Picking up the kilometres…

With less than 2 months before we leave for Porto, the sun came out over St. Patrick’s Weekend – which was great motivation to get out and build up the kilometres.

Aware Harbour 2 Harbour Walk

On St. Patrick’s Day, I was joined by my pilgrim friend Oihana and my brother Ray and we walked the Aware Harbour 2 Harbour in Dublin, supporting mental health awareness. This walk is entirely on footpath and is 26 km in length. It has become a tradition of mine on St Patrick’s Day to walk this stretch although I do walk it on my birthday as well. The route lines the coast and there was a great atmosphere on the day. The Camino Portugués is quite varied and doesn’t have this much footpath but it was an enjoyable day.

Half of Dublin was at the various celebrations and parades in towns and villages, so this is an alternative if you like your health fix or if you support this great charity. Oihana is also walking the coastal Camino later in the year so she is also in the middle of her preparations. Both Ray and myself learned a few things about our feet so we have a few weeks to make some changes, or move to a Plan B if need be.

Various Local Looped Walks

I haven’t done much walking in my own locality – preferring to walk to Howth (a cliff walk 5 km away), Bray Head (the other side of Dublin), or the Royal Canal (outside of Dublin). The advantage of these are they are not on pavement and they provide a bit of a challenge. While talking to a friend of mine, he told me there a loads of looped walks where I live that range from 4 to 12 km. With the evenings getting brighter, this is only a bonus for me. I have joined him over the last week, either walking to the local beach and back or through various residental estates building up the distance.

I know what some of you are thinking? You are going to need more than 10 km on footpaths to prepare for a Camino… I know this! I have other walks planned but this will keep me going during the week after a long day in the office.

Meeting Pilgrims

I spent yesterday meeting pilgrims in Camino Society Ireland’s Information Office. It’s a great thrill to meet pilgrims who are about to go on Camino. Even if I can pass on one piece of information, my job is done. It was a windy day yesterday however there were a good few visitors – many pilgrims from overseas curious about our centre. This year is set up to be a busy year. Many pilgrims are back for the first time since Covid hit and there are many first time pilgrims too.

If you enjoyed this post let me know by hitting the ★Like button, and sharing the love on your socials!
… And if you want to hang out with me between posts then follow me on Instagram and on Facebook for daily and more personal updates!