Hola!

I write to you in the Municipal Albergue in Astorga. I have walked for ten days and while this is not even a third of the full French Way, I have completed the time allotted to me this year. I started in Burgos what feels like months ago and after close to 240kms, I strolled into Astorga this morning.

This has been very much a solitary Camino. I have made friends but none will remain friends once I leave. This contrasts to previous Caminos when I made life-long friends. I have learned alot in these ten days. I have learned to accept more and some important questions have been answered. Time passes so quickly and the important things are not how your day in work is and bills but what is in your pack and what condition your feet are in.

I wish I had more time, I wish my feet didn’t hurt and I wish life could be this simple. But no, i must travel to Santiago to fly to Dublin. One day I will have time to walk for 5-6 weeks but it won’t be for some time. I return home on Saturday with a heavy heart and with sore feet knowing that my Camino continues at home and it won’t be long before I return to this great country. 

I will write in more detail when i return home. In the meantime, Buen Camino to one and all. 

26 days until Camino numero siete. I can’t wait…no, literally! This feeling doesn’t get old.

And naturally enough, I want to bring you along with me…well, not carry you, but you know what I mean! I hope to write about my 2 weeks away and I hope it will be useful to most of you. But I won’t be doing that while in Spain. No, I plan to start writing when I touch back home in Dublin. The blog will be barren for a number of weeks from the start of September, but I hope you understand. The goal is to journal (write with a pen!!) while abroad and use those thoughts as part of my posts. So I don’t want to keep you out of the loop! No, quite the opposite!!

I will be posting quite a few photos of interest while on the Camino on Instagram (@clearskiescamino) and the occasional post on my Facebook group page. So if you want to follow me while I walk and you use either Instagram or Facebook, add me on either. Or even both if you wish :). If not, I hope you don’t mind sticking around until the 16th of September when I start to process my thoughts.

I’ll write more until I go on the 4th. Until then, Buen Camino!

I’m not naturally unpredictable but after a few days thinking, I have thrown a curveball at my plans for September. Alas, I have decided to shift the starting point of September Camino to La Rioja and Logrono. Logrono is a lovely city and like Astorga, there is plenty to see and do. I will have ten days of walking and I hope to reach Sahagun by the tenth day. From there, I will take a train to Santiago where I will meet my good friend, St. James. I have walked through the provinces of La Rioja and Castilla y Leon on a number of occasions and have really enjoyed my times there. So much so that I will postpone my walking through Galicia for another time. My flight to Madrid on the 4th of September still stands, and from there I catch an ALSA bus to Logrono. I’m half-tempted to walk to Navarette once I arrive but for the time being, I have reserved a bunk-bed in Albergue Albas. 

I get to pass through favourite towns of mine – Belorado (with it’s highly recommended Cuatro Cantones albergue), Azofra, Burgos, Boadilla del Camino, and Villalcázar de Sirga. The Meseta has only been good to me when I walked through it, so I look forward to September. Many dislike this stretch, so much so that they catch a bus to Leon or Astorga. I’m not sure why. I suppose living so close to the Camino allows me to make these sudden changes and I’m grateful for that. I do apologise to any of my readers who were looking forward to my posts from Galicia but I will make it up to you.

Buen Camino amigos!