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!

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.

At the start of this Covid crisis, I promised myself I would write more. This hasn’t been going to plan exactly. I have tried and I usually have an idea or two to put into a post each week. This week I have nothing. It’s just a shame I wasn’t in Spain this year – you can only talk about memories for so long. Maybe it is down to watching so much news? So much negativity can get you in a bad place. I know this is not what you want to hear in Camino blog but I’m going to be a little more positive.

Starting now…

A friend of mine is walking into Santiago on Monday after walking from Tomar in Portugal. I’m super excited for him but curious as to how he will be greeted in Santiago. Today, just three pilgrims received a compostela and it has been a while since one from Ireland received a compostela.

Next week, restrictions are being eased here in Ireland, so I can walk outside my 5k zone. I can now walk anywhere inside of Dublin and from the 18th of December, I can walk anywhere in Ireland. The walks I can take now! If I am to walk in Portugal in April, I need to start long walks as it has been a while.

December 16th is my birthday and on the day I usually walk from Dun Laoghaire Harbour to Howth Harbour (photo of walk here). It is close to 24 km and mostly flat and all along the coast. I’m going to doing this for charity and any money raised will be going to Epilepsy Ireland. More of this later.

Clearskies Camino Podcast

The podcast is on pause until after Christmas. I have two episodes I need to edit and those will be uploaded in the coming weeks. I will be back then in the new year. I am looking forward to a new refreshed format. I have always said I am doing the podcast for myself and it depends on time constraints. If you have contacted me in the meantime, I will be in contact after Christmas when life (hopefully) gets back to normal.

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!