July 5- July 8:  Cudillero to Cadavedo to Luarca to Cartavio to Ribadeo 

Starting today for the next few day's version of what happened on the roadway will either be in picture form or someone's else's story.  Reason:  this pilgrim bit the dust at 3am on the 5th.  Seems that sometime during the 4th the Spanish Tsetse fly or the Spanish Virus carrying insect or some kitchen staff member shared their viral infection with me.  

I started this trip faced with the adversity of foot pain and all the problems associated with that.  Thinking that I had either mastered that or was at least tolerating the discomfort to the level that it was no longer an adversity -- the Camino threw me another curve ball.  From 3am on the 4th until midafternoon on the 7th my view of the Camino was only the ceiling in a hotel or the back of the seat in a taxi carrying me to the next one.  

At first thinking it was food poisoning or bad water, I suffered through it only to realize that things were not improving -- I was getting weaker -- the days were just one long nap -- and the rest of the group (minus two who were in a similar state to me) was having too much fun for me to just "lie around" and miss.  So a visit to the local doctor and the knowledge that I had a severe viral infection of the stomach and intestine was diagnosed.  I tried in a very broken Spanish say I didn't want it and they could take it back.  The doctor just shook her head no and said take this to the pharmacy and follow the directions for four days.  Don't walk today -- was she nuts?  I could barely get to her office and it was only two blocks from our hotel.  I assured her -- no problem, I would follow her orders to the letter.  At this state if she told me to jump off the nearest building to cut the pain, I would have been up there in a flash!!

One more adversity handled -- not gracefully -- but handled.  The infection is retreating, my appetite is returning (although restricted to a bland diet for the next week -- rice, more rice, a little protein like soft boiled egg, more rice, and lots of tea with lemon!!!)