As most of you are aware, a second wave of Covid-19 is gripping Europe and the US. It is looking a little more brighter in Asia and Australia as borders begin to open and lockdowns end. Many, if not all, provinces in Spain have closed their borders to curtail access in and out. The Galician government have decided to close the perimeters of Santiago de Compostela as of yesterday, however pilgrims who have walked prior to the 30th can enter the city.

Now is not a good time to walk in Spain. As cases begin to rise, the fear that deaths will rise too, so you can understand the Spanish government’s motive for bringing in a State of Alarm.

My own Camino, due for April, remains very unclear but I won’t make any hasty decisions until Christmas. Until then, it is all positive thoughts. I miss the Camino, I really do, however the launch of the Clearskies Camino podcast goes some way to replacing the few weeks I have not been in Portugal.

Hey everyone? How are you this morning? It’s Thursday as I write and it is so close to the end of my annual leave. Has it been a productive few days? I would say yes! I have had the chance the rest and recharge while getting the chance to do something I wanted to do for sometime, but I will come back to that in a bit.

Unfortunately, those infected by Covid increase gradually and I do worry if I will be able to travel next April. If I do travel, I will more than likely be required to self-isolate when I return home. This means working from home for 10 days, which is perfectly fine by me. The call of the Camino has been strong since I returned from Porto last September. I look forward to returning and meeting other pilgrims and getting back into the rhythm of pilgrim life. I have been thinking of 2022 and other routes but I realise that I shouldn’t get ahead of myself. I have an urge to walk the Camino Francés again although when I think back at the large number of pilgrims from 2017 and 2018, I wonder why that route. Maybe it is how easy it is to meet people and it is a very social Camino. But when all the thinking has been done, I realise that I have full time job and I will never have time to walk a longer Camino – until I retire, that is.

So as most of you know at this stage, the blog has made it’s transition to podcast form and we have began interviewing pilgrims who have walked the Camino de Santiago. I will still be posting also. Last week I spoke to Pablo about his walk on the Camino del Norte and it is available to listen now.

Pablo’s blog (setmeravelles.com) is full of information on the Camino del Norte, Camino Primitivo, and Camino San Salvador and is recommended reading. I interviewed a German pilgrim, Miriam on Tuesday. She created a super YouTube video which has over 12,000 views at present and I love it. And finally, I had a chat with María Seco today. Maria lives on the Camino Portugués and this podcast will be available in the future.

As always, I have an open invitation to all pilgrims. Please let me know if you want to share your story and we can arrange a time etc.

In the meantime, Buen Camino!