Camino diaries

The most essential part of every Camino is to document it for yourself and this is where your passport is such a beautiful keepsake. When I see people buying wallets for them I do chuckle as the extra weight but then I put tiny wee metal shell badges on my pack so what do I know.

I started publishing Camino stories more and more on this and my other websites because I love the communal existence with strangers and also the ease with which it all happens.

Largely eat sleep walk drink wash eat sleep, pack, talk, walk discuss what we left on the washing line. I find so much if what we do more entertaining and fulfilling than what I used to do. 

I did my first Camino in 2007. I sandwiched it between giving up smoking and working.

The Camino was hard. I'd never done anything like it before. I had to dig in much as I had 2 years earlier when I went from 80 cigarettes a day to none. Or as my weight would tell you, 70kg to 90kg.

I'll come back to this later but I tried to go again on my own in 2011 and my pal Harry's intervention meant I got to know him a bit more. Unlike Simon who like me was out on an orienteering exercise in 2007, Harry wanted to smell the roses. As videos from 2011 show he smelt more than the roses and a little bit of concrete in Azofra will always hold his DNA!

2022 has been amazing so far. Simon and I got a week from Leon to Santiago with walking and bus. Climbing O'cebriero was superb as was the cerveza when we reached out albergue 11km later.

In May with the walking Jakeys we managed Najera to hornillos del Camino. I hope the guys will join me again when we get there in September.

September sees me do Pamplona to Eirexe, although it might only be to Sarria as I do want to have an extra night with some of my pals like Miriam from Cardenuela Rio Pico or Eduardo, from Los Herreros in Burgos or even Jesus Gonzalez from La trebede in Leon. There's so many great pals, smiles that greet you and I need to take over some shortbread for them

So I was off on a tangent again and what I need to commit to writing I've forgotten.....

Tbc.