A couple of days in Alpera, and postscript

Sad to report that this Camino ended for us in Alpera.  Ellen was in quite a bit of pain Thurs evening and Fri morning; it was a struggle to walk downstairs and next door to the Hostal's restaurant.  The very kind folks at Hostal El Cazador told us about the small clinic in town, and even gave us a lift the short 1 km there.  The doc poked around a bit, diagnosed tendinitis, and recommended ibuprofen and rest.  With Ellen out of commission for walking we thought we'd rent a car and play tourist for the remaining weeks we had in Spain.  But Saturday morning she was in sufficient discomfort that we decided to fly home early (touring around would have just been frustrating for her) and get an assessment from her orthopedist at home.

We spent a couple of hours Saturday morning changing our flights, booking trains to Madrid, and arranging a hotel there.  Saturday afternoon we took a bus back to Almansa; two train rides later we were in Madrid.  After a day there we flew home.  Ellen saw her ortho on Friday, and he suspects a stress fracture of the tibia.  She'll return in a week or so for an x-ray to confirm.  In the meantime, she is getting around in the house ok but not walking much.

We both want to add a major shout-out to our friends in Alpera.  All the staff at the Hostal El Cazador went out of their way to be helpful to us pilgrims.  In addition to giving us rides to and from the clinic in town, they treated us to drinks in the restaurant and did everything they could to make Ellen comfortable.  Pedro Antonio (whom we had met on first arriving in Alpera) is a local MD and came by a couple more times to visit and check on Ellen.

I'm hoping we can return before long to continue and finish the Lana from Alpera.