6 Things I Did in 2018

Another year has passed. So much has happened in the past 12 months involving the Camino. It’s nice to have the last few weeks free to reflect on the past and think of the future. I’ve decided to do another post where I look back on 2018. 

1. The end of the year saw the first ever Camino Society Ireland Photo Contest on the 16th of December 2017 at St. James Church in Dublin. A photo I took near Ledigos was included in that exhibition and also in an exhibition in the Cervantes Institute in Lincoln Place. I wrote about the first exhibition here and the second exhibition in March here. These same photos have travelled from Ireland to Spain and back again and are currently situated in the Information Centre in St. James Street. 
2. Another way of being a pilgrim on the Camino is to Volunteer. I gladly “give back” to the Camino through Camino Society Ireland. As well as giving information in the centre in St. James Street in Dublin, I edit their quarterly newsletter “Shamrocks And Shells” and help with social media. The newsletter is now a little over a year old and 4 issues have been produced, with over 20 thousand views. Something I am quite proud of.
3. The first Celtic Camino Festival in Westport was a success. I was there from the 13th to the 15th of April 2018 and it was marked with talks, a showing of the Camino Voyage, and a Celtic Camino walk. I wrote an article here.
4. December 28th will mark my 1st year in Donabate. A great little town but with so much work planned for the future, I’m not sure if I am to call this home just yet. Over 700 homes have been approved, but without the right facilities and infrastructure, it will be chaos going to and from work. The Northern Commuter train line is fine but there are no bus services. 
5. I walked the Camino Portuguese with my brother from A Guarda in May. We walked into Santiago in the rain. I loved every second of it.
6. Immediately on returning, I booked flights to return to the Camino Frances. I walked from Puente la Reina to Burgos in September.

6 Photo Memories of 2018

A List of What You Want to Change in the New Year

There are many things in my life I am happy with. I’m loving life in my new home, I have many good friends but I would be lying if I said I am 100% happy with my lot. I’m not. There are a few areas I want to better myself in and there is no time like the New Year to start. So here’s my list for 2018:

• Focus on my blog. My blog has been slipping. I just need to allocate my time more evenly. I have upgraded the blog in the last few weeks so there is no excuse now for more content. With planned Caminos in May and September, I will hope to upload videos from my time in Spain.
• Think of ways to walk a full 30+ day Camino, whilst still managing to pay a mortgage. 
• Plan a trip to Canada to visit peregrino friends (for 2019 or beyond).
• Improve my writing, maybe find a writing skills course.
• Make more of an effort to meet new people and be more social.
• Dig out my guitar again: it has been so long since I played a tune. I guess confidence comes into it. 

Your Resolutions?

And there we have it. Another summary of my year. How was your 2018?

February 19th sees the start of a new series on Irish TV called Camino na Saile (or Camino by Sea in English). It will be shown on our Irish language TV channel over the course of 3 weeks. It documents the journey of 5 men who sailed from the south of Ireland to A Coruna over the course of 4 years. For 800 years, people have sailed from Ireland to A Coruña in Northern Spain and walked to Santiago de Compostela from there. These men have done their own version of this historical voyage in a Naomhóg (or a currach) they built themselves in this Modern day Celtic Odyssey. Stage 1 of the journey follows the crew on a journey across the Irish Sea and the English Channel to reach Brittany in Northern France.

[vimeo 114535975 w=640 h=360]

Now I understand that the majority of my readers live outside of Ireland, and will be unable to watch it, however you can do so online on www.tg4.ie/en/player/home or via the Mobdro smartphone app. If you download the app at www.mobdro.com on your phone and search for TG4, you will have no problems viewing the series.

It starts at 8.30pm GMT on the 19th of February and continues each Sunday after that. Happy watching!

Hi folks! An apology is in order for the lack of posts here. A certain wrist is making that a little difficult, but I hope to be on the mend this side of Christmas. I am able to type with the cast on however, but I hope you don’t mention that to my doctor. The words “cast” “rest” and “upright position” were mentioned by him to me when I last visited him on the 28th. I return to him on the 19th of December to hopefully have the cast removed and physio can begin after Christmas. I write this with a positive tone however. I’d love to be able to eat Christmas dinner with both hands!

However, I have been keeping myself occupied over the last month and I have a number of things in the pipeline. I plan on writing a number of articles on “the best of 2016” Camino sites. I realise that it is impossible to give a top 5 or a top 10 as everyone’s opinion is different and there will be a number of websites I will leave out. However, it’s just my opinion. I hope to cover blogs (including forums), twitter, instagram, and youtube accounts. So I have a number of weeks to work on this which is plenty of time. However, I need your opinions, and I’m sure you have plenty! If there is a website / twitter account / instagram account that you feel does a great job promoting the Camino, please comment below.

I have mentioned also in the past of Andrew Suzuki’s project “Beyond The Way“. He has created 10 amazing videos after his time on the Camino in 2014. There isn’t a day that passes that I return to his website and watch one of his videos. Everything is independently produced which is pretty impressive. However, it’s not a series that discusses the sights and cities. Andrew talks to pilgrims and we hear their personal stories. It’s not often you get that in a Camino video. Anyway, after the last episode was released (so to speak), he put a call out that he was to make a second series. An Indiegogo campaign was started with a promise of goodies once a certain amount was contributed. To cut a long story short, Andrew completed the Camino Portuguese a number of weeks ago and I received a package of goodies via email and post. It certainly picked me up while in healing mode. I’d encourage you to “like” Beyond The Way’s page on Facebook as Andrew is in the process of creating a 2nd series for his most recent Camino.

And finally, the gears are well and truly in motion for a return to Spain in 2017. More news on that in the future!

In August of this year, I wrote about David Vidal and his Casa de los Dioses. He owns a plot of land about 2km outside of Astorga on the Camino Frances. Here, he offers drinks, food, fruit and words of encouragement to pilgrims who pass by. He and his Casa embodies the spirit of the Camino, in my opinion.

However, I have heard sad news today that David is closing his Casa and moving on. According to Radiocaminosantiago.com (written in Spanish), it says that Casa de los Dioses – one of the purest places on the Camino will disappear. David found that “the door to happiness is simplicity; the simpler things are better. “However, he is tired living in the ‘theatre piece of hypocrisy’ that the Camino has become”.

Whatever he means by ‘theatre piece’, only David will know. However, there are a lot of people, including me, who are sad to see him leave. I have met him twice and I consider him one of the angels of the Camino. He has given so much and asked for nothing in return – the way it should be. Will someone replace him, or will he return at a later date, that remains to be seen.

Thank you David!

16 days to go. Blimey!

Is it right to not be prepared with such little time? This is Camino #6 now so I should really be a veteran at this stage? I look at my rucksack….empty..and my gear lying on the floor. The said gear should be in the aforementioned rucksack. Also, I have a number of questions whizzing through my head. What should I do when I arrive in Santiago? Am I fit enough? Am I walking this for a particular reason? Meh..I’m a worrier..I always have been..maybe a few hours sitting in Muxia will sort that out, who knows?

The flight leaves Dublin at 1.00pm and I arrive in Santiago at 4.20pm Spanish time (Damn you Europeans..why do you steal us Irish of an hour?!) A quick bus trip will leave me at Praza de Galicia and after a slow 5 minute walk, I arrive at my base for the first night, Hospideria San Martin Pinario (google maps). San Martin Pinario is an pretty unique albergue in the centre of Santiago. It caters for tourists and pilgrims alike. Pilgrims rooms cost €23 per person including breakfast. Plus, it is right next to the cathedral. Ideal.

After I fling off my pack, I will take to the small winding streets of Santiago, while bagpipes play around me. Plaza de Obradoiro and the Cathedral is a must (google maps). If you hang around here for a while and take in the surrounding, you will meet pilgrims finish their own Caminos. There’s a great sense of joy and accomplishment when you reach Santiago. Many pilgrims will decide to return home to their respective countries the day following or soon after, while others will walk further westwards to the coast like myself. My next port of call will be Cafe Casino on Rua do Vilar (google maps), a place I have been to twice before. It serves a fab cerveza, vino or tapas. That said, there are so many different places to eat and drink in Santiago that you are spoilt for choice. Other recommendations include Café Literarios on Praza da Quintana de Vivos and A Taberna do Bispo on Rua Franco. The good thing about Hospideria San Martin Pinario is there is no curfew so there is no rush to return before the doors are closed (it has nearly happened before!!)

I will be carrying 2 scallop shells with me this year. One is for Denise Thiem. While I won’t be walking the route for her, I will have her in my mind. You can drop in shells to The Pilgrim House on Rua Nova (google maps) where Faith & Nate can take it from you and deliver it to a monument outside of Astorga. The second shell is for my uncle who recently passed away. I hope to leave it in Muxia. He had great interest in my Caminos and often asked if I had plans to walk in the near future. So in a way, these few days will be dedicated to him. Other than that, I aim to better my Spanish and enjoy the culture, although in Galicia not many people speak Castilian Spanish.

The question of being fit enough has been answered long enough. No! I laugh when I say that. (hashtag lazy!) I don’t think I have walked more than 10kms since I returned from Molinaseca in May 2015. Actually, no…I walked 26kms in March of this year. That said, I am happy with my gear, especially with my shoes and once I get going, I should be fine. I love that optimistic attitude I have 🙂

I arrive back to Santiago on the 7th and hope to see a little more of the city, and meet some friends hopefully. The great Alameda Park (google maps) deserves a visit again, while there is a Mass in English in the Cathedral at 10.30am. That’s something that I may do. On the other hand, I may just return to my favourite haunt, the Cafe Casino and read up on Camino #7.