It is great to watch other pilgrims’ experiences online but watching pilgrims from Ireland brings it all back home. This video is pretty recent however the walk spans three seperate trips to October 2019 when Patrick arrived in Santiago. Most folks who are in full-time employment (like me) walk in stages.

Patrick says:

Hi, I’m Patrick Rock, Im a civil servant from Ireland and for years I had an ambition that turned into eventually, an obsession. The Long Walk: Camino de Santiago follows me walking the entirety of the Camino de Santiago Frances. I walked the Camino de Santiago from April 2018 – October 2019 over 3 trips. The movie is made from social media posts, WhatsApp videos and stills i took over the course of the walk.

I hope you enjoy!

I’ve learned a lot having talked to my podcast guests over the last number of months. First of all, it has been a pleasure to re-walk their Camino with them during this challenging time. Secondly, it gives me an outlet to give back – something that I have been doing for three years and I look forward to continue doing so when some kind of normality returns. It is encouraging to see people from all over the world listening in and I am grateful for that. I am not sure how long I can continue creating podcasts but if pilgrims wish to share their story with me, I will keep going. I had a great chat with Adam, a English pilgrim I met in 2017. We shared many memories and it was fun to talk after so long. Being part of a Camino family really helps your Camino experience in my opinion and we talked about that.

Prior to that, I spoke to Samantha from Thunder Bay, Canada. She walked the Camino Francés last May. She left her home with a question “Who really am I?” and returned with a different outlook on life. Following her Camino, she left her job as a financial consultant and once normality returns, Samantha will guide women on pilgrimages and retreats. She has a website www.shewalksthewalk.com where you can find all her details. The Camino has the ability to change you, only if you let it.

For me, change has been tiny but noticeable. The most obvious change is the call to give back to the Camino, both in written form on my blog and as a volunteer. I have been writing for years and many other pilgrims have been doing the same for far longer. I started to volunteer three years ago in Dublin. Secondly, I like to think that I have a more positive outlook. Yes, this pandemic is far from ideal but it will go away and we will be walking in Spain again. I am sure of it. And finally, and I suppose this relates to personal items, since 2012/2013 my hoarding days are over. Anything, that I do not need I usually give away. I live by how I walked on the Camino. I walk 2-3 weeks most years with bare essentials in a backpack and I am carrying on that idea.

So how has the Camino de Santiago changed you?

Thanks to Bradley Ladewig for the video. He travelled from Germany to walk the Camino Francés during Covid times. I’m not sure I could keep up at his pace however. We can all agree that the Camino Francés in summer is beautiful.

The last month has been a rewarding experience for me personally. Let me explain.

Writing here has always been fun but for the last number of years, I can see my posts aren’t reaching the pilgrims I hope to see them. And I don’t want to go around forcing people to read my posts. So I thought of another idea.

A podcast had always been floating around in my head, even pre-covid but I was reluctant to start it solo. Maybe one of my Camino buddies would join me and we would talk each week about tips and tricks etc? This was last Christmas. And then March hit and lockdown hit. It became apparent that my Camino in September would not be happening this year. So I was looking for something else to fill the gap. Something productive that would help my wellbeing. Hey, let’s get this podcast off the ground? I didn’t want to wait any longer. I bought the equipment and sent out a request for pilgrims who wanted to be share their story on the podcast. Fast forward to today, I have 5 episodes uploaded and I have a further 3 recorded.

I have been lucky to speak to pilgrims from Canada, Germany, Spain, Ireland and USA. I look forward to talk to pilgrims from the UK, and Australia. It’s amazing what you achieve when you put your heart into your passion. I’m really enjoying it but I started with zero experience. So I am still learning as the weeks progress. The last episode was uploaded last Wednesday. María Seco lives on the Camino Portugués while my next guest PJ Costello has a passion for the Camino matched by no other. His story can be heard on Wednesday.

So the month has been rewarding. I haven’t earned any money for what I do. I simply chat for 30 minutes or so and upload it to the internet. It helps me and I hope some new pilgrims gets some valuable information from it. Details about kit is subjective – there is no right or wrong answer, but I hope some of the podcasts can tell future pilgrims what is best to avoid or what is a must bring.

I think I have found my niche – I will write a few posts here and there and keep working on the podcasts until pilgrims prove difficult to come by. As for speaking in front of a crowd? I am going to avoid that for the time being.

I’d love to hear your feedback of the podcast. If you are unable to comment, you can send me an email to clearskiescamino@gmail.com. Many thanks.

In Astorga in 2017

A great advertisement for starting your Camino solo. You will always meet other pilgrims, if you want to. This pilgrim walked in September last year and met pilgrims as he walked along the Camino Francés. It is worthwhile watching until the end when the full set of pilgrims arrive into Santiago.

David created another video later on discussing the lessons learned from this Camino.