Blister-Care-Typhoon

Extending articles doesn’t seam to be the proper way, so here goes the stuff about my blisters ๐Ÿ˜€
Dealing with blisters
As you probably all know, my new shoes are really crappy and produced in a short time an amazing amount of blisters. I had the impression the shoes became tighter during walking in the rain, instead I guess my big feet became even bigger ๐Ÿ˜€
There are special band aids for blisters and they come in different forms and sizes. One type sticks so tight, if ripped off, it will just open the blister adding additional pain. Some are like little bolsters around the blister, which requires the blister to be in a “standard” form and size. The body just doesn’t always behaves the standard way ๐Ÿ˜‰
Another good strategy is to wear 2 pair of socks, a thicker pair over a thinner pair. Use this from the beginning, as it will minimize the risk of developing these unpleasant beans on your feet. This even helps, when you already got some of these beasts. In combination with worn in breath active trekking shoes, you probably even won’t be bothered with this ๐Ÿ™‚
Until now I was tapping the blisters and massaging them with sanjeev-oil. To get special band aids or other stuff, is nearly impossible on the country side.
After reading that putting a needle with a thread through the blister and leaving the thread inside over night should help, I tried that last night.
20120618-224115.jpgThreaded Blisters
The picture shows the little toe of the right foot. There are at least 4 more threads in my feet. So a shoe-shop is again on my radar.
The success of the “thread-method” didn’t really convince me. I found some tincture in a pharmacy call ใ‚นใƒ”ใƒผใƒซ – supiru. In the same time I try to widen these shoes with a hairdryer and newspaper.
Hopefully I can then walk with less pain from tomorrow. Today I’m anyway paused by a typhoon, which gives me the opportunity to do these things ๐Ÿ™‚

Errors

I think, I made a mistake. On Tuesday I bought a pair of new shoes. Nike – victory. My old shoes were just gone. Water was entering both shoes and even dirt started coming through one sole.
When I started this journey, I was very comfortable with my trekking shoes. A solid sole, protected with Gore Tex against water – breath active as the advertising says. They were well worn in and I didn’t worry at all about them. They accompanied me half around the world, to Germany, Dharamsala, Nassik, the Yukon and even New York. I really liked them, but nothing lasts forever.
20120613-222646.jpg
The way down from Koyasan until Tosa finally wore them out. Water started entering through a whole in the sole and when I was in Susaki, the first little stone found it’s way inside. I was desperatly looking for a shop having shoes in my size, which is not so easy here. For trekking shoes I need 9.5, which is in Japan 27.5 or 28. Japanese usually have smaller feet. In Susaki I first went to a shop for working cloth. No shoes there, but a pair of new rainpants and some socks ๐Ÿ™‚ in a shopping center at the other end of town, I found some. Finally! They had 3 pairs. Timberland, something like proudly made in the USA for 5man and a special offer for 9000ยฅ. As I didn’t plan to buy new shoes and being desperate in the same time, I went for the Nikes, I even didn’t ask, if they have the 500bugs shoes in my size. As it turns out, they are all plastic, made in Vietnam and now my feet do get wet without having rainfall from the sky at all, blisters included. I’ll see, how long they will endure my big feet.
Same thing with the rain pants. Well, they nicely protect against rain from outside, they also produce extra water from inside. After some time I had a feeling like like I pissed in my pants – hilarious! They still protect well against mosquito bites though ๐Ÿ˜‰
My lesson from that is double ๐Ÿ™‚
First I missed to double check my gear before I started. Second, being desperate makes me inpatient. My disturbed mind and wet feet didn’t let me think clearly. Live, in this case walk goes on, shigata ga nai as Japanese say, it can’t be helped or better it is as it is right now and I keep on walking towards Kongลfukuji.

20120613-222857.jpg