Last October and November, I started a whole host of podcasts with pilgrims around the world. They were great as they were informal, short, and had great information. I loved making them and I want to make more. I managed to upload 9 before real-life came catching up on me. I always knew I was never going to maintain the podcast on a weekly basis due to work etc. So I think the plan is to upload when I have the time and when there is interest. That said, I was delighted to speak to Adam from England last November and he is my next guest on the podcast.

Adam was one of my pilgrim buddies from my 2017 Camino from Burgos. I often compare meeting pilgrims to an elastic band. You might not meet each other for days but you have this constant connection. Adam and I would meet every three or four days and usually stay in donativo albergues. He had a much different attitude to me on the Camino. At the time, I would start very early in the morning much to my detriment, while he was very much laid back and he would take his time, which is the right way to do it. We both stayed in “Albergue parroquial Santa María” in Carrion de los Condes that year and it was personally one of my most enjoyable experiences. While I finished in Astorga that particular year, Adam continued to Santiago de Compostela.

You can listen to my conversation with Adam from England below. Please like it if you enjoyed it and feel free to subscribe on your podcast player of choice.

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OK so I rarely buy books on the Camino de Santiago, choosing to visit my local library or the the Irish Camino Society. However, a book was brought to my attention before Christmas that I needed to add to my collection.

Written by Angelika Schneider, Johnnie Walker, and Stephen Shiels, and centred on the Via de la Plata, the book is a back-to-basics homage to the Camino. All photography is in black and white and all proceeds go to those who help on the Camino.

I look forward to receiving my copy. More details on http://www.beautyofthecamino.com.

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!

We are back on the Camino Francés. One pilgrim has created a short video of his walk to Santiago. It is very difficult to package 800 kilometres in 6 minutes, but he has done a good job of it.

I don’t get into this position too often. I returned from the Portuguese Coastal Route, revitalised, with quite a few days leave left. So I decided I would go back. But not to Santiago or Galicia, but to the other side of Spain.

I actually quite prefer the journey and not the destination. Stopping short of Santiago leaves you without a compostela, but I get to witness the excitement and trepidation in pilgrims eyes as they are taking their first steps. And we all remember our first steps on the Camino!

So on September 11th, I fly to Bilbao and travel to Puente la Reina where I will start my Camino. I hope to walk to Burgos or even further. My return flight is on the 21st. It is short but who could imagine I would walk two Caminos in one year. Not me! Let’s see if that carries forward to 2019 but that’s unlikely.

I will be posting on Instagram and I will update this blog when I return home. So please keep an eye on my Instagram.