Hi everyone its been a year since my Long Walk with all its trials and tribulations, all the love discovered found and shared, the pain endured and the brief but personal glory upon arrival at the Cathedral in Santiago De Compostella. I very much resonate with the statement It's Not the Destination that is important its for sure the Glory of the Ride. Tread the Earth Lightly my friends and please leave as little or No Trace behind, (this includes all the brain deads that walk the Way of St James and leave their toilet paper strewn everywhere!). The World didn't end on December 21/2012 like predicted. Fate should also have it that in the Summer last year I returned to the Camino but this time i happen to be riding on a Honda CB1300 Motorbike the journey from St Jean-Pied-Le-Port to Gallicia in what seemed a blink of an eye, then travelling far down into Portugal to the Algarve on this lovely machine, upon returning to the UK two Months later 4000 miles had been clocked up on the milometer, but that is maybe another story folks!. Plans for this year i have many so maybe post something at a later date for you all. Thank You for taking the precious time to enjoy my Blogs too

EPILOGUE

Hi folks it has been a while since I have posted anything on my blog but I needed to process the Pilgrimage i partook in my head and also to heal my poor suffering feet after all the abuse I gave them pounding the many kilometres that I walked to Santiago, 1000ks in all!. I realised that nothing can prepare the body and mind to walk the Camino De Santiago in all its length, almost everyone that I met along the way seemed to be suffering from the effects of blisters callouses and sores on their feet, I also developed the painful condition of something i later found out was plantar fasciitis, or policeman’s flat feet!. Many people I chatted with also seemed to be suffering from painful Tendonitis in their knees and ankles and were trying to manage the pain each day whilst they were walking. On the many plus side of things I found that the peace I found myself in, walking on my own every day was priceless mind expanding and simply amazing. Some days I would be walking for many hours in such a state of harmony and peace with only with the sounds of nature surrounding me, and because I was walking slowly I noticed almost every very acute detail along the path, ranging from the odd wild strawberry growing in a little pocket of sunshine, to watching many numerous birds of prey soaring high above me in the sky. Another great thing about walking along the Camino is the comradeship felt with the many other Pilgrims all walking and heading towards the common goal of Santiago De Compostella, I feel that we are all connected in some way towards getting there and everyone I meet collectively helps each other out emotionally and spiritually even if they don’t realise that they are doing this, I can now understand how so many pilgrims come along, or are drawn to come this ancient pathway. Most of the Albergies I stayed at whilst walking to Santiago were modern, comfortable and very welcoming, most with good facilities and many of the hospitaleras running them went out of their way to make the many pilgrim’s feel comfy and at home when they arrived after a tiresome days walk. The only complaint I have about the albergies is that all of them are making huge profits from the pilgrims that pass through each day and then not reinvesting the profits into the albergies so one can simply not help the feeling of being a cash cow. The other thing that I noticed whilst walking along was that a lot of the pilgrims had huge rucksacks on their backs filled with who knows what!, this seemed to reflect the amount of baggage they carried in their minds too, as the ones i met that carried little seemed more at peace, one comes to realise as one walks that not too much is needed in material things to survive, all we really need in life is good suitable clothing for the climate were in, good food, and clean water, and a comfy place to sleep at night, that’s all, anything else is all material wants not needs!. I tried many ways of managing the many blisters and a corn I suffered with, at the end of each day I would thread cotton onto a sterilised needle and then pierce the blister with it leaving the cotton hanging out of each end allowing the blister to drain overnight I also rubbed alcohol onto the other parts of my feet that didn’t have the blisters, and I would then give my feet a good massage. I then found that the blisters reappeared by the end of the next days walk so the very same process was then repeated again. May i say i hope you have enjoyed reading this blog in its entirety. Since returning to the UK I have had many ideas running around in my head as to what adventures I should embark on in the near future, I am always open to suggestions from anyone that manages to enjoy reading my posts on here. I am currently focusing on manifesting monetary abundance so any donations are gratefully received, hit the donate button on the right of this page.

30th March 2012

20,400 steps omn my stepometer today Villar de Mazariffe to Hospitol de Orbigo. Had a great sleep last night and woke up feeling refreshed from it at 7am, i pack up my things into my backpack and go downstairs and have a coffee at the bar before i head off on the trail.my feet are sore today from the corn i have on my little toe and also from the blisters i had on both heels from yesterdays walk, this was caused by my insoles that i have put in my boots to help my foot condition of plantar fasciitis.I walk a lot slower today but this dosent seem to help too much and this then gives me another huge blister on the other little toe.The road is very flat out of the village and the fields strech out for many miles around and it looks like maize is being grown here,the sun comes up very soon after i set off,a couple of hours into my walk i reach a sleepy village called Villavante and have another coffee at the bar and this is where i meet three fellow pilgrims on the path to Santiago,a couple one who is English the other that is South African that both live live in Barcelona, and also an English lady that lives in Brighton.We all walk together to the next town when i decide that i am done for the day its only 11:30am when i arrive.The albergie here called Karl Leisner in the center of town is very beautiful and also very peaceful it is 17th century with a central courtyard and also a grassed garden out of the back.Theirs not a cloud in the sky and its probably 22 degrees again today.I find the pharmacy and buy some blister plasters and also a couple of mini silicon tubes to put over my little toes to stop the rubbing and hopefully this will sort the problems i have out,i will let you all know!!!

fly to Spain today

27th march 2012, Fly out of bristol airport this afternoon at 17:20 its now 10:30 in the morning jess came and picked up my dog last night (gonna miss him), I tied up all my loose ends for here at home whilst I'm away yesterday, my bag is packed and been checked again last night, I'm about to have a bath in a bit after a shave, then I'm going to get dressed then have a bowl of Museli for breakfast, I still havn't listed my backpack contents for you all but I will get around to it and hopefully take a few snaps to include for on here too. When I arrive in Madrid later this evening after my easyjet flight from Bristol I need to use the underground tube system to get to the city centre, then find myself somewhere nice to stay for the night so tomorrow I can either catch the train or bus to Leon.

Hi everyone just letting you all know that ive boked my flight to Madrid with Easyjet for the third leg of my journey to Santiago for Tuesday week the 27th March i will stay one night in the City before i get the train up to Leon to carry on where i left the trail of yellow arrows equiped with my new karrimor rucksack and newly purchased guide book by a guy named John Brierly called simply a pilgrims guide to Santiago and my newly repacked kit towards my destination??.I will come back on here in few days to list my backpack contents and tell you all my thoughts. I cant wait and im excited now to be on this pilgrimage again so soon.

journeying

Hi everyone, here's what I've been up too since my last blog of to be continued a while back...... I had many factors on the decisions I made over the time spent on contemplation of my pilgrimage up until and whilst staying in the city of Leon, so here goes in my explanation of firstly the lessons I learn't and then what I decided to do next, I hope you all enjoy. Firstly I realized I had damaged both of my feet by overworking my ligaments that ran across both arches,I also had a couple of bad blisters and a very sore corn on my little toe,and couldn't see the point of carrying on walking towards Santiago in excruciating pain as the Camino will always be here. Secondly up until this point of my pilgrimage in the middle of the winter, the weather I encountered was somewhat harsh exposed to the elements but probably no different to any other winter on the Camino, I found the trail quite solitary at many times along its route which was great for inner exploration but not so good for the fact many albergies were shut after a long cold days walk, and others that said on my guide sheet that they would be open ,clearly were not when I arrived so I would then have to trek sometimes maybe another 10k to find somewhere to rest for the night which in irony was what did the damage to my feet. I then took the decision to head back to the UK and heal my body by getting a train to Madrid then a plane out of Spain. As I write this blog my rucksack is sitting next me here at home packed and almost ready to go,I have ordered and I'm just waiting for delivery a new pair of walking poles, and also lightened my loads a bit by streamlining the innards of my backpack slightly.I have been going to the gym for extended periods since coming back and doing extensive cardiovascular and weights training to improve my general stamina and strength,I have bought a great guide book a pilgrims guide to the Camino by a author called John Brierley,the maps in this guide are great and it also lists the lengths of each stage and also gives readers comprehensive information in many other ways. Although as mentioned earlier my backpack is packed and ready I have decided to go back and finish the pilgrimage in April because by then all the albergies along the way hopefully will be open,and I will have an entirely different experience meeting other pilgrims,hopefully the weather may be a bit kinder to me too. I have now put out to the universe to raise the very appreciated and needed cash to carry on this adventure and exploration, firstly to the city of Santiago then onto the coast at Muxia, then who knows where the wind will take me,as it's really not the destination that's important, it's the glory of the ride along the way. I will keep posting my thoughts and plans on here over the coming weeks, so please keep on popping back or subscribe to this post and you will receive a notification by email when I do. All donations to my cause humbly and gratefully received.

Leon

Leon City. I've decided to take a rest in this beautiful city, recharge my batteries rest my tired feet and explore this amazing place,I've taken many photos of the center of the old city and its like a rabbit warren also so photogenic and I've uploaded the pics onto my Flickr account which is www.Flickr.com/photos/moldaviteman Yesterday I found a spa and had a well earn't sauna,steam,Jacuzzi, and then a good massage. The albergie is quiet at the mo. Apart from mammoth snoring at night so good earplugs really recommended if like me a light sleeper, the weather is lovely and sunny out but crisp like 3' degrees.3 euros deposit gives me use of one of the bicycles that the albergie owns and after my weeks of plodding toward Santiago if feel like speedy Gonzales :'0) the hostel is closed for cleaning from 10 till 12:30 so I'm sitting in a great cafe 500yards from the door enjoying a Grande cafe con leche and a tortilla Francesca contemplating life the universe and feeling very content with life. One thing I've realized along this pilgrimage is that we normally have so many luxuries at our disposal in this abundant point in space and time, and these luxuries we have somehow taken for granted, and eventually we kid ourself's in thinking these luxuries are necessities in our life.ha ha, Walking this walk I've realized we really don't need much to enjoy and live life,only good food,clean water, practical clothes,and universal unconditional love for all and everything,and if we truly trust. In this philosophy the universe will always provide exactly what we need along the way.Buen Camino :'0)

Calzadilla de la fuega to Sahugun

Camino de la Calzadilla to Sahugun 42,000 stepometer I must mention that the albergie at Calzadilla de la fuega is being run temporarily by a German lady that wears glasses and one lense is seriously cracked.Upon arrival as it was Sunday (and their is no bars or shops in the village) I decided to pay 7 euros for the bed and another 10 euros for the Pellegrino menu to be served at 7pm the past few days I've opted for the menu at other albergies and been fed good food three courses and hot food and lots of it and been very satisfied,I should have known it was a con as she was selling rotten fruit and other things like hats and clothes and stuff that people had left behind or discarded for unrealistic prices!! It smelt a bit funky too in the office when I sat in there to register!!. When 7pm came I was served sticky stodgy spaghetti with some kind of tomato sauce and lots of oil with an egg cut up into it and was cold and was far from satisfactory and tasted foul but I was hungry so I ate it. The next course was simply a cold small sardine type fish complete with its head and skin tail the lot,it was dry and well fishy!!!.and that was all I was offered.no dessert or anything else,even though she joined me at the other side of the broken plastic table with a huge cup of noodle type soup and a plate full of what looked like deep fried battered chicken and veg for herself.I really felt unhappy with what I was given for 10 euros and she's really out to make money out of the pilgrims so she can stay traveling the Camino and i had seriously bad indigestion burping up fish taste till I went to bed a bit later.the bed was uncomfortable but the only thing that was in my favour was that early eve the woman turned the heating off and left me alone but the switch wasn't working properly so it stayed on all night so when I woke up at 7 the next morning with an inch of snow outside at least it was still warm in the albergie.I obviously quickly left and started my walk towards Sahagun in the snow,the temp.outside was just above freezing and when I got a little way out of the village it started to rain,my feet seem to be aching loads today and I'm finding the track hard going I've got about 22k to go today and have my waterproofs on.I find it easier to walk along the road as it seems flatter and theirs no traffic on this road as they all use the motorway that runs parallel to it, at lunchtime I find a good bar the only one so far in the dew villages I've passed through and have a welcome couple of coffees and a big slice of tortilla I got about 6ks to get to Sahugun so go a bit slower after lunch and reach there at about 2 o'clock in the afternoon I walk all around the town only to find all of the albergies shut and the towns having a siesta so no shops open.theres a train station in Sahugun so I decide to jump on the train half an hours journey to Leon instead of the three days walk and rest here for a few days as my feet are suffering so bad.when I arrived in Leon I walked from the station and visit the amazing cathedral before heading to the albergie for a well earnt rest.I'm totally exhausted but feel so good in my head and in my heart.lets hope the rest will revitalize my poor feet :)

Carrion de los condes to Calzadilla de la cueza

Carrion des condes to Calzadilla de la cueza. 23450 stepometer
My feet were aching today so I walked slowly leaving the albergie and town at 9 it wasn't so cold today as it has been but still the fog and low visabilty, but with added damp mist so rain jacket was defiantly needed I plodded the very straight track for hours it felt like being on a no ending conveyor belt I couldn't stop for long when I really needed too as my muscles are constantly cramping in the cold when I do and my body gets freezing when I had walked for about 3 hrs a man stopped in his car and gave my a flyer for his albergie I asked him how much further to the next village and he said 5ks I wished it a lot less but it was just over an hour later I reached the village the albergie here has heating but not in the bathroom and I declined the outdoor swimming pool and I spend the rest of today relaxing my sore muscles in my sleeping bag in bed near the radiator happy,goodnight.

Hontanas to Itero de la Vega 29,500 woke up today late like 8am instead of 7 ,it's freezing inside and out I quickly dress and pack put all my clothes I have on again, and have a quick coffee from the machine downstairs and get out into the freezing fog again, I walk for an hour or so and pass an ancient derelict monastery before reaching Castrojeres about an hour and a half later.I find a shop in the centre and buy bread ham salami and chocolate it's almost too cold to make a sandwich and eat it outside but I manage too as I'm hungry and have Jo choice and really need the energy and I see a huge hill a few ks away that im going to have to climb so I grin and bear the cold. After my snack I quickly walk out of the village and start the climb up the hill it's very steep and long and by the time I'm half way up I'm well into the freezing cloud,I didn't hang around at the top to savour the victory of the climb and decide to push on down the other side much to the complaint of my poor feet.I find the last 3 or 4ks so hard and almost stumble into Itero and the Albergie,once inside I have to plead with the owner to put on the heating on as it's as cold inside as outside im hoping it warms up soon.

Burgos to Hontanas. 43,300. Woke early today and had a few cups of tea in the albergie and managed to fit my protesting feet into my boots then left Burgos at about 9am after breakfast of Spanish omelet with ham and cheese in the city by the cathedral. It's soooo cold I have all of my clothes on and two hats,every fountain I pass is frozen too, when I reached the city limits visibility was very little and I seem to be walking into a freezing fog cloud everything's in a suspended animation, every plant seems to be frozen and it's almost eery.I reach a town called tardajos a few hours latter and the sun finally breaks through I decide to have a break on a bench facing the sun and a little old lady appears from her house to join me she brings me an apple.and a wine bottle filled with water and we chat for about an hour together me talking in English and her in Spanish neither of us understanding the other but both happy to share this bench and the sunshine,I finish my break and say goodbye and walk onto the next village a few ks away here I take my shoes and socks off and let my throbbing feet have a well.earnt Sun bath. Here I decide ti push onto the next village about 8ks on called Honillas del Camino up and over a huge hill as it's beautiful and warm I stop.at the top and have another sun bath for my feet and then descend to the village below,only to find it like a ghost village with no shops or bars just the albergie that's like a bomb shelter with a temperature of a fridge!!.
I deside not to stay here ad I'm hungry and push on another 10ks to Hontanas as it's now 5:10 I know I will get there after 7 and in the dark its up and down a few hills and getting cold, every time I stop my hip muscles are locking up.it was pick black with no moon by the time I reach the village and luckily enough there is a bar and they make me some lovely food.I'm so tired I can hardly eat it but do as I feel ravenous and then I go and have a great shower in the only albergie open.the place is freezing inside with no heating and luckily only two other pilgrims staying here tonight so I wrap myself up inside my sleeping bag with two thick blankets for warmth take a couple of ibruprofens and dome valerian tincture and soon fall fast asleep.

st jean-pied-le-port

H

eres where I started the walk from on the 10th December 2011 I chose to drive down through France to this point,many start from their homes simply putting a rucksack on their backs and saying goodbye for whenever!!!
on the first night in sjpp there was 5 pilgrims staying at the one albergie open I got chatting with one man Michael from chzec republic who had set off from Prague 4 months previously,and one French man john Lou who had set off from Paris three nonth back.
the town itself is an ancient bastilion and very picturesque with an amazing citadel at the top well worth exploring.
the day I arrived it was cool and scattered clouds and I could see huge rainbow trout swimming lasily in the river under the towns bridge.
there's plenty of places to park a car and leave it in the town,theirs a lidls shop and good bakeries plus a good tourist information.
the fraternity if st James office is very easy to find and they are very helpful.
they have upto date list of open albergies all along the French route from there onwards.
plus a map showing you the contours of the days ahead.they have free internet there too but it's very antiquated and slow but free so cant complain.
beautiful cobbled streets and ancient houses all set around a panorama of hills.