The Camino Plodcast

In late August 2018 I started my second Camino de Santiago, the Camino Primitivo which is traditionally walked from Oviedo to Santiago de Compostela in northern Spain. Having flown to Bilbao, I got a bus to Ribadesella on the northern coast of Spain, where I started walking, following the Camino Norte for a day or so until it diverged and I was able to follow the Primitivo. This is day 1 - cheese, rain and lots of cider!

Day four of the Camino Portugues ' Plodcast' sees me crossing the border from Portugal into Spain. Highlight of the trip so far was the fast boat ride across the river Minho and the walk around the glorious headland en route to 'A Guarda'

Day 3 of my 2019 Camino de Santiago, following the coastal version of the Camino Portugues route. Rock pools, sand dunes and frogs today as I walk from Marinhas to Carreco, about fifteen miles short of the border between Portugal and Spain.

Day 2 of my Camino Portugues, from Vila do Conde to Marinhas. Voice recordings from the trip, and notes from my daily journal.

Recordings and reflections on the last day of the Camino Primitivo, as we, along with many others approach Santiago de Compostela. The Pilgrim Mass, our own 'last supper', and more limoncello than is healthy for anyone! See you next time!

Penultimate day's walking from Boente to Pedrouzo.  Much busier on the route as we start to close in on Santiago de Compostela, with a definite feeling of being in the final stages.

From Ferreira to Boente, taking in a very untypical fast food experience, making new friends, and celebrating the patron saint of drunks!

From Lugo to Ferreira - a long, hot day's walking, with observations on the wildlife, a thunderstorm of biblical proportions, a taste of regional wine and a candlelit, communal paella!

Cadavo to Lugo - bizarre encounters, Beatles songs and Bobby Charlton! Roofing methods and the rural idyll. 

Fonsagrada to Cadavo Baleira, via Paradavella. More up and down than a fiddler's elbow! Great company, and a 'session' cementing Anglo Italian relationships to finish!

Episode 9, Day 9 - Grandas de Salime to Fonsagrada. Camino marketing opportunities, wind turbines, cross border relief and drainage and a big lunch!

Berducedo to Grandas de Salime. Downhill does your knees in! 

Tineo to Berducedo via the 'Hospitales' route. Vultures, views and a solitary mountain top picnic.

Salas to Tineo - Rogers and Hammerstein, and the great Safety Pin theft!

Short but hot day's walking from Grado to Salas. The guidebook has it as about 22Km, but it felt a lot longer!

Oviedo to Grado - first official day of the Primitivo route. A day (and night) full of the Camino spirit....in more ways than one!

Day 3 leaving San Salvador de Valdedios and heading for Oviedo. Compeed, Calamares and una copa de vino tinto, what more does a man need.

Second day - from La Isla to San Salvador de Valdedios. A day of rain, nuns and spiders with tatoos!

Final day's walking, into Santiago de Compostela, and the end of my Camino Portugues and the Camino Plodcast....until next time! (Though with the current Covid situation, when that will be is anybody's guess. One thing is for certain - I will definitely be going back.)

Day 11 of the Camino Plodcast starts with a fantastic boat trip on 'el barco de peregrino' up the river Arousa, via the 'Via Crucis Maritimo-Fluvial'. A fascinating journey, following the maritime route of the relics of St.James the Apostle, to Padron. The recordings don't quite do the trip justice, but I took plenty of photos along the way. Something very eerie about these beautiful stone crosses rising out of the water at intervals along the route. A sight that will stay with me for ever. At this point it wold have been just about possible to have reached Santiago, but it would have been a very long day. Discretion was the better part of valour, and the collective decision was to lay up after a good few miles, and enjoy another day of the Camino experience. Another memorable and enjoyable day in great company!