear friends (Talani) words echoing in my brain "put on your big girl knickers Duffy, one leg at a time".

And so as I sat on the dusty trail in the middle of the Spanish Meseta with my leg once again throbbing even though I had been the turtle, snail and slug all rolled into one it was time to make a decision.

It was not a decision I wanted to be facing.

Lucy was dancing in the middle of the trail patiently waiting for me, again.

My leg had been great that morning when we set out, but after scaling a small mountain and climbing down the other side it had flared up.

So up I got once again, knowing the next town I would not be walking out of.

The next 6ks were slow, but brightened by bumping into our friends Tom and Erin on the way (team USA). The town itself was creepy as all sin, pop. 50 and declining. It was remote and clearly an old set from Dawn of the Dead. How the fuck am I going to get a taxi.... Or words to that effect crossed my mind.

As Camino magic had it there was a lady at the bar who already had ordered a taxi to the next town and said we could split. Now given this situation of 6 people in the cafe (my team being 4 of them), being miles from anywhere I took this as a sign and thanked her. Brilliant, I don't even have to order the cab in broken Spanish, someone else has done it....magic. The weather was packing in so Lucy jumped in with us and off we went covering 13ks in 20 mins vs my usual 2-3 hours.

The reason getting a cab was such a hefty decision is that it means I have surrendered my right to an additional certificate that states I not only completed Camino, but I completed it all by foot. This is my big girl panties decision, and I've had to put my foot first. I've wrestled internally with this one, to the point it's been written quite clearly on my face!

So, 24 hours later and I'm sitting on a bus to get a train to Leon. I'm going to take 3 or 4 days of rest and hopefully continue on from there. Lucy has decided to stick with me, amigos till the end.

It's about 100ks not walked, and that is ok. In fact that's life (as an adult I think?), new information comes in and each day and we have to make decisions to the best of our ability based on the information we have.

The struggle for me can be taking the emotion out of it, and understanding that there are no wrong decisions. Who knows really. What I do know is there are only ever 2 things I can control in life: my attitude and my actions. That it is. The rest I need to let go, hand over or give it up... Call it what you like.

So as I sit on the train 3 things stand out for reflection:
1) buses and trains go really FAST when your top speed in last 2 weeks has been around 5-6ks per hour.
2) big girl knickers when worn correctly are quite comfy indeed.
3) we all need amigos.