As I have not had the opportunity to walk one of Spain’s great pilgrim’s paths this year, I’ve been reeling in the years by looking over photos from previous Caminos. I must say it has been quite enjoyable, even though I prefer to make new memories. During the two years of 2014 and 2015, I took a number of photos and videos from Spain and they are saved on Google Drive. I recently bought a licence for an app called Movavi (although there are many others that do the same thing) and I found some royalty free music. So I started putting together some clips from my previous Caminos.

The first thing that hit me was I have changed physically. I suppose we all have changed a little bit in 5/6 years. I really enjoyed these two years as I met some great pilgrim friends, some I am still in touch with today. In 2014, I walked from St. Jean Pied de Port to Belorado, I had 2 weeks available and it was so tough saying goodbye to my pilgrim buddies. It always is. In 2015, I walked from Belorado to Molinaseca – slightly more eventful, covering the awesome meseta (which I hope to walk in September) and the León hills.

Back to reality – Over the course of the next month, I will be uploading video clips from the next 5 Caminos from both Spain and Portugal. I would love you to subscribe by clicking here.

Thanks a million and Buen Camino!

And I can’t wait…

It has been nearly three months since I returned from Santiago and the Portuguese Camino. I had a great time. It was short. Too short. I arrived back and immediately thought “I need to go back”. So I sat down and looked at flights back to Spain. My trips to Spain typically last 2-3 weeks each year so a 10-day trip left a lot to be desired.

So when I heard that a friend and her husband are walking the Camino around that time, I asked if I could join them for a few days. Luckily enough, the response was yes and I quickly booked my flights. So I fly into Bilbao on September 11th and arrive in Puente la Reina later that day after a short bus journey. I meet up with them in Estella the following day, then I hope to walk with them for a few days after that. Hopefully, I will have enough days to walk to Belorado, a town I have many memories of.

So that’s it. I hope to meet people who have just set off on their journey as opposed to finishing in Santiago. I also hope that I can just switch off and enjoy each step compared to the frenziness of Santiago.

The artwork in Belorado is special. All it’s walls are covered in drawings of pilgrims, soldiers and signs showing the right direction. I have passed through this small town on three occasions and have always enjoyed my time here. Jana and her family in  “Albergue Cuatro Cantones” roll out the red carpet should you wish to stay in their albergue. Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez literally left their footprints in the town before they finished shooting “The Way”. So if you pass through, keep an eye on the ground also!

Well, it’s not long before this Irishman finds himself back on the Camino trail. I will pick up where I left off last September and will walk for two weeks. The fortnight is going to be relaxed, it’s going to be enjoyable and fingers crossed I meet some good friends like I have done since 2011.

However, that being said, I travel on this Camino with a weight on my shoulder. One that I didn’t have before. From Day One, I always believed the Camino is all about letting your feet do the walking, to switch your mind off and keep things as simple as possible. I don’t want to know where I will be staying on my first night. In fact, I don’t care. When my feet tell me, then I am done. But it seems to me, that more and more people want to be in control of their Caminos. So much so, that albergues, hostels and pensiones are booked up days and weeks in advance. I wanted to see how busy the Camino is at present by sending an email to two private albergues in Ages, which is a small town 25km after Belorado. I wrote an email asking if they could book a bunk in their albergues for me for the night of the 6th. I got more or less the same response from both albergues:

“Hola David, Para el día 6 de mayo estamos completos. Buen Camino”

This translates as “Hello David. For the 6th of May, we are full. Buen Camino”.

Wow!

Are albergues full that far in advance? Are people booking bunks 4 or 5 days in advance? I’ve never come across this before and if this is true, it means times are changing on the Camino.

So, as I prepare for my 2 weeks away, I am trying not to let this nugget get me down. There are municipal albergues that you cannot reserve in advance and I shall be aiming for those. Luckily, I like walking in the morning as the sun rises so I don’t think I will have any great problems with “the great bed race” but I think of those who like to take it easy and “smell the flowers”.

I hope to post a few lines after each day from the 5th of May onwards by the way.

Time flies when you’re having fun eh? I surely hope my time in Spain doesn’t go by fast when I get there! Like the title says, I am 20 days before I start my 5th stint on the Camino Frances. I can’t believe I have been caught by this bug since June 2011. There is no sign of it letting me go also, judging my eagerness to return to Spain.

I have just over 2 weeks of walking ahead of me so if all goes well I should get to the Templar city of Ponferrada. Although I may reach Villafranca if I put in a few long days. My flight touches down in Bilbao on the 5th of May and I catch a bus from the city’s main bus station afterward. It will bring me to Belorado where I plan to start the next morning. I have emailed Jana in Cuatro Cantones (I encourage you all to stay there – a fab albergue) and she will save a bunk for me there! Should my flight be delayed, I have the option of catching a later bus to Burgos which is 50km westwards from Belorado.

I walked from Belorado to Atapuerca in 2013 , a 30km day, but I may stop short in Ages this year. It is a challenging first day with a good climb at Villafranca Montes de Oca and a long slog of 12km through woods before arriving at the barren San Juan de Ortega. I have good memories of devouring lunch and a cerveza at the bar there before moving on to the next town.

I’ve also learnt that some friends of mine are walking different sections in or around the same week. Unfortunately, we won’t meet but we will good stories to tell when we all return. I travel to Tipperary this weekend to walk two longish days (around 20km) and hopefully to have some tapas and vino.

I had a random thought of throwing on my backpack in work today and a big smile appeared on my face. It is strange what makes people happy. I can’t wait to get back out there.

Buen Camino!