Camino Via de la Plata - Castiblanco to Almaden de la Plata - Day 3

Today's stage is scheduled for 30.4 km with the first 16 walking along a main road. Four of us were not excited about this and took the advice of the Camino guide to take a taxi for this section, it cost us €6 each and well worth avoiding the grind and the danger of walking along the highway. Graziano decided to walk the whole way.

The other 4 of us left the Albergue just as it was getting light and stopped for a quick breakfast in the town. The taxi arrived punctually at 7:15 and we all climbed in. It would definitely have been a very tedious walk and we passed Graziamo on the way who had set out at 5:00 on foot.

This was the taxi

The first 15km of the second half of the walk are through a beautiful, rather remote nature reserve. It truly is very nice. There were a lot of cork trees and with these we could see where the cork had been stripped and new was growing. We also saw rabbits but no deer which we had read are plentiful.

The gravel road went up and down, past a small lake, crossed several dry river beds.

We passed an abandoned farm which has been derelict since the land was acquired by the state as a national reserve

About 3 km from the end we came to a road with a gate and cattle behind it. Ahead of us there was a steep hill we had all read in our guidebooks about a steep hill but did no remember the gates. We set off up the long hill which was extremely steep and covered in loose stones and rocks. We commented that were glad we didn't have to go down it because it was so steep on loose rocks. When we got to the top we had a beautiful view of the park but could not see the village which the book said we would be able to.

Looking in our guide books again we read that we should have gone through the gate with the cows! No option but to go back down the steep hill. It was difficult with slipping and sliding on the loose stones. Suddenly my right foot got caught on a rock and the full weight of my body and backpack came crashing down on it. I heard a loud crack and new immediately it was trouble.. I had broken my ankle halfway down the hill and couldn't move.

Reinhard, Sabine, and Linda tried to call the emergency number but cell phone service was spotty and they couldn't reach anyone. Two of the went on down to the gate area to try and get a better signal or find help but still no luck. In the meantime Sabine stayed with me and tried to make me comfortable by propping my bad foot to keep it steady and being very supportive. After a while as shock set in I felt dizzy for short periods but never lost consciousness. I was in the shade and shivering a bit so she got the emergency (foil) blanket I carry in my first aid kit in my backpack which worked amazingly well.

After about an hour Reinhard arrived back and said they had been unable to reach any emergency team but he had identified the exact mile marker and place we were at. I then tried on my phone and was able to reach the Spanish emergency number. They quickly connected me to an English speaking person who took down details of what, where, when and how and notified the emergency response team.

About 45 mins later they arrived in force. First the Guardia Civil (national police) in a 4WD Jeep, then an ambulance followed closely by the "Bomberos" (fire department). The jeep was amazingly able to climb the hill, across the washed out gullies to close where I was.

He took a look, shook his head and radioed back to the ambulance. An EMT came up on foot and put a blow-up splint on my ankle/foot. That was a big relief since my foot was no longer hanging free. The police spoke good English which was a help.

Then with the help of some firemen they carried me to the Jeep and we set off slowly down the hill to where the ambulance was. I was loaded onto a stretcher, into the ambulance and we set off first to a local hospital. A doctor came and looked and told the ambulance driver to take me Seville. He asked if I wanted pain medicine which I declined.

We set out and as we entered Seville the driver turned on flashing lights and the siren, although I thought that was a bit much for a broken ankle and hoped I wasn't in a worse state than I thought.

The Spanish Emergency Response Teams and system have been incredible. They found us in a remote location stabilized and evacuated safely

Now I entered a different world of the European health care system. First I must say, the people working in it are wonderful, nurses, doctors, orderlies, X-Ray techs, etc., but it is very different level of service than at home. No wonder ours costs twice as much for basically very similar outcomes.

First I was brought in to the emergency area and set on my stretcher in the middle of a crowd of people, patients and many family members in a very crowded area. The ambulance driver stayed with me and protected my foot from getting bumped in the crowd. When he realized triage was not working he told them that it was now 4 hours since the accident and it needed attending to urgently. I then got to see an orthopedic doctor (young guy who spoke good English). He looked at my foot, gave me a shot of pain killer in my ankle and after a few minutes he with help grabbed my foot and leg and pulled hard to try and relocate it - I assume into a socket. He told me it would hurt, but it wasn't unbearably painful.

Then for an X-Ray and much waiting in the crowded area. I was shown to an orthopedic surgeon who also speaks excellent English who did more manipulating to straighten further and told me I would need surgery. This opened up the insurance question. I have a travel insurance policy for the whole year but the hospital did not seem able to contact them. So after waiting another 2 hours or so the doctor came and asked me to call them. They were very helpful, told me I was covered at 100% but they did not have a contract with this hospital. They called the hospital billing dept and got everything cleared.

By now it was about 8:00pm and I was still laying on a stretcher in the emergency dept. some 4 hours after I had arrived. The doctor told me not to eat or drink anything. If a bed opened up and a free operating room he would operate tonight. Finally I got a bed. No news of the operation until a nurse gave me some food and told me doctor had called and no operation today.

Now it is Thursday morning. At about 9:00 one the hospital ortho people came and told me I could have breakfast (bad news) but that they still hoped to operate sometime late afternoon, or evening. At about 11:00 the anesthetist visited and confirmed operation this afternoon (good news). She also spoke good English.

I will continue the saga in a future blog when I feel up to it. Thank to all the wonderful people who got me this far. Without their incredible efforts, support and prayers the outcome could have been very different.

 

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