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Continuing the Caminho Into Spain This morning after breakfast I walked to the port and got on a taxi boat to Spain. On my way to the port, I bought earplugs, perhaps late but still better than never. I also met a guy from Scotland who was running the pilgrimage 🏃‍♂️ for his own emotional and personal reasons and we spoke as we walked for a kilometre or two. These encounters definitely test my ability to stick with the things I'm trying to learn on The Camino. There's no escape from yourself, there's growth only through evolution or you face stagnation. And as I type this the song "The Number of the Beast" by Iron Maiden starts playing in my ears. Gosh, what's up with me seeing symbols, meaning and messages everywhere!?! 17km today, and the walk north seems quieter with few villages and far between. I still have about 147km to go, unfortunately, the map and the reality are not matching much as I choose different paths to avoid certain roads or huge hills. Hence it doesn't feel like massive progress.😕

Today should be easy... Walking to Caminha (Portugal) Last night I camped at a really nice & rare place near a small river and the beach. Most of the time finding shade and shelter from the sun under trees is difficult. So this spot was magic. Once I started opening my tent I met my fellow camper. A charming Swede who was here in Portugal to surf. It seemed like although we were both very happy to be on our own while on our trips, we needed some human connection and a positive experience that night. So we had a very pleasant, relaxed and interesting time together once we'd set up our tents. He even cooked pasta and generously shared his meal with me. I slept fine and in the morning I headed out through forest-like paths along the beach. No painful blisters, no struggle today. So it should be easy to make it to Caminha today and be in Spain tomorrow…. Listening to my favourite pod this morning " Behind the Bastards ". Stopped for brunch now, disappointed I don't see more "traditional" food on the menu. Tomorrow I'll be in Spain I walked 15km today. Deciding to stop & sleep in a real bed tonight. Camping is fine, but running water and showers are the things I don't actually want to live without for more than a day or two. Plus washing up needs doing too. Approximately 160km to go to Santiago. 😅 At some point, it rained and I imagined it will drench me soon, so I pulled out my poncho. I don't know whether to be disappointed that I did pull it out or that it didn't rain enough to justify the poncho. ☔ I started listening to "Fight Club". I honestly don't know what the fuss is about. It's basically about men who struggle with toxic masculinity, abandonment and daddy issues as well as a lack of emotional intelligence. That culminates in extreme, masculine forms of self-harm and self-abuse - a reflection of their self-hate. After 35% I was done with it. Plus the writing style of the author is horrible. Tonight I may go out for a meal and watch Netflix. 🎬🤔

Let me be lazy A night in a real bed, with the windows closed to insulate the outside noise, was good. If only I could exterminate the bloody screeching seagulls, it'd have been perfect. I start my day with a nice shower and breakfast at the hotel. And with more blisters on the horizon… I mean the heel I realise I am running low on plasters. 😢😔 It's 9.30am and despite my backpack being all ready waiting for me to get up and go, I feel glued to the bed. I don't want to leave yet. The weather is cloudy wich I'm actually happy about, so if it stays that way I'd have no trouble walking through lunchtime. So fingers crossed, as my lazy ass wants some more BED time. When I'm done lazing around, I'd go to the pharmacy, get plasters and hit the road again. Some weird ass paths await and I think I'd have to just "make my own" route as I don't wanna to walk through non-existing paths in the middle of nowhere. Reading "K-PAX" - first fiction book in a long time. 📚💜 Reading reflections. The other day I also started and finished "The body is not an apology" which I hoped would offer more than it did. That said, please do keep in mind that due to my work I have actually read and learnt from primary sources (understand science journal articles and studies) on shame, body issues as self image, eating disorders, negative self perception etc. resulting from body dysmorphia and the role media, society and people in our lives play… Otherwise, I'd say the book is a great starting point for anyone keen on learning about challenging the Body negative world we live in and embracing themselves and their bodies with love and compassion. I hoped there'd be more about self care, listening to one's body and this is what got me reading this one, as you know that's been a key topic of reflection for me since on the Camino. If anyone has recommendations for books of that nature, please do send these titles over to me. A comment or via email. In the Middle of Nowhere The stretch from Viana do Castelo going north is a bit shit. Plenty of walking with no good views and to avoid the nonexistent paths, I have to keep checking the countless maps I've got to figure out alternative routes. I've walked 17km today and I feel like I've hardly made progress. Progress! Ah that word will be redefined in my head and with time, since I finished "Civilized to death". I'm currently just outside Afife, found a place to wild camp next to a tiny river. Hopefully it'll be a peaceful night. There's a white converted van and a car parked here, let's see how they are.

Fuck the laundry, that route and myself! Last night I stayed in another campsite. Finally, I slept better than previous nights, but when it rained again it woke me up and I had a "Fuck!" moment as I've done laundry and it was hanging out… In the morning I finished "Civilized to Death" and started "The Body is not an Apology" 📚. After deciding to take the beaches route without really checking it on the 762 travel maps I've got I came to regret it when I was faced with a "path" through the actual beaches..That was the second "Fuck!" moment of today. It's crap walking on sand with a big backpack and hiking boots. But when I found the long desert beach I decided to have my lunch break there. It was nice and quiet and I got out my toy and had myself two joyful orgasms right there on the beach... Oh! A way to honour your body unapologetically! The greatest way to have my third "Fuck!" moment of the day. And to spoil myself I've got a hotel room for tonight. 🤩 Yes to pancakes! 📚 💜 Reading on the road and Reading reflections Today I finished reading "Civilized to Death" and I'd like to share a reflection that I think we should all have every so often. The book is an overview of the way we "created" civilization and "became" civilised. It looks at foragers and the life and mentality of tribes - how much more they are in tune with their needs and how much more leisure time they have. The question of how we ended up "Civilized" is not as important as to how more and more people want to live life closer to nature and simple pleasures similar to that of foraging people. It reminded me again and again about the short story "The Fisherman And The Businessman" by Paulo Coelho - do read it. It made me think of my dad, of my own strive for progress, definitions of success and ways I want to live. I know I need very little to be happy, but am I working towards the life of the Fisherman or the illusion of the good life described by the Businessman..? Where are my actions leading me to? 💯 According to the app that tracks my walking, I've hit 100km since the start of my journey on 10th September! 🚶‍♀️🤩

Let me complain a little. More bad sleep. It rained a little during the night and the humidity is just shit. Waking up sleepy and not rested along with a sticky and weirdly moist (yes, no better word-deal with it) skin is not fun. The bad blister is now almost done killing me, but 2 new blisters appeared and now it's just living hell walking with these. I'm slower than an aged turtle & limping like a pigeon missing its toes. Not a nice experience or view. I've walked 4km this morning and stopped a number of times to give my feet a break. Seeing other pilgrims walking fine and happy makes me wanna sit on my ass and not do shit until the blisters are gone…It makes you appreciate your health to a whole new level… I must say I'm glad I returned to Wim Hoff's Cold Showers practice before I hit the road, as these are now pretty much daily out of necessity. I should journal about the surprises I have had this far on my journey… P.S. Not all pancakes are equal. Change of scenery After a painful morning, my feet finally settled and carried me the furthest in a single day on the Camino. If I'm to trust my app, I've walked nearly 18km. Considering how difficult this morning was, I cannot believe I managed to make it this far. The path took me into the villages and although there were no beaches, I did enjoy looking at the beautiful houses and yards people have here and also taken more pics of flowers. During the more boring paths, along people's farms, I managed to entertain myself massively with the book "Civilized to Death", I'll be done with it by lunchtime tomorrow. It's a good read and making me question the ways we live and the way I want to live and interact with 'civilisation'. It made me think I should rewatch an old Bulgarian comedy movie titled "The misunderstood civilisation". I will share more about it in a post soon, but The Camino is doing its magic on me. I'm really living in and with my body!!! 💚 Reflections: Listening to my body and talking back to it This is going to seem potentially very weird…but keep reading. So, imagine your body is an animal of its own kind, a creature outside of your conscious mind, that tries to communicate with you in its own way e.g pain. It's like a baby, if you haven't been paying attention to its ways of communicating with you, you won't distinguish the different cries and their meaning. So taking on these analogies, and as someone who is highly cognitive and living in my head - not my body, I am becoming aware how years of doctors' and other people's gaslighting regarding my mysterious pain condition has detached me from my body and settled me in my head, avoiding, disregarding, not listening to my body and not responding to its needs and wants. This is changing now. I'm listening & I'm talking back to it. And so much emotion wants to come out, so much physical and mental trauma needs releasing. I'm going to get there, slowly but surely.

And here I was, tired and finding myself sitting along the river in a nice bar/restaurant which had a warm atmosphere, what looked like good prices, and also pancakes! Name of the place: Bella Vista - Lounge bar & Restaurant Presentation of the pancake - 5 stars Taste - 5 stars Price - Value for money Venue atmosphere - bar/restaurant, modern, cozy, warm, clean - 4.5 stars Location of the venue - along the river in town - good - 4 stars Staff - friendly, yet it felt slightly disorganised due to different waiters coming to serve me - 4 stars What more? - I wish I could eat and eat and eat those awesome pancakes daily! ;D 👇 Explore and read more articles from the suggestions below.

I hopped on a night train from Zagreb, Croatia to Belgrad, Serbia, and was lucky enough to share a cabin with a Serbian boy who spoke perfect English and we had such good conversations for a couple of hours. At some point, we decided to nap before reaching Belgrade. We had 2 separate checks of passports and one check of train tickets, which was slightly annoying, to be honest...but that's the pain of travelling through countries that are not in Schengen. I still don't understand how and why this was, but often times really heavy smells hit us on the train, it smelled like petrol or oil, burned or melting metal, dirt, and something toxic... I kept on suffocating and breathing in my jumper quite a lot.

This morning we packed our camp, sat for a long coffee, and chatted before we headed to the hot springs at the bottom of the mountain in Sapareva Banya. But before that - it was time for brunch... so we stopped at a really good place called Panichishte (Паничище). We stuffed ourselves with great food and went to a big SPA centre with pools called Kotvata. It took me a while to realize I have been to this place 4 years ago with Julien when we travelled around south Bulgaria. The pools ranged in temperature from 20 to 45 degrees Celsius. I was fairly impressed with Pete as he made it in every possible pool - from those with practically cold water through to the hottest one in which I couldn't even soak my feet in for a minute. The weather was gorgeous up until 5 pm when it became cloudy and it started raining. It was still nice outside and many people stayed. However we left around 6 pm as we had a long drive back to Niki's and we wanted to rest and get enough sleep for yet another adventure the next day - heading North-East to see a couple of caves and beautiful waterfalls. 👇 Explore and read more articles from the suggested below.

If you want to have amazing pancakes and coffee in Rijeka, Croatia - you have to go to Pačalinka! Since in Europe, I have been on the lookout for good places to have pancakes. And I will admit to having been to quite a few places, but I will only mention those that are valued for money and are worth the visit. In the UK we have an annual Pancakes day, for me in Europe - every day is a potential pancake day! Pačalinka is a pancakes house very close to the main bus station in Rijeka. The menu is great, you can choose the pancake base/mix as they have 3 different options. Then you can choose to add the fillings - fruit, sauce, jams, etc. as well as ice creams. You have full control and the pancake just gets delivered to you - looking great, big, tasty, and amazing! The service was also good and quick, the girls were nice and spoke English well enough to take my orders. The atmosphere was relaxed, the space was well decorated and one could use the WiFi and the sockets to charge devices too. As someone traveling on a tight budget, I will mention here that the place is rather cheap, and offers a lot for the price! I hope it stays this way forever! It is the place with the best pancakes I've had in a very long while! So yes...I recommend this place! 👇 Explore and read more articles from the suggested below.