Hi there, patrons!

A sprawling, three week camino across Portugal and Spain was never going to be easy to condense into a ten minute video. But it was made slightly easier by re-reading my postcard from a couple of weeks back, and seeing what things were fresh in my mind as my sabbatical neared its end. So here it is: a ten minute taster of the Camino de Santiago (Portuguese Way), seen and heard through a musical lens.

As you’ll see, my GoPro camera was an invaluable companion during this journey. My Tascam portable recorder was…less so. I must have used it twice! It was simply too big and too buried at the bottom of my rucksack. No matter: I’ve since learned that most smartphones and the GoPro have more than adequate microphones.

There are a few songs, artists and books referred to in this video. To make it easier to track them down, here are some handy YouTube / bookshop links.

Uma casa portuguesa – Amália Rodrigues.

Maneo de Rabo de Lobo – Xurxo Fernandes.

Levaino! (Official Video) – Xurxo Fernandes.

Lines Made By Walking: I. Up The Mountain – John Luther Adams.

In Praise of Walking – Shane O’Mara.

Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art – James Nestor.

And also, a thank you to Music Patron, Greg who pointed me in the direction of this fantastic piece inspired by the Camino de Santiago, which follows the iconic French route.

Path of Miracles – Joby Talbot.

I was really tempted to do the French Way, but me and my partner were a little apprehensive about how long and crowded it might be. Walking nearly 400km hasn’t put me off doing another camino though… Maybe this will be my next challenge?

I’m looking forward to sharing my next update with you, in just a few weeks. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the video, and would love to hear any thoughts or suggestions on how I can make these updates even more exciting to read, watch and listen to.

Gareth