Have you encountered accidents on the Camino?

[Peregrinopaul]

I was posting on another thread about my trepidation about descents - on a bike in my case. I was reminded of an incident in 2014 when we passed a group of Italian bicigrinos on the descent from Cruz de Ferro. One had misjudged a corner and ended up in a ditch with broken bones. We were just leaving the Bar Movil, before Manjarin, when a medevac helicopter landed, blowing shade umbrellas, plastic tables and chairs all over the place. I hope he was insured.

 

[cathal Ferris]

I was posting on another thread about my trepidation about descents - on a bike in my case. I was reminded of an incident in 2014 when we passed a group of Italian bicigrinos on the descent from Cruz de Ferro. One had misjudged a corner and ended up in a ditch with broken bones. We were just leaving the Bar Movil, before Manjarin, when a medevac helicopter landed, blowing shade umbrellas, plastic tables and chairs all over the place. I hope he was insured.

Coming down the Roncesvalles side of the Pyrenees on the Napo Route 2014 young chap walking fell and cut his thigh after slipping on grey clay covering the rocks on the descent when he went into hospital he had stitches and was kept in over night due to severe dehydration it pays to have your insurance.

 

[JohnLloyd]

Not quite an accident, but certainly an alarming medical moment, and in a rather significant location too.

Keep Your Head Up

The significance of this experience is beginning to challenge my ability to keep up with it – physically, spiritually and literarily. This morning’s post covered the events of a memorab…

johnelsewhere.blog

 

[Saint Mike II]

About health and accident insurance, more than a few EU pilgrims have attempted to rely upon the EU reciprecal arrangements only to find that Spain does not always honour the agreements. Some year ago a senior politician (our Australian Foreign Minister) made the comment that " if you cannot afford the travel insurance then you cannot afford to travel" . He was speaking after a 3rd or 4th young Australian travelling O/S without insurance needed to be medi-vaced back to Aust and the families demand that the Australian Govt foot the bill. Best of luck.

 

[JohnLloyd]

I'm in the last days of holding an EHIC.

I'm going to miss that.

 

[cathal Ferris]

I'm in the last days of holding an EHIC.

I'm going to miss that.

Me too i had to go into hospital to have compeed plasters removed over blisters Surgeon told me never use these and dressed the wounds with ordinary mesh and bandage which got me through but the insurance i used was the EHIC card i had with me at least personnel insurance gives you a choice.

 

[Terri B]

September 2016, a young Canadian girl tripped coming down the steep slope outside Ronscenvalles and broke her leg and was eventually carried out once the ambulance found her. Camino over on day 1. It stayed with me the whole Camino, because no matter how bad my day was with blisters and the heat wave, it could have been worse. At least I was still walking.

 

[Melie]

Coming down the Roncesvalles side of the Pyrenees on the Napo Route 2014 young chap walking fell and cut his thigh after slipping on grey clay covering the rocks on the descent when he went into hospital he had stitches and was kept in over night due to severe dehydration it pays to have your insurance.

My first camino was 2015 when the young woman was murdered. Every stop we discussed it seeking updates. The authorities responded quickly and in full force.

 

[Michelle Menhennet]

Not quite an accident, but certainly an alarming medical moment, and in a rather significant location too.

Keep Your Head Up

The significance of this experience is beginning to challenge my ability to keep up with it – physically, spiritually and literarily. This morning’s post covered the events of a memorab…

johnelsewhere.blog

I do love your writing, John. I’ve missed seeing those blog posts in my mailbox and you’ve inspired me to go back and read from the beginning.

 

[Kathor1]

I'm in the last days of holding an EHIC. I'm going to miss that.

@JohnLloyd, I'll put this newly updated link here since you touched on the topic although the thread is about accidents and not about accident cover. There have been some positive changes since 24 December 2020 although it is still a little unclear to me what these changes will involve. This UK gov webpage was updated today: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/uk-residents-visiting-the-eueea-and-switzerland-healthcare

Update 28 Dec 2020 says:
Updated page to reflect that UK-issued European Health Insurance Cards (EHIC) will still be accepted in EU countries, with different guidance for people travelling to Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland from 1 January 2021.

 

[cathal Ferris]

September 2016, a young Canadian girl tripped coming down the steep slope outside Ronscenvalles and broke her leg and was eventually carried out once the ambulance found her. Camino over on day 1. It stayed with me the whole Camino, because no matter how bad my day was with blisters and the heat wave, it could have been worse. At least I was still walking.

Yea that grey mud on the rocks seems to be risky crossing those big rocks on the way down to Roncesvalles makes it even more difficult if you leave late in the day and 300 pilgrims have travelled there prior to you coming down that was in april can only imagine what it was like in September. Have you ever kept in touch with anyone on the camino. I met quite a few kept intouch with some but lost touch shortly after coming home.

 

[tpmchugh]

Saw a woman going too fast on the trail down to Acebo. Lost her footing and used her face as her brake. I moved on as there were enough people arond her helping her. Met her that night in the albergue. She was laughing at herself and telling everyone how she had used her face as a brake. Boy was she a mess but still smiling. Of course, as some on here may know, I was my own accident. Fell backwards into a freezing cold river and passed out when the icy water hit the back of my neck. If a lovely young girl from Ohio had not been there to jump in to get behind me and hold me up till others pulled me out, I may not have been writing this now. But I still smiled for a photo before those who had stopped to help walked on and I stopped at first albergue

 

[Peter Fransiscus]

My first camino was 2015 when the young woman was murdered. Every stop we discussed it seeking updates. The authorities responded quickly and in full force.

This is a thread about accidents and not murder.
Just saying.

 

[VNwalking]

No, but I was an accident for others to witness. I was cruising along at a good clip near the reservoir after Logroño when I took a very hard full that was so sudden and fast that I didn't even have time put my arms out. I went down like a tree falling, and the first thing that hit the ground was my left cheekbone. The three other people I was walking with at the time we're incredibly kind, helping me up and helping to patch me up. I looked like I'd been in a fight for a coupke of weeks, and that cheekbone hurt for two months afterwards. You never know when your next step won't happen. Or why.

Edit~ I suspect I just scuffed my foot, and was going so fast that the momentum took me down. But I could have just as easily momentarily caught the loop of the shoelace on the lacehook of the opposite shoe. It's scary when that happens!

 

[TaijiPilgrim]

Witness to two incidents in 2015. My friend fell on the sharp rocky section of the Camino Frances climbing out of Atapuerca and landed face first. She tried to clean herself off as she continued, but she did look a mess. The guardia civil passed her and offered to take her to hospital, but she refused. When we reached an albergue outside of Burgos, the owner - a camino angel- insisted on taking her to the hospital. She had fractured her nose and required some stitching.
Continuing across the meseta, we reached Leon. The albergue had rooms of 2 bunks (so 4 beds) with their own washroom facilities. Early in the morning the woman below me got up. I heard her go into the bathroom and then heard a thud, as if she'd fallen. I called out, but no answer. Then I heard her turn the shower on so I thought all was well. After the water stopped, I heard the door open, and the woman called out "I think I've broken my arm!" and crumpled to the floor. Needless to say, the rest of us sprang to her aid. Clearly she needed a doctor, so my friend - who had fallen days before - went with her to the hospital as her camino angel. The woman had indeed broken her arm badly and had to end her camino.

 

[Marbe2]

I have seen several on the CF.
A Young woman was going down the steeper descent to Roncevalles (obviously- so were we ) but they were going down rather quickly and only using one hiking stick. We saw her twist her ankle badly. She was able to eventually hobble down. The next day, we passed her and her partner on the trail. Her ankle was very swollen and wrapped and they were waiting for transport. We never saw them again. I doubt without several days of recovery, at minimum, they were able to continue.

Another time,I saw a biker clip a man with his bike leaving OCebriero. The older man had a head wound but was conscious....others were attending to him.

My sister has taken two spills. One coming down the road (thankfully ) not the path from Alto de Erro...she lost consciousnesses for a few seconds and hit the car rail at the bone above her left eye. She was bleeding a lot. I immediately got out a bandage and applied pressure. Luckily a car stopped right away! And a gentleman named “Jesus” and his mother, “ Marta” got out and drove us to the local clinic. It turned out to be closed. With the pressure to the wound right away the bleeding was much slower by then. These Camino Angels drove us the rest of the way to where we were staying in Larrasoana. I used peroxide to clean out the wound and put a butterfly on it. Just so happens that later two English nurses arrived and were staying at the same albergue and they checked her over as well. Next day we took a cab to Pamplona. She was dehydrated and needed some potassium as well. After an additional day resting, we went on without further issues.

Two years earlier, we went to visit the Cathedral in Astorga, it was poorly lit where these stairs were located. My sister was climbing the cement steps, and missed the last, top step and fell flat on the cement. Without time to brace the fall, she splattered down on her right cheek bone. Amazingly, she got up, and she eventually had only a black eye.

Another time, an older man was hit by a bike before we got to
Puente de la Rabe, Zubiri. He was awake, but could not walk and needed assistance. Cyclist disappeared.

 

[JohnLloyd]

I do love your writing, John. I’ve missed seeing those blog posts in my mailbox and you’ve inspired me to go back and read from the beginning.

Aw, thanks for that. The Camino provides us with unbeatable material!

The whole thing is wrapped up in an eBook now, shown in my signature here.

 

[Annette london]

I'm in the last days of holding an EHIC.

I'm going to miss that.

I think that it may still be valid from what I read somewhere
Even then, we always have full medical/travel insurance
Our EHIC are dated until the end of 2022
I don't have a link but sending a screenshot of what I've seen

 

[Annette london]

Yea that grey mud on the rocks seems to be risky crossing those big rocks on the way down to Roncesvalles makes it even more difficult if you leave late in the day and 300 pilgrims have travelled there prior to you coming down that was in april can only imagine what it was like in September. Have you ever kept in touch with anyone on the camino. I met quite a few kept intouch with some but lost touch shortly after coming home.

Each time we've entered Roncessvelles, we've always walked on the easier, tarmac path/ small road .....lstill a lovely walk down....and well marked
We had heard that more than a few pilgrims had come a cropper on the stony, steep path
Also walking on Tarmac has the advantage of being able to look at the lovely scenery and fields instead of wondering and waiting for a trip/slip/fall

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

I have seen several on the CF.

@Marbe2 please keep us updated on your next camino with a Live from the Camino thread so the rest of us can stay safely behind you.

 

[Marbe2]

@Marbe2 please keep us updated on your next camino with a Live from the Camino thread so the rest of us can stay safely behind you.

We are the snails...first to leave but most pass us before we arrive. We stop about every 5km, if we can... You will likely find Us somewhere along the trail....

 

[Kiwi-family]

My 8yo daughter was so happy to see the albergue at O’Cebreiro she ran to sit on the bench outside it - but she tripped and “hurt” her arm. The next day - a Sunday - we walked on to Triacastela. When she was still complaining on Monday morning that it was sore we waited for the Medical Centre to open before intending to walk on. The doc advised we go to Sarria for an X-ray, which confirmed a fracture - and so we then took a bus to the hospital in Lugo to have it set in plaster.
My husband’s accident didn’t seem too accidental - the farm dog that sunk teeth into hubby’s juicy calf seemed most intentional about it!

 

[Sherpa47]

I was posting on another thread about my trepidation about descents - on a bike in my case. I was reminded of an incident in 2014 when we passed a group of Italian bicigrinos on the descent from Cruz de Ferro. One had misjudged a corner and ended up in a ditch with broken bones. We were just leaving the Bar Movil, before Manjarin, when a medevac helicopter landed, blowing shade umbrellas, plastic tables and chairs all over the place. I hope he was insured.

In 2008 walking the path just after Sahagun I turned to speak to a Camino friend who asked a question I walked straight into the corner of a huge roadsign. I split my face open above and below my right eye and across my nose. Of coursebb be I should have been looking where I was going but in fairness the sign extended across the footpath and was too low. It knocked me for six and dropped to the floor in pain..... but my guardian angel was with me for a few metres behind were two ladies who were nurses. They looked after me, tended my wounds and got me back on the Camino. I will never forget them.

 

[JohnLloyd]

I think that it may still be valid from what I read somewhere
Even then, we always have full medical/travel insurance
Our EHIC are dated until the end of 2022
I don't have a link but sending a screenshot of what I've seen

Ah, that’s good news.

 

[DoughnutANZ]

First day out of SJPdP, at the very steep part where the off-road track rejoins the tarmac. I saw a young cyclist, obviously determined to ride his bike every metre of the way, somersault backwards when his front wheel hit a big bump.

He had lots of companions with him, giving him aid and so I walked on.

 

[mspath]

Not all accidents end badly; at Hospital de Orbigo after falling flat on my face I met my first unforgetable camino angels.

November 1, 2004, after crossing the long medieval bridge over the river Orbigo I entered the town of Hospital de Órbigo. Attempting to photograph the parish church I lost my footing and fell head first onto the irregular pavement! My pack crashed into my right shoulder. Flat on the ground my forehead and shoulder hurt like hell! Gently two pilgrims helped me up. An egg was quickly swelling on my forehead (by day’s end I resembled Cyclopes).

After exiting the Día de todos los Santos mass a kind Spanish couple approached; the man said “Don’t worry, madam, I am a Chevalier de Santiago and will help”. They quickly took me to the regional hospital, where I was told to rest, and see a doctor again the following day.

The couple graciously invited me to lunch at their house. My host explained that the Chevaliers de Santiago are a group of Catholic men, who have been nominated to become members and who pledge to foster the Camino and help all pilgrims. In the Spanish custom lunch lasted at least four hours! Two charming adult sons cut my food while I alternately held ice to my head and tried to eat with my left hand since the right shoulder and arm were extremely painful. Nevertheless, how, lucky I was to be able to move and to have met a family of guardian angels.

Early next morning the Chevalier and the local priest walked into the albergue dorm to see how I was doing! The priest, the Chevalier and his wife accompanied me to the local doctor's office adjacent to the church. When we four entered the examination room, the Chevalier said to the doctor “Another one has fallen!” It seemed that earlier other pilgrims had also stumbled on that same paving where I tripped. Again I ate with the Chevalier and his family.

..Now after all these years I still fondly remember their kindnesses and spontaneous gracious hospitality. It was, indeed, heartfelt camino caritas.

 

[trecile]

Each time we've entered Roncessvelles, we've always walked on the easier, tarmac path/ small road .....lstill a lovely walk down....and well marked
We had heard that more than a few pilgrims had come a cropper on the stony, steep path
Also walking on Tarmac has the advantage of being able to look at the lovely scenery and fields instead of wondering and waiting for a trip/slip/fall

Me too. It's the the staff at the Pilgrims Office has recommended when I've been in there. It seems that they always have a recent story of a pilgrim that had some kind of injury when taking the steep path.

 

[auburnfive]

We took the lovely scenic detour along the small river before Pontevedra. I had just reapplied sunscreen everywhere I could when I tripped over a tree route and landed face first. Fortunately it was into very soft dirt, I wasn’t hurt, but the dirt stuck to the sunscreen, and i was quite a sight til we made it into town.

 

[Terri B]

Have you ever kept in touch with anyone on the camino. I met quite a few kept intouch with some but lost touch shortly after coming home.

I've walked twice so far Cathal and have kept in touch with a couple from each Camino, including the lovely @tpmchugh who commented after you about his own accident on a later Camino.

 

[Saint Mike II]

Me too i had to go into hospital to have compeed plasters removed over blisters Surgeon told me never use these and dressed the wounds with ordinary mesh and bandage which got me through but the insurance i used was the EHIC card i had with me at least personnel insurance gives you a choice.

OUCH. Cathal, you are not the first to be so affected. I have never used "compeed" but feel it should come with some type of warning about how, when and where it can be used. Cheers

 

[witsendwv]

This is a thread about accidents and not murder.
Just saying.

True not an accident, but for those of us who were on our first camino at that time have this etched into our memories. We watched and waited because we did not know at the time if it was an accident or something more sinister. That memory is first and foremost in my mind when I remember that camino.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

OUCH. Cathal, you are not the first to be so affected. I have never used "compeed" but feel it should come with some type of warning about how, when and where it can be used. Cheers

The manufacturer won't do this because sales will be lost. I warn about it though. See

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/search/1375620/?q=compeed&c[users]=Rick+of+Rick+and+Peg&o=relevance

It is good for its intended purpose though, healing open wounds when the bandage won't get ripped off, say by taking off a sock when the edges of the bandage have stuck to the sock.

 

[simply B]

Sunday, 22 October 2017

Careless/heedless by first category and cyclists by second category. (I am careful to separate because most cyclists are respectful of others.)

That stretch from Riego de Ambros down to Molinaseca?

It was not "bicigrinos" but some local bike club decided to take that stretch at full speed, at least 14 people in all. When they weren't blazing down that narrow stretch of rock, mud, and gravel? They were having "bike maintenance clinics" in the middle of the path!

They smashed into a peregrina at the top of the first switchback loop descending after Riego. I was about 50 m behind the pilgrims affected but had waved and yelled caution to the cyclist group.

The emergency number had already been dialed by a member of her group by the time I got there. She was a bit shocky but pulse and pupils were normal. No compound fracture, no blood anywhere. All I could do for the party of six was to indicate loading on jackets until paramedics arrived with a backboard and neck brace.

The whole time that I am working the scene - - the WHOLE time - - Senor "Don't I look great in Spandex?" is checking over his bike!!!!!

I later heard that the peregrina had a severely broken ankle.

B

 

[VNwalking]

@simply B , I rarely respond to posts with an angry emoji, but that story...grrrrrr.

some local bike club decided to take that stretch at full speed, at least 14 people in all.

Idiotic behaviour like this gives cyclists of all stripes a bad reputation, whether they deserve it or not.

The whole time that I am working the scene - - the WHOLE time - - Senor "Don't I look great in Spandex?" is checking over his bike!!!!!

All that said, I do wonder if Sr. Spandex was paying meticulous attention to his bicycle simply as an act of displacement behavior. It would be an acutely uncomfortable experience to cause that kind of harm to someone, to say the least. And what to do? Do you stay out of the way? Help? Crawl under the nearest rock in shame?

 

[Peregrinopaul]

Idiotic behaviour like this gives cyclists of all stripes a bad reputation, whether they deserve it or not.

Unfortunately very true, and it is worth noting that there was a perfectly good bitumen road metres away from where this accident happened. These guys are in it for the certainly dangerous thrill. (But it needs to be said it's their country).
On my early caminos, I never wore the standard cycling clothes, hoping that it distinguished me as a pilgrim-on-a-bike, rather than a cyclist. I eventually adopted the standard gear, primarily in deference to my rear end.
I wonder if when he returned home he said that a pilgrim had damaged his machine?

It is interesting that the accidents recounted in this thread are either personal mishaps or bike-related. So far not involving a vehicle.

 

[Gumba]

Walking into Casrojeriz with my husband and two sons; husband was ahead with one child and I was with the other, taking photos. I tripped and fell falling on my front (hurt my knees but not too bad). The thing is, I was trapped under the weight of my backpack and was unable to get up. I was on the road (at the side) at the time and had to tell my son to wave at any cars that drove by while we waited for my husband to realise what had happened and come and help me up. My poor son was very concerned.... about my phone/camera as the screen had cracked lol. I still use that phone with its two cracks - my camino souvenir! (pack was around 8kgs as we were carrying some gear for the kids - not that heavy but the way it landed really pinned me. Hate to think if I was alone....

 

[Marbe2]

Walking into Casrojeriz with my husband and two sons; husband was ahead with one child and I was with the other, taking photos. I tripped and fell falling on my front (hurt my knees but not too bad). The thing is, I was trapped under the weight of my backpack and was unable to get up. I was on the road (at the side) at the time and had to tell my son to wave at any cars that drove by while we waited for my husband to realise what had happened and come and help me up. My poor son was very concerned.... about my phone/camera as the screen had cracked lol. I still use that phone with its two cracks - my camino souvenir! (pack was around 8kgs as we were carrying some gear for the kids - not that heavy but the way it landed really pinned me. Hate to think if I was alone....

That must have been terrifying....glad it turned out Ok! So did your husband return? Or, someone in a cars stop?Or?

 

[Gumba]

That must have been terrifying....glad it turned out Ok! So did your husband return? Or, someone in a cars stop?Or?

Aw thanks Mabe, no it wasn't terrifying, more bizarre or comical! No cars came by (I was worried they would run me over!) and husband turned when he was about 500m ahead of me so I wasnt there long. I was probably more worried about me son.

 

[VNwalking]

The thing is, I was trapped under the weight of my backpack and was unable to get up.

Oh, yes. This happened to me as well when I fell. My hands were crossed in front of me, still holding my walking poles, and I was completely immobilized. It was both comical and embarrassing. But I was incredibly grateful to have three people to help me extract myself from the tangle of sticks and the pack weighing me down.

 

[RENSHAW]

I was posting on another thread about my trepidation about descents - on a bike in my case. I was reminded of an incident in 2014 when we passed a group of Italian bicigrinos on the descent from Cruz de Ferro. One had misjudged a corner and ended up in a ditch with broken bones. We were just leaving the Bar Movil, before Manjarin, when a medevac helicopter landed, blowing shade umbrellas, plastic tables and chairs all over the place. I hope he was insured.

Firstly , I really do not want yet another argument about Cyclists. I know accidents happen so all I ask is that if you are a cyclist , please use a bell and be vigilant - to traditional pilgrims , if you are playing music on your iPod then you are as much to blame?

On a 'Lighter'note , at the Logróno Parroquial there were two men who within a few seconds, fell out of their top bunk beds. The one broke his arm , the other had a broken nose. They both saw the humour in the incident although I think that there can be some lesson here and straps on the sides of the bunks could perhaps prevent this.

 

[Paladina]

In a cafe in Muxia, I met a young woman who recounted an unfortunate accident that had occurred some days earlier in which she ad been hit by a car while sitting at the roadside removing a stone from her shoe, unable to scramble to safety. She was gracious enough to excuse the driver's failure to stop on the grounds that he probably feared the consequences of his having been speeding around a blind corner of the village. She subsequently limped to the the nearest Albergue whose hospitalera drove her to a medical centre. Luckily, she had sustained no broken bones that might have curtailed her camino, but her back was extensively bruised and was evidently causing her much distress. Incidents involving careless driving are, for obvious reasons, less common than those involving those allegedly manic cyclists.

 

[DoughnutANZ]

On a 'Lighter'note , at the Logróno Parroquial there were two men who within a few seconds, fell out of their top bunk beds. The one broke his arm , the other had a broken nose. They both saw the humour in the incident although I think that there can be some lesson here and straps on the sides of the bunks could perhaps prevent this.

Not Camino related but a travel story in a similar vein. While traveling across Canada from West to East on the trans-Canadian hwy in the early 1980's we spent a night in a Youth Hostel somewhere which also had bunks and a concrete floor.

I was on a bottom bunk and a young German guy was above me. At some ungodly hour I woke up as the guy above me was having a dream and talking in his sleep (well before mobile phones). All of a sudden he yells out something loudly in German and leaps out of bed.

He landed on the concrete floor with a thud that shook the room. He lay there for a while, quietly and I was just about to get out of bed to see if he was okay when he muttered something quietly and climbed back into his bunk.

I lay awake for a while, processing this when I heard snoring from above me and figured he must be okay and went back to sleep myself.

 

[Peter Fransiscus]

True not an accident, but for those of us who were on our first camino at that time have this etched into our memories. We watched and waited because we did not know at the time if it was an accident or something more sinister. That memory is first and foremost in my mind when I remember that camino.

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/the-shells-for-denise-are-beginning-their-last-journey.55126/

I was walking there aswel , so I know the feeling.

 

[wayfarer]

About health and accident insurance, more than a few EU pilgrims have attempted to rely upon the EU reciprocal arrangements only to find that Spain does not always honour the agreements.

I don't understand this statement Mike, if you are an EU pilgrim you will be covered by your E111 card and if you have Health and/or Travel insurance you are covered anyway. Where did you get that Spain does not honour these agreements?

 

[linkster]

I confess I was an accident on the Camino. It was my first Camino in 2017. We went as a family + 1 to walk from Sarria to SdC, and then vacation on the coast. It was the end of the first day. We were at a little tienda just before Portomarín. We stopped for something to drink. My wife and youngest son headed out ahead of us. My oldest son, his girlfriend, and I sat for a bit and started jogging to catch up to them. When we started down hill, my son's girlfriend drifted into me, and checked me. I tumbled and rolled, and popped back up quickly. She started laughing, and said "are you OK?". We got to the bottom of the hill, and I sat down on a bench, and told them that I had broke my wrist. They did not believe me at first, until they saw the weird bend. We immobilized it with an improvised splint, sling and swathe. There was a woman waiting for her daughter to be dropped off that called a cab for us.

My oldest son and I went to our hotel in Portomarín, and checked. Then, we caught a cab to the hospital in Lugo. There were actually three of us lined up with the same injury (I was the only pilgrim). It was a treat for them to set, and cast it (NOT!). I was never charged for my treatment in the hospital.

That was the end of my first Camino, and I spent the next three weeks in Spain with a cast. They did not set it correctly, so I had to have an open reduction and plate installed when I returned home. A couple of months of rehab, and I went back in the fall by myself, and walked from SJPD to SdC.

 

[Marbe2]

I confess I was an accident on the Camino. It was my first Camino in 2017. We went as a family + 1 to walk from Sarria to SdC, and then vacation on the coast. It was the end of the first day. We were at a little tienda just before Portomarín. We stopped for something to drink. My wife and youngest son headed out ahead of us. My oldest son, his girlfriend, and I sat for a bit and started jogging to catch up to them. When we started down hill, my son's girlfriend drifted into me, and checked me. I tumbled and rolled, and popped back up quickly. She started laughing, and said "are you OK?". We got to the bottom of the hill, and I sat down on a bench, and told them that I had broke my wrist. They did not believe me at first, until they saw the weird bend. We immobilized it with an improvised splint, sling and swathe. There was a woman waiting for her daughter to be dropped off that called a cab for us.

My oldest son and I went to our hotel in Portomarín, and checked. Then, we caught a cab to the hospital in Lugo. There were actually three of us lined up with the same injury (I was the only pilgrim). It was a treat for them to set, and cast it (NOT!). I was never charged for my treatment in the hospital.

That was the end of my first Camino, and I spent the next three weeks in Spain with a cast. They did not set it correctly, so I had to have an open reduction and plate installed when I returned home. A couple of months of rehab, and I went back in the fall by myself, and walked from SJPD to SdC.

Linkster, sorry that your initial treatment went wrong! Hope that wrist is not a problem anymore.

 

[linkster]

@Marbe2 Thanks. It took a while to achieve my full recovery because I pushed it too hard and too fast during rehab. I should have exercised more patience (pun intended). I think I only lost a couple of degrees in the range of motion.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

I had my own accident in April 2019. I was walking the Rota Vicentina in Portugal prior to my Portuguese camino later in the month.
I was finished walking for the day, dropped off my backpack at the guesthouse I was staying at and headed back out to visit a nearby park. I tripped on an embedded rock and fell face forward on a dirt path, landing on my chest and knees. I was stunned, and heard a crack. My knees were scraped and bleeding. I walked the next day with my pack, thinking I had a pulled chest muscle as I had some pain. I did have trip insurance, but I didn't want to bother going to a clinic to be checked out.
Upon my return home I had a chest xray which showed I had broken two ribs! I thought it ironic my accident had happened after I had arrived at my destination for the day.

 

[Saint Mike II]

I don't understand this statement Mike, if you are an EU pilgrim you will be covered by your E111 card and if you have Health and/or Travel insurance you are covered anyway. Where did you get that Spain does not honour these agreements?

I am not an EU citizen so I will admit to not knowing about the above specifics you quote. I do know that when I needed medical treatment in Salamaca I had to pay (E100). On my 2015 camino I encountered a UK citizen who remarked that the day before he was in hospital ER and despite producing his identity card and health care card he was still charged around E50. They gave him a receipt and told him to claim it back from the UK health system. His remarks were not repeatable.

 

[Paladina]

On my 2015 camino I encountered a UK citizen who remarked that the day before he was in hospital ER and despite producing his identity card and health care card he was still charged around E50. They gave him a receipt and told him to claim it back from the UK health system. His remarks were not repeatable.

In 2017, on the second day of my camino, I broke a front tooth after walking into an unmarked glass door in an albergue. Despite having a valid EHIC card, I was charged for the dental work I received in Santiago, which I did not contest. Far from being aggrieved at the unexpected bill, I was most grateful to the young dentist for her excellent reconstruction, which has remained intact to this day. €60 was a small price to pay for restoring the tooth and my self-respect.

 

[wayfarer]

I am not an EU citizen so I will admit to not knowing about the above specifics you quote. I do know that when I needed medical treatment in Salamaca I had to pay (E100). On my 2015 camino I encountered a UK citizen who remarked that the day before he was in hospital ER and despite producing his identity card and health care card he was still charged around E50. They gave him a receipt and told him to claim it back from the UK health system. His remarks were not repeatable.

The E111 does not give you free treatment, just the same treatment and cost as going to your own doctor, although Spain would be cheaper than going to my own doctor here.

 

[Annette london]

The E111 does not give you free treatment, just the same treatment and cost as going to your own doctor, although Spain would be cheaper than going to my own doctor here.

Hi Wayfarer,
Yes the EHIC card does give free / or whatever a local citizen would pay for treatment in their country .....emergency or necessary medical care
Not private care

I have used this card a few times
Twice in Spain for a mouth abscess and a UTI
Once in Italy for an infected hand
Each time I was also given antibiotics and in one case steroids and was not asked for payment

I understand that Spain and Italy then invoice the NHS for payment for my treatment

Some countries such as Ireland have to pay €50-60 to see a doctor or the same in casualty as well as paying for medication unless there are exemptions

Other countries such as Spain and Italy do not pay to see their GP but do pay for medications
I believe that French and German citizens have to pay something also to see a GP ...and those in Sweden all pay for necessary care ....other countries I'm not sure about

Please Correct me if I'm wrong

Mind you, the word "free" intrigues me ..
Nothing is "free" really
Taxes and national insurance pay for "free"
I actually dislike that word when used in terms of health care

We've never travelled abroad without travel/medical insurance for serious illness or repatriation or whatever might befall us and the one time we could have used it (DVT) ..."himself refused to go to hospital and we just flew home ...he's a lucky man!!!

 

[Kathor1]

In addition to @Annette london's screenshot in the previous post: I deleted an earlier comment that I had posted because I considered it too detailed and too long. I just want to point out that the UK government has an updated webpage (last update on 28 December 2020) with the title Healthcare for UK nationals visiting Spain. This webpage has a link to Find out what an EHIC covers in Spain. Note for example: Some hospitals and health centres ('centros sanitarios') offer both private healthcare (not subsidised, paid in full by the patient) and state-provided care (mainly subsidised). It is up to you to tell them which you want. Any costs you incur for private healthcare are non-refundable and not covered by your EHIC.

Let's look forward. If you live in the UK and plan a visit to Spain in 2021, I recommend that you get your information about healthcare cover that is applicable to your situation from those pages instead of relying on old anecdotes, whether first-hand or hearsay.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

In 2015 on my way up to Alto del Perdon, a Spanish bicyclist going extremely fast in the opposite direction on the rocky downhill, rounded a slight corner and nearly knocked me over. To avoid me he swerved, but crashed on the rocks, falling hard, moaning, not moving or getting up. Thankfully a couple was right behind me who spoke to him in Spanish, took his cell phone out of his pocket and called his wife to come get him. I never heard if he was going to be ok, but it was pretty unnerving seeing him just laying there. Unfortunately it was his own reckless behavior that caused the accident...it could have been avoided.

 

[AlwynWellington]

This is a saga stretching over nearly four months.

I had started from Le Puy-en-Velay in early April 2016 and arrived at Saint-Jean on 1 May. I was match fit and the next day I was at the reception at Roncevaux long before it opened. Two days later I was moving through Pamplona and wondering where to stay that night. A friend had stayed at Cizur Menor a few year before, but it was still early afternoon. At Zariquiegui there was a small group outside the albergue and they began to applaud me as I approached. This decided me to continue on.

The decisive moment occurred at Alto del Perdon. It was now mid afternoon, I had surveyed the countryside and examined the silhouettes and was reading the accommodation listings for Uterga: one albergue with 12 beds. As I read this six pilgrims passed without stopping. Did they know the same?

I started the descent down the loose large rubble gingerly: I was not unused to these conditions. Then, to my left, I spotted a staircase of proportions more suited to a giant: the treads were quite deep and the height of the riser quite daunting. With my poles I tried the first and succeeded. With confidence I tried the second: even better. So now I literally flew down. And passed the six still gingerly coming down.

At Uterga I found two albergue, each with more than 12 beds. Booking in to that on the left, I washed my smalls, had a meal, went to sleep.

The next morning left around daybreak to head to the chapel at Eunate and then towards Lizarra/Estella.

I had not gone long when I felt discomfort in my right hip. And the discomfort was moving around. I struggled on for the rest of the day, arriving at the parochial albergue. A Brazilian hospitalero recommended taking a break: I took a bus and a train for four nights in Barcelona.

On returning to Logrono the parochial hospitalero took me to the hospital where a technician administered a drug prescribed by a doctor; all very friendly. This worked. For a few days.

At Najera I decided to bus forward to Burgos where I stayed at the large municipal albergue near the Cathedral and the next day continued to Tardajos (10 km) and the next to Hontanas (20 km). The next morning I could not stand. The hospitalero arranged for an ambulance: on being seated my emotions were released.

At the hospital one x-ray shot and consideration of my age resulted in a diagnosis of osteoarthritis: go away, rest and take pain killers. I bought some crutches on the way back by taxi and the driver took me to Hotel Centro (the main route to Santiago passes the dining room. For about four days I was getting around old Burgos and enjoying sangria at the Cafe Espana just outside the Plaza Mayor. My hopes of continuing were quickly fading and I decided to go to my London family. The last person I encountered on the way to the bus station was the first person I had met on the day I left Le Puy some seven weeks before.

In London I was privileged to enrol with the NHS: many x-rays gave a diagnosis of NOT osteoarthritis. My feeling had been pulled muscles coming down off Alto del Perdon. Found an osteopath and started day walks along the nearby Thames River. And in late June felt confident enough to go to the source and take a week to walk toward Staines. I finished Thames Path at Woolwich early August, gaining confidence all the while but still not completely right. And I still had three weeks to take-off and home.

I decided to walk to Canterbury Cathedral along the north downs way. On my last day I encountered an imposing stile. Not certain this was a good things to attempt, I prospected for alternatives. There being none I went up and over, and felt marginally better. 100 metres on another stile and no alternatives. And a further 100 metres, the same. Now I didn't look for alternatives: I just went straight at it. And the path meandering through a sylvan glade for several kilometres was traversed at speed.

I returned home without any lingering discomfort. A year later I returned to Lizarra and was in the Cathedral for the pomp and circumstance of All Saints Day and saw dragons in the distance beyond Fisterra.

Since May 2016 I have completed more than 6,000 km both at home and abroad.

And continue to find friends I had not met before. I am sure the kilt I wear helps with that.

Kia kaha, kia māia, kia mana'wa'nui (be strong, confident and patient) and getting going when you can.

PS: In October 2017 I stopped again at Hontanas. At dinner I presented the hospitalero with a small gift to acknowledge the assistance he and his staff had me given some 18 months before.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

A lovely story, Alwyn!

 

[Kanga]

I spent a few days walking with a fellow Australian who later broke her ankle. She was reading her map and not watching ahead, and her foot went into a hole and over she went. She'd walked all the way from Le Puy and was only a few days out from Santiago. I caught up with her sitting forlornly outside the Cathedral, with her leg in plaster. She was pretty upset that she was not eligible for a Compostela as she had not walked into Santiago. I think today the Pilgrims Office would make an exception, but in those days they were very strict.

 

[Geodoc]

Not really an accident that caused injury, but had it turned out bad, I would either be severely injured or dead.

I was walking along a single lane country road (don't recall where, but I believe east of the Cruz de Ferro - I'm sure if I searched my Facebook page I'd find it), when a tractor towing a trailer with two hay bales (the big rolled ones) passed me by.

Just as I was about to cross a small bridge, I heard a loud SNAP followed by yelling. Looking up, I saw both hay bales rolling toward me. On one side of the road was a steep cliff going down. On the other side was a steep cliff going up. I literally had nowhere to go to avoid the hay bales, unless I jumped off the road and down the cliff.

As the bales came rolling toward me, I decided I would try to dodge them, as they were crossing each other as they rolled down the road. Of course, having a pack that weighed 12 kg made quick motion not a sure thing, but I sure was going to try.

Within feet of me, the first bale was stopped by the guard rail on the bridge. The second bale stopped on the side of the bridge.

What made this really scary (other than being attacked by mad killer cow bales) was the fact that just a couple of years prior, my entire family had been in a car when a tree fell on it (a western Hemlock - over 4 feet in diameter - about 1.3 meters thick). Having been the one that took care of them, I certainly didn't want them in the same position.

No hay problema. All's well that ends well. The tree is dead, my family is not. The mad killer cow bales were stopped. Life is good. (but I still harbor a deep distrust of hay bales).

 

[RJM]

Some nasty accidents related here. Good to hear of the recoveries.
A couple instances tell of falling down and being pinned down by the weight of the backpack? Wow. I think that's a good lesson to prospective pilgrims or any pilgrims contemplating pack weight. A good test for pack weight. Put on your pack with all the gear you plan on bringing. Cinch it up like your walking. Lie prone on the ground. Try and get up. If you cannot do so easily probably time to rethink what you plan on carrying and your fitness level as well.

 

[Harland2019]

Slightly highjacking the thread but I did fall down on another walk, the Pennine Way in the UK. I had taken a diversion off the main route due to flooding. I slipped, fell over, and was pinned face down by my rucksack, my right hand was in the loop of my only walking pole but stuck under my body and I couldn't get my hand out. The other hand was stuck under my body and the walking pole. With nobody likely to come to my rescue in the immediate future eventually I managed to extract myself but it did take quite a while, thankfully it was on soft ground so I didn't break anything if I had then I'm not sure what I would have done.

 

[NorthernLight]

I’ve had a few nasty falls ... usually on level ground ... and I found it’s easier to get back up if I unhook my backpack and shrug it off first.

 

[RJM]

I’ve had a few nasty falls ... usually on level ground ... and I found it’s easier to get back up if I unhook my backpack and shrug it off first.

I have had three full blown, hit the earth hard falls on my Camino's. Two consisted of slippery ground, lost footing and a controlled fall to the ground with a bit of a drop and roll, letting the pack take the impact. Got dirty and muddy, bit sore but no injuries. The first one I got up wearing the pack and later wondered why. The second one I slid the pack off and got up.
The third time was a full blown face first fall on a small muddy incline in that park/reservoir on the way out of Logrono. Happened so quick, but broke the fall with my hands. Hit the ground on my right knee and left hand taking most of the impact. Immediately knew that I did indeed hit the ground hard and feared serious injury. There was not another pilgrim anywhere around. I slowly got up walked over to a place to sit and evaluated my injuries. Full movement, no fractures but sure did hurt. Nearby was a water fountain so I got out my small towel and cleaned off with the cold water and at that time knew I had two bad sprains and a bloody knee. By the end of the day both swelled up a lot. Didn't keep me from walking, but took a couple of weeks to heal completely. I took a couple of 325mg aspirin everyday for pain.

 

[David61]

Some nasty accidents related here. Good to hear of the recoveries.
A couple instances tell of falling down and being pinned down by the weight of the backpack? Wow. I think that's a good lesson to prospective pilgrims or any pilgrims contemplating pack weight. A good test for pack weight. Put on your pack with all the gear you plan on bringing. Cinch it up like your walking. Lie prone on the ground. Try and get up. If you cannot do so easily probably time to rethink what you plan on carrying and your fitness level as well.

If you cannot stand up with your pack on you have a problem but a solution is unclip pack roll over and let it fall off. Thank you

 

[Adelina]

My first night in an Albergue in Astorga, a kiwi recounted how he had never heard of the Camino until his friend invited him to come along. On the first day from St. Jean, the friend fell and broke his leg and had to be evacuated by helicopter, and could not continue the walk. He decided to continue to walk and found the camino to be an extraordinary experience, though he had never even thought about it until his friend invited him to walk!

 

[Patrice Reed]

I had to use the hospital in Leon, it was very inexpensive for Doc, treatment, meds etc...like $225.00 dollars.

 

[DebR]

No, but I was an accident for others to witness. I was cruising along at a good clip near the reservoir after Logroño when I took a very hard full that was so sudden and fast that I didn't even have time put my arms out. I went down like a tree falling, and the first thing that hit the ground was my left cheekbone. The three other people I was walking with at the time we're incredibly kind, helping me up and helping to patch me up. I looked like I'd been in a fight for a coupke of weeks, and that cheekbone hurt for two months afterwards. You never know when your next step won't happen. Or why.

Edit~ I suspect I just scuffed my foot, and was going so fast that the momentum took me down. But I could have just as easily momentarily caught the loop of the shoelace on the lacehook of the opposite shoe. It's scary when that happens!

I had a really similar accident in the same area; turned out my pole’s flared tip had hooked itself around a half-buried water hose that ran right across the path: I went over face first, with my loaded pack providing added momentum. I was fine other than a big bump on my forehead and a slightly black eye most of the way to SDC. It was my fourth Camino: what surprised me most was that no one stopped...one guy literally stepped over me and kept going.

 

[Rozenn]

Not quite an accident, but certainly an alarming medical moment, and in a rather significant location too.

Keep Your Head Up

The significance of this experience is beginning to challenge my ability to keep up with it – physically, spiritually and literarily. This morning’s post covered the events of a memorab…

johnelsewhere.blog

I remember it so well ... quite a gloomy place anyway! Rozanna ( Rozenn!)

 

[VNwalking]

what surprised me most was that no one stopped...one guy literally stepped over me and kept going.

Seriously!??
I have no words. Except I'm sorry that happened to you.

 

[JohnLloyd]

I remember it so well ... quite a gloomy place anyway! Rozanna ( Rozenn!)

Amending that now! I have no idea where I got that other spelling from either!

 

[Albertagirl]

what surprised me most was that no one stopped...one guy literally stepped over me and kept going.

Something similar happened to me at the end of my first camino. I was in Finesterre and crossing the main road from the harbour. I lifted one foot to step up onto the sidewalk and the toe of my boot caught on the curb, as I had not lifted my foot high enough. I went forward and landed on my face. As I was lying there, evaluating my condition prior to attempting to arise, a young woman passed close by me, paying no attention to my body on the sidewalk. Eventually, I crawled to my feet, totally uninjured. What went through my mind after that was that I was surprised by the height of the curb, which was much higher than I was accustomed to. I reflected that curbs in Spain are not at a standard height, as in Canada, where they are cement and all the same in different cities and regions. This curb was decorative, put together of brick paving. Ever since, I have been extremely aware of the variety of roadside curbing in Spain, much of it decorative and also much in a state of deterioration. I was lucky not to be injured and I have walked in Spain in a higher degree of awareness ever since.

 

[howardd5]

Some years ago , I was just starting the three long days to Finisterre after reaching Santiago. I was with a charming German woman when a woman on a bicycle came up behind and passed us going west . Within seconds we heard a scream and a crash . We had entered a cutting where the banks of the trail rose 3 meters on each side and a sapling from the top of the bank had flopped over and hung like a Lance into the walkway . The girl on the bike ,wearing sun glasses , but facing the suns glare , had run into the "lance" that struck her square in the chest(right between her boobs) knocking her off the bike and giving her a nice cut on her sternum . We ran up to her and rolled her over to see blood all over her shirt and her unable to breathe . She had the wind knocked out of her . We got a bandage on her chest and her ruined bra off her . She was an American who had finished her Camino but rented a bike in Santiago to ride to Finisterre . Fortunately we were only a couple kilometers out of town and got her & the rented bike back to town . It sure could have been worse , face , breast ,or throat could have been very bad . I tried to remove the tree from the ground but had no real tools , it had hit other people as to was limbless but sharp. I had just enough cord to tie up against the bank ,more or less out of the way .

 

[rappahannock_rev]

I had to use the hospital in Leon, it was very inexpensive for Doc, treatment, meds etc...like $225.00 dollars.

Ditto. In Sept 2015 I fell crossing a busy street in downtown Virgin del Camino and broke my right hand rather badly. I was immediately ambulanced to the Leon Hospital. There I was triaged, operated upon by English-speaking doctors, bandaged, given a prescription for pain pills, and then ushered out the door -- all within 3-4 hours. The hospital would not take a penny from me that day. It later billed me at my USA home, and after my travel insurance paid it's bit, I was out-of-pocket only $200. The treatment quality was quite possibly the best I've ever experienced anywhere. (Oh - and I carried on all the way to SdeC, in an enormous blue sling.. Ultreia!)

 

[Peregrinopaul]

Some years ago , I was just starting the three long days to Finisterre after reaching Santiago. I was with a charming German woman when a woman on a bicycle came up behind and passed us going west . Within seconds we heard a scream and a crash . We had entered a cutting where the banks of the trail rose 3 meters on each side and a sapling from the top of the bank had flopped over and hung like a Lance into the walkway . The girl on the bike ,wearing sun glasses , but facing the suns glare , had run into the "lance" that struck her square in the chest(right between her boobs) knocking her off the bike and giving her a nice cut on her sternum . We ran up to her and rolled her over to see blood all over her shirt and her unable to breathe . She had the wind knocked out of her . We got a bandage on her chest and her ruined bra off her . She was an American who had finished her Camino but rented a bike in Santiago to ride to Finisterre . Fortunately we were only a couple kilometers out of town and got her & the rented bike back to town . It sure could have been worse , face , breast ,or throat could have been very bad . I tried to remove the tree from the ground but had no real tools , it had hit other people as to was limbless but sharp. I had just enough cord to tie up against the bank ,more or less out of the way .

That, for obvious reasons is to me a very scary story. I don’t like to contemplate how much worse it could have been.

 

[longwayhome]

I do love your writing, John. I’ve missed seeing those blog posts in my mailbox and you’ve inspired me to go back and read from the beginning.

Not quite an accident, but certainly an alarming medical moment, and in a rather significant location too.

Keep Your Head Up

The significance of this experience is beginning to challenge my ability to keep up with it – physically, spiritually and literarily. This morning’s post covered the events of a memorab…

johnelsewhere.blog

Not quite an accident, but certainly an alarming medical moment, and in a rather significant location too.

Keep Your Head Up

The significance of this experience is beginning to challenge my ability to keep up with it – physically, spiritually and literarily. This morning’s post covered the events of a memorab…

johnelsewhere.blog

I just read your blog post and was literally just a few minutes ahead of you . I met Dublin Debbie and Rozanne that day at San Juan de Ortegas - I took a selfie of the three of us which Rozenn is using as her profile pic. I likely nearly tripped over you too. It seems amazing we were all there at once...

 

[Robo]

Hit by a bike on the decent into Zubiri.
I was fine.
The cyclist ended up in a barbed wire fence.
Justice was done

 

[JohnLloyd]

A little way beyond Torres del Rio, I came across a few more towers.

 

[RJM]

In addition to my instances of clumsily tumbling to the earth while walking the Camino I also witnessed a lone peregrina badly twist her ankle on broken pavement. She was walking ahead of me. Quickly helped her off the Camino and to a bench. Yes, a badly sprained ankle. About ten more kilometres to the town she wanted to stay in so I carried her pack for her. She insisted on going on. Fortunately the pack was small and light. Strapped it to the front. She got medical attention at the town and did end up making it to SDC later.
Saw an older male pilgrim pass out, fell into his wife's arms. Warm sunny day just outside of Pamplona. Ran over and took him and got his pack off and into the shade. A few other pilgrims ran over too and we got him hydrated and going again. His pack was very heavy. Too heavy IMO.
Prospective pilgrims....know your limitations. Pack and walk wisely and carefully. Keep alert and aware of surroundings. Hydrate. Don't stare at devices or wear earphones with music playing while walking. It could literally get you killed.

 

[Former member 91017]

Day 2, out of Roncesvalles, only about 500 meters out... I saw the branch in front of me and the pilgrims up front could not be bothered to stop and pick it up or even kick it out of the way. Heading toward it there was little I could do as the trail was crowded and moving at pace. It ended up pointed directly toward my boot, got caught in my laces and down I went, full, hard onto my knees. Both were skinned and I suspect that the impact is what caused the pain that built over days to the point that each downhill step into Hontanas brought a massive tear jumping from each eye!

I think that in the moment when I righted myself I kept going only because I did not know what else to do, but also because it was clear that the other pilgrims were not going to stop to help me and that I was at risk of being trampled. A few stumbled over me in the half-light (I am taking a generous view here).

At that particular moment I rather thought that pilgrims were a selfish lot who sucked quite a bit.

Thankfully I had more profound experiences of deeper pilgrim kindness later on that walk, and have on 2 walks since, especially on my 2019 Portugués met extremely kind and generous people.

I wonder if post-COV those crowded starting points will be worse, or will have have calmed significantly... I don't mind the numbers and realize the economy needs them. I just hope the collective will cool its jets a bit.

 

[VNwalking]

I just hope the collective will cool its jets a bit.

Yes. These stories of people being stepped over while they try to right themselves after a hard fall are shocking to me. Have we become so selfish or myopic that we can't even pause for a few moments to render aid? It's pathetic.

As you say, Faye, there is kindness out there too. And if I ever see someone doing the walk-on-by act, they're going to get an earful. Sometimes silence turning a bljnd eye aren't appropriate responses.

 

[Kanga]

I've fallen over numerous times while on camino - and even on the way there. Once I did a spectacular face plant directly in front of the Prado in Madrid. Missed seeing a step down to a lower level of the footpath. Another time a big fall on a steep slope with slippery cobblestones. Another was a fall as I slipped in treacherous mud - again a face plant.

Each time people have immediately stopped and tried to help. Bruises and scrapes but no permanent damage to anything except my dignity.

One friend was reading her map book while walking and put her foot into a hole and came down. She knew immediately she was in trouble (it turned out to be a badly broken ankle). She was by herself at the time and could not get any of the passing pilgrims to understand she needed help. She managed to drag herself to a house, and hammered on the door, but the person inside just kept pointing towards the village. Eventually some English speaking pilgrims came to her aid and an ambulance was summoned. She was, I think, rather surprised that it took so much effort to get people to understand it was serious.

Not so, for my second friend, my walking companion who was ahead of me that day. She caught her foot and fell over a tree root in the eucalyptus forrest just before Santiago airport. She seriously damaged her elbow but she got help nearly straight away, I think because she was screaming in agony. That works!

 

[gayeh]

I've fallen over numerous times while on camino - and even on the way there. Once I did a spectacular face plant directly in front of the Prado in Madrid. Missed seeing a step down to a lower level of the footpath. Another time a big fall on a steep slope with slippery cobblestones. Another was a fall as I slipped in treacherous mud - again a face plant.

Each time people have immediately stopped and tried to help. Bruises and scrapes but no permanent damage to anything except my dignity.

One friend was reading her map book while walking and put her foot into a hole and came down. She knew immediately she was in trouble (it turned out to be a badly broken ankle). She was by herself at the time and could not get any of the passing pilgrims to understand she needed help. She managed to drag herself to a house, and hammered on the door, but the person inside just kept pointing towards the village. Eventually some English speaking pilgrims came to her aid and an ambulance was summoned. She was, I think, rather surprised that it took so much effort to get people to understand it was serious.

Not so, for my second friend, my walking companion who was ahead of me that day. She caught her foot and fell over a tree root in the eucalyptus forrest just before Santiago airport. She seriously damaged her elbow but she got help nearly straight away, I think because she was screaming in agony. That works!

Yikes. The reality of what can and does happen. Mishaps. Talk about the need to fully present as much as possible. Thanks for the reality check ... good to contemplate as a newbie Kanga!

 

[Harland2019]

It reminds me of some advice I received as I started to walk the 630 mile South West Coast Path in England. A guy stopped me and told me that a number of people die each year when continuing to walk and take photos and slip over the cliff edge so his good advice to me was - stop first!

 

[RJM]

This thread is a good reminder that when wearing a backpack your center of balance changes completely. Add in tired legs, various surfaces from improved roadways to slippery, muddy trails, elevation changes etc and you have a recipe for a fall. Light packs, trekking poles, fitness can all help prevent a bad fall from occurring and for goodness sake don't walk while distracted by some silly device and such.

 

[VNwalking]

A guy stopped me and told me that a number of people die each year when continuing to walk and take photos and slip over the cliff edge so his good advice to me was - stop first!

Yeah.
How many of us walk and take photos at the same time? It's really dumb, but I bet we've all done it at one point or another - whether from inner pressure, or simply trying to keep up with others.

This thread is a good reminder that when wearing a backpack your center of balance changes completely.

I took several of embarrassing but harmless backwards slides (over the course of years) before I figured this out. Going downhill, whatever you do don't stiffen and lean backwards. Swiss friends taught me to drop into bent knees and hips, keeping the center of gravity over the legs - leaning neither backwards nor too far forwards. Think skiing. It makes a huge difference to one's stability with a pack.

 

[cathal Ferris]

Ah No during my time the help i have had with blisters from two French Canadian doctors in Roncesvalles two broken toes and blisters from a Chinese gentleman in Burgos also witnessed a guy going down Pyrenees slipping on that grey mud over the rocks on the Napoleon route into Roncesvalles that he suffered dehydration and deep cut too the thigh and was kept in for two days hospital treatment i walked with his amigo for a while. Don't forget the guy on the French Camino on the wheel chair in 2014 i remember multiple nationalities helping tow him along over deep mud with a rope but consider the previous threads on her where there is plenty of support also remember the girl that went missing a few years back and how we used buddy systems for individuals travelling that route to ensure companionship and safety in numbers never heard of any pilgrims refusing Keep it positive and the advice above is all good Buen Camino

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Oh my, 84 replies of various injuries on the camino! I've only had one injury that I recall. On my last camino in 2019, I tripped over an embedded rock on the Portuguese route and was immediately thrown forward in a chest plant. Ironically I had already dropped off my backpack for the day. I had a few deep scrapes on my knee, and had some pain in my chest thinking I had pulled a muscle. Soreness persisted but I carried on for the remainder of the trip. After arriving back home I was encouraged to see my GP. An x-ray was taken and I had fractured a rib. They are slow to heal, but in another two weeks all was well.

 

[gayeh]

Yeah.
How many of us walk and take photos at the same time? It's really dumb, but I bet we've all done it at one point or another - whether from inner pressure, or simply trying to keep up with others.


I took several of embarrassing but harmless backwards slides (over the course of years) before I figured this out. Going downhill, whatever you do don't stiffen and lean backwards. Swiss friends taught me to drop into bent knees and hips, keeping the center of gravity over the legs - leaning neither backwards nor too far forwards. Think skiing. It makes a huge difference to one's stability with a pack.

Thank you for the tip! I was wondering about that with practice walking and my load! Keep 'em comin'!

 

[Jamieb]

My mom fell in SJpdP the night before we were supposed to start walking -slipped down the stairs in the Albergue. Got to experience an ambulance ride thru the French countryside & a French hospital - nobody spoke English and we didn't speak French - fun times She had a laceration to her upper right arm that required 5 sutures and ended up having a hand fracture which we didn't realize until a week later. Day 2 she took a taxi to Orisson while I walked the route and met her there. After that we had her bag shipped to our next destinations. About Day 5 she woke up and her hand was so swollen, arm was starting to swell, couldn't really grip her pole so she decided to return back to Texas to be treated. She got home and found out her hand was fractured.

I am not sure what kind of travelers insurance she had but the people at the French hospital took copies of her insurance card and all of her personal info - my mom never saw a bill nor did we pay anything at the hospital, who knows what happened with that.

I do have to say the people at the French hospital were so nice and caring, Albergue owner was super nice and accommadating, really took care of us. Even at the random pharmacy we stopped at outside of Pamploma - the pharmacist was so concerned for my mom, made sure we had the dressings, medication etc we needed, even examined the wound to make sure it was healing well without infection and redressed it at no charge.

 

[Former member 91017]

Thank you for the tip! I was wondering about that with practice walking and my load! Keep 'em comin'!

Funny enough, I *turtled* on a bench in Viana. A walking companion was waiting for a bus to take him into Logrono and his brother and sister-in-law were walking on without him. I needed a rest anyway as I was really starting to hurt from the fall I'd had outside Roncesvalles. I settled sideways on a bench so that I could face him to talk, and the bench was on a fairly steep incline. The weight of my pack simply pulled me right over backward, and I'd probably had to have rolled over to right myself had he not been there to pick me back up.

The pack-weight alters everything.

 

[JohnLloyd]

Yes, I found myself as an unlikely first-responder when a fellow pilgrim was struck down by an unknown malady right next to the Civil War memorial outside Villafranca Montes de Oca.

The story is best told here.

Keep Your Head Up

The significance of this experience is beginning to challenge my ability to keep up with it – physically, spiritually and literarily. This morning’s post covered the events of a memorab…

johnelsewhere.blog

EDIT: I now realise that I've already posted on this thread! Apologies.

 

[gayeh]

Funny enough, I *turtled* on a bench in Viana. A walking companion was waiting for a bus to take him into Logrono and his brother and sister-in-law were walking on without him. I needed a rest anyway as I was really starting to hurt from the fall amen outside Roncesvalles. I settled sideways on a bench so that I could face him to talk, and the bench was on a fairly steep incline. The weight of my pack simply pulled me right over backward, and I'd probably had to have rolled over to right myself had he not been there to pick me back up.

The pack-weight alters everything.

I went right over my full suitcase, wheels got stuck (at 11 pm) on an Aberdeen bridge!
This was more impetus for decision to be backpacker moving forward!
One really needs to get used to that pack ... before things like mud, balance challenges, etc.

 

[alexwalker]

Me too i had to go into hospital to have compeed plasters removed over blisters Surgeon told me never use these and dressed the wounds with ordinary mesh and bandage which got me through but the insurance i used was the EHIC card i had with me at least personnel insurance gives you a choice.

Never, EVER, use Compeed if you already have developed blisters. They are one of the Devil's creations for preventing pilgrims trying to get to Santiago in order to get absolution and come to Heaven at the end of their misery here on Earth.

As blister prevention, they may do the job as cushions on hot spots, but make sure to remove them each afternoon. Your feet need air, not enclosure (moisty feet). Don't take it from me; take it from a Spanish surgeon I talked with. And my son, who is a surgeon.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

I absolutely loved Compeed on hotspots! They prevented many a blister for me!...and it did not fall off in the shower until I chose to remove it.

 

[Sean Lad]

I had the sorry sight of walking with pilgrims dropping dead
the first man on way into Santiago in 2011 may he rest in peace
on way up fromSJPdP on Route Napoleon a U S pilgrim dropped dead just beyond Hunto. He knew he was in trouble and walking against medical advice
he wanted to go oit on his terms.
the little hill as you enter Lorca going to Estella has 4 crosses on 1 km streach
extreme medical condition but I hope I am in topic