Most years in the month of May, you would find me in Spain or Portugal walking. Not this month. Or even not this year. Instead I am looking back on old trips. I find it is a suitable replacement.

• 2011 – I was preparing for my first trip, walking from Sarria on the first week of June.
• 2012 – I was just days away from walking from Orbigo and my second encounter on the Camino Frances.
• 2013 – In a week’s time this year, I would fly out to Bilbao to walk from Logrono
• 2015 – I finished this year’s Camino in Molinaseca this year and made my way to Santiago for my flight home.
• 2018 – I made the trip to A Guarda in Portugal and walked to Santiago with my brother
• 2019 – I walked with my brother again to Ferrol and walked to Santiago and on to the coast.

I have been reliving these Caminos day-by-day with photographs on my Instagram. Feel free to join me. At present, I am looking back on my 2015 Camino to Molinaseca. Next week, I will start walking from Logrono to Leon from back in 2013.

Oia to Nigrán

Our 2nd day on the trail and it was almost a shame to be leaving Oia. I would love to go back there again, there is such a sense of community about it. But we are on Camino!

Today, we walked to Nigrán, just over 22kms north of Oia and a little bit closer to Santiago. We would walk along the coast for the first hour or so, but we would be faced with a decision later on – either walk up and over a hill to reach Baiona or walk along the coast, the Senda Litoral. You can make the choice to continue on the PO-552 to create your own Way. It is much longer than short-cutting over the mountain, but you won’t have to climb the hill.

At Pedra Rubia, there is a chance to get a sello from a chap at the side of the road, so we didn’t hesitate there. You are faced with that choice at As Marinas – either move up and over the hill or stick to the coast. It was still early morning and bright and we were in no hurry so we followed the ocean until we arrived into Baiona. We would be following green arrows, if any. It was so strange to be off the Camino, and even watching pilgrims walk up the hill made me want to change my mind. But I think I made the right choice.

We were in Baiona in an hour and we stopped off for a stamp in the tourist office. Fun fact for the day: the coastal route was made official in 2016. We chilled out by a cafe and had some tapas, watching life go by. I love the castle in Baiona and I suppose if I had time I would go visit it. It reminded me of Ponferrada.

We wouldn’t be finishing here however as Nigrán would be our destination – another 2 hours. It was worth noting we had been walking on pavement all day and there was no hint of a trail away from a road. I suppose that’s one of the criticisms of the Portuguese Way. We had no injuries anyway so far. We kept ourselves amused by looking for arrows and while there was a distinct lack of them up to Baiona, they became more prominent from now on.

We manage to find the puente romanico in A Ramalloso, which was built in the 13th century. We ventured back on the PO-552 to walk into Nigrán and found our room for the night. Tomorrow we would be walking to Vigo and getting to know the sea a little bit more.

T minus 18 days

Well that week flew by. I have been busily entertaining myself with work and keeping myself indoors. We have been encouraged to stay indoors until May 5th and while that may seem a long time away, I choose to keep busy and let time do the work.

I woke up at 7am this morning so decided to get up and get the weekly shop done. Great news = no queues! Health-wise I am feeling fine. A little sluggish, but that is due to the lack of walking however I am getting a few kilometres of walking each week. Far less than what I was getting pre-lockdown. The only walk of note in my area is a park and the majority of the residents tend to walk in this park. It is difficult to practice social distancing as a result. All my favourite walks are outside of the 2km zone placed by the government. I can’t even go to the beach!

During my time off, I browse videos on YouTube and formulate plans for next year. Andrew Suzuki’s ‘Beyond the Way’ has released another video this morning and it brings back good memories of my time leaving Lisbon last September. His next video will see him in Porto where he walks to Santiago. From there he will meet other pilgrims.

Andrew describes himself as an “armchair philosopher” and and I like Andrew’s use of words, filming and humour throughout the series. The various quotes from the poet Charles Bukowski really makes you think. Throughout “Beyond the Way”, there are many quotes from many philosophers and great thinkers.

Efren has posted his 9th day from his Camino del Norte. The Camino del Norte is visually stunning but it will probably be the last Camino to attempt due to it’s difficulty. I have the Cicerone guidebook and have done some research but some of the descents look a bit demanding. The great thing is there are plenty of Caminos to choose from.

Anyway, that’s all the news from here. If you are interested, why not follow my instagram account https://www.instagram.com/clearskiescamino where I will be posting throwback photos from previous Caminos. Take care and stay safe.