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!

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.

The last month has been a rewarding experience for me personally. Let me explain.

Writing here has always been fun but for the last number of years, I can see my posts aren’t reaching the pilgrims I hope to see them. And I don’t want to go around forcing people to read my posts. So I thought of another idea.

A podcast had always been floating around in my head, even pre-covid but I was reluctant to start it solo. Maybe one of my Camino buddies would join me and we would talk each week about tips and tricks etc? This was last Christmas. And then March hit and lockdown hit. It became apparent that my Camino in September would not be happening this year. So I was looking for something else to fill the gap. Something productive that would help my wellbeing. Hey, let’s get this podcast off the ground? I didn’t want to wait any longer. I bought the equipment and sent out a request for pilgrims who wanted to be share their story on the podcast. Fast forward to today, I have 5 episodes uploaded and I have a further 3 recorded.

I have been lucky to speak to pilgrims from Canada, Germany, Spain, Ireland and USA. I look forward to talk to pilgrims from the UK, and Australia. It’s amazing what you achieve when you put your heart into your passion. I’m really enjoying it but I started with zero experience. So I am still learning as the weeks progress. The last episode was uploaded last Wednesday. María Seco lives on the Camino Portugués while my next guest PJ Costello has a passion for the Camino matched by no other. His story can be heard on Wednesday.

So the month has been rewarding. I haven’t earned any money for what I do. I simply chat for 30 minutes or so and upload it to the internet. It helps me and I hope some new pilgrims gets some valuable information from it. Details about kit is subjective – there is no right or wrong answer, but I hope some of the podcasts can tell future pilgrims what is best to avoid or what is a must bring.

I think I have found my niche – I will write a few posts here and there and keep working on the podcasts until pilgrims prove difficult to come by. As for speaking in front of a crowd? I am going to avoid that for the time being.

I’d love to hear your feedback of the podcast. If you are unable to comment, you can send me an email to clearskiescamino@gmail.com. Many thanks.

In Astorga in 2017

Boom! I’ve gotten my first training walk done and dusted. I am going in the right direction now. I had many a cobweb to shake off after my stay in hospital but it was good to take part in this one and with many great people. As I have mentioned before, I am part of the “Free Camino prep / training” group on Meetup.com. It is a group based in Dublin for those who are preparing for a trip to the Camino or who have been in the past. I really enjoy being around folks who have been or are in the midst of planning. While I was in hospital, the group has grown dramatically and there have been numerous walks around Dublin. The organiser of the group is walking his own Camino in late April and is eager to take on as many practise walks before he goes.

This walk was 15 km in length and started just outside Clontarf Train station. The sun was shining from the off and the whole of Dublin were out either walking, running or cycling. Over the course of the day, we walked northbound along the coast, taking in a detour through the sand dunes of Bull Island and out again at Sutton. After 4 hours, we ended up in the harbour town of Howth, where we had coffee and snacks. This was a perfect flat walk with little or no incline, but that said, it was very enjoyable.

There are events planned for the next two weeks; next Saturday sees us in Glendalough taking on the White Spinc trail, and the following Saturday (22nd) the Camino Society of Ireland are walking the Box of Frogs trail on Howth Head. More of those in the coming weeks.