Gratitude for Pharmacists (Wendy)

A well-stocked pharmacy, with a patient and knowledgable pharmacist, is a true saint to the weary pilgrim. Farmacias here are small affairs, with larger cities having one every two blocks or so, always identified with a green neon cross sign out front. The ones on the Camino cater to peregrinos and carry a vast array of cushioning bandages for every imaginable part of the foot; braces for knees, ankles, shins, and feet; and small containers of shampoo, soap, lotions, bandaids, Kleenex, etc.

However, venture off the Camino by even a few blocks and you may likely be met with blank stares when you ask for “Sal de Epsom” to soak your aching joints and be referred to the optical store for something as esoteric as contact lens solution.

Bob and I each have our favorite pharmacists on the Camino, people who have listened to our broken Spanish, understood our needs, and provided us a measure of solace. For Bob, it was a pharmacist in Burgos who helped him purchase some silicone heel inserts that have been the best thing for his heels so far. Plus, she gave him some vitamin C lozenges for free. And he had the entire conversation successfully in Spanish.

For me, it was a pharmacist in Frómista who had a “friend of pilgrims” (amigo del peregrinos) sign on his front door. He sat Bob down in a chair and had a long discussion with him about his foot pain, recommending some plantar fasciitis socks, along with some other things to try.

His staff brought out about a dozen different knee braces until we found the one I wanted. He also steered me away from a refill of the diclofenac pain cream I’d been using and replaced it with a magical “recuperation cream” that has arnica, eucalyptus, and other who-knows-what things that make all my muscles feel wonderful when I apply it at the end of the day.

At the end, he asked where we were from. When I said the United States, he gave me a handout, in English, of the XII International Congress of Jacobean Associations proposed manifesto.  The proclamations reflect many of my same experiences on the Camino. (Sorry for the crummy photos. There’s no good place to keep a piece of paper un-crumpled in my pack.)

Thank you, farmacéuticos! You make the Camino much more doable!