It’s that time of year… I’ve seen the first Christmas trees. The advertisements have been playing on radio and TV for the last few months and people have started to get in to that frame of mind.

Christmas!

Of course, my mind is a million miles away and I’d rather be following arrows than making shops that little bit richer. Careful now, someone might accuse me of not being in the Christmas spirit. Au contraire! Give me a few weeks until we are in December and I should have sufficient time to prepare.

So what have I have been doing since I last posted nearly one month ago?

Well, the Camino spirit has not left me entirely since I returned from Portugal. Since I last wrote, plans are ongoing to walk from Porto to Santiago in September. The one unanswered question is whether I walk the coastal route or the classic internal route. By walking along the coast, I am adding 2 days to my trip however the coast gives you the added bonus of the breeze until you move inland. This question will remain unanswered until I arrive in Porto, I guess, and I will let my feet do the talking.

I have been on two walks – one long, and one short. The first was on the Boyne Valley Camino which starts at St. Peters Church in Drogheda. I was actually meant to write a bit about this walk but time got in the way however below are some of my favourite photos from the day. My friend Oihana and I took the commuter train to Drogheda from Dublin and walked the 25 km looped walk. It is a good mixture of forest, road walking, walking along the River Boyne, with the added historical element too. This walk is part of the Celtic Camino series and you can pick up a nice certificate from Camino Society Ireland if you collect stamps during your walk. More information here: Boyne Valley Camino.

Thanks to Oihana (Facebook page) for providing some of her photos. We had a fun day. It’s always great to try out newer walks, especially ones that are closer to home. I would definitely recommend the walk and if you get the chance, do walk the full loop. It can be a bit challenging during the winter months but during the Summer it would be perfect, I would imagine. The Batttle of the Boyne site, Mellifont Abbey and Oldbridge house are interesting. We did manage to get lost however, due to some signage going missing. We were back on track before long.

The following week (the 16th November), I walked a short walk with Camino Society Ireland. Out to Howth Head we would go. It would be a morning of firsts. I am so used to the purple loop or bog of frogs but due to ongoing works, this path was closed so we opted for the Black Linn Loop, following the red arrows. I brought along my DSLR, Canon 750d and took a few photos. You can check them out on the Camino Society Ireland Facebook page. I am very much a beginner at photography so any tips are useful. I guess the number one tip is practice, practice, practice.

Well that’s all the news here. I hope you are all well. 310 days before I touch down in Portugal..ha! I will post soon!

With two weeks planned for a Camino in September / October 2020, the question remains what I will do for the rest of the year. I certainly won’t stay at home and I can’t see myself jetting off on another Camino (unfortunately). With many waymarked trails and pilgrim paths on my doorstep, I have a great opportunity now to walk some of these trails.

Many of these trails are a few days long and can be reached by bus or train. Accommodation is a little different here than in Spain. There are no “albergues” and it is advisable to pre-book in a bed & breakfast or a hostel. As a result, costs can be a little more expensive. This is if you want to walk by yourself. Another option is walking as part of an organised group.

The Kerry Camino (or the Dingle Way) is a 3 day walk (57km) from Tralee to Dingle in the South of Ireland. Each year, over the May bank holiday weekend, large crowds descend on Tralee to walk this pilgrimage to Dingle. I want to walk this trail but while the organised group option is great, it is not for me.

I have already looked into the Kerry Camino for the middle of May and will cost me about the same as the price of a flight! You can watch a good video on this way below.

St Kevin’s Way (30km) follows in the footsteps of St Kevin through the hills of Wicklow to the monastic ruins in Glendalough. The main start for the route is Hollywood. The route is well marked and takes you through a wide variety of landscapes as it climbs towards the Wicklow Gap. From here the descent brings you to Glendalough and monastic ruins. I have walked half of this walk on two occasions and I love it. It can be a bit tricky when it is raining but when the sun is out, there is nothing better.

St. Declan’s Way is a modern walking route linking the ancient centres of Ardmore in County Waterford and Cashel in County Tipperary.  The route most commonly associated with St. Declan’s Way is 56 miles (96 kilometres) long and crosses the Knockmealdown Mountains at Bearna Cloch an Buideal (Bottleneck Pass), an elevation of 537m.  St Declan’s Way Walk utilises the route of a number of ancient and medieval pilgrimage and trading routes such as the Rian Bo Phadraig (Track of St. Patrick’s Cow), Bothar na Naomh (Road of the Saints), Casan na Naomh (Path of the Saints) and St. Declan’s Road. 

There are others but I’ll be realistic as I don’t have too many holidays 🙂 I can decide on others later on.

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Boy, did I plan this in advance?

I usually leave the flights or whatever until after Christmas but if you read my last post I had been doing a little bit of planning for next Camino. I have decided to walk from Porto along the Coastal Path and hopefully arrive in Santiago within 2 weeks.

I have booked a Ryanair flight to Porto on the 27th of September 2020. I have no idea what I will be doing around that time but I feel good locking in the flight. The plan is to walk to the cathedral in Porto, get my first sello and catch the metro to my hostel in Matasinhos, which is 12 km from the city. I will be avoiding the industrial part of the city and it makes a nicer start of a walk the following day. I will book a hostel in Matasinhos closer to the time.

I have already walked from A Guarda to Santiago (165 km) in May 2018 and I am excited to see some of the towns again. Towns like Oia, Baiona and Pontevedra. I will see some new towns, of course, in Portugal.

However, there is always one town…..Vigo! Last year, I didn’t enjoy my time there. I arrived in just as a ferry from England docked carrying tourists and I just felt it wasn’t a pilgrim town. There are also a real lack of arrows. Hopefully, my time there next year will be different. This week, it was announced that the authorities in Vigo will place stone markers to help pilgrims. Vigo is a very large city and one of the largest ports in Spain.

I have no return flight booked yet but my intention is to book it before I leave. I have been looking at the guidebook briefly. All the stages seem relatively short and compared to the central route, it is not challenging. There are opportunties to take alternative routes, with all Caminos and I may take them to vary things.

However, we are looking too far into the future. What I need to do first is buy a new backpack as my current one is torn. So I will be shopping shortly. And I will be walking shortly too.

• Camino Portugues
• Camino Frances
• Camino Preparation
• Camino Planning Links

After my recent Camino Portugues from Lisbon, I arrived back to “the real world” and the only place I wanted to be was back on the Camino de Santiago. I’m sure you get what I’m saying? It’s only natural if you are like me and walk the Camino once a year. I changed on the Camino – everyone was walking for the same reason, my habits changed, the food I ate changed and I certainly didn’t talk about work or politics. Everything was simple. I woke up, walked for a bit, watched the most amazing sunrise, had a second breakfast, and walked until I reached the albergue at the end of the day. It’s like someone pressed reset on my body, mind, and soul.

However, once all the walking is done and you arrive home, “the real world” can come as a shock for some pilgrims. It did for me, I won’t lie. Your family or friends find it difficult to relate to what you’ve been through over the last few weeks. Try explaining that the nicest albergue was €18 and watch them figure out what ‘albergue’ means. So, it is an idea to keep thinking that you are always on Camino. Your Camino is never-ending.

So some tips to stretch out that Camino feeling:

• Keep on walking at home
• Write / Journal / Talk about your Camino
• Keep in touch with your pilgrim family through email and social media
• Read guidebooks and books on the Camino
• Follow your Camino body-clock
• Look after yourself
• Give something back?
• Plan your next Camino

And planning my next Camino is something I have been doing. I have been looking at a few routes for next year BUT I have decided to walk later in the year. The reason for that are two-fold. Later in the year will result in fewer pilgrims and lower temperatures.

I also need to start looking after myself while on Camino. On many of my early Caminos, I loved to walk a 20-25 km day but from Lisbon, I was walking in excess of 30 km per day in 30+degree temperatures. The previous two Caminos were wake-up calls for me in a way. I have a rare form of focal epilepsy which is under control by medication while at home however heat and over-exertion can bring on episodes if I am not careful.

So, I will have two weeks. I will walk for shorter days. and I will be walking at a time when it is cooler. It can be done and I have a whole year to see what routes are suitable. It just won’t be the Camino Frances!

I typically use the below links for planning, which can be found in my Planning Links page:

• Camino Forum
• Gronze.com
• Godesalco
• Rome2Rio.com

Follow here for more news about my upcoming Camino!

• Lisbon – Hostel do Castelo Lisboa  – map / booking
• Alverca do Ribatejo – Hospedaria Alfa 10 – map / gronze / web / fb
• Azambuja – Albergue Abrigo do Peregrino da Azambuja – map / gronze / fb
• Santarém – N1 Hostel Apartments and Suites – map / gronze / facebook / video of Santarém
• Golegã – Albergue Solo Duro – Casa da Tia Guida – map / gronze
• Tomar – Hostel 2300 Thomar – map / gronze / facebook / booking
• Alvaiázere – Albergue Pinheiro’s – map / gronze / facebook
• Rabacal – Albergue O Bonito – map / gronze / facebook
• Coimbra – Serenata Hostel – map / facebook / booking / video
• Sernadelo – Albergue-Residencial Hilário – map / gronze / facebook
• Agueda – Albergue de peregrinos Santo António – map / gronze / facebook / video
• Porto – Hotel Poveira – map / booking

Standouts for me were the albergues in Tomar, Alvaiázere and Rabacal. Most were small, offered meals or had a restaurant nearby. They catered to the pilgrim, very much like any of the albergues on the Camino Frances.

The accommodation in Lisbon and Porto were booked before I made the trip. I stayed in every other place on a whim. And this was a joy for me!