It’s been a busy five weeks and a bit. 

First Portugal, and Fátima, and spending time with our friend Julie Stafford just prior to the launch of her new and astonishing global smoked salmon business. 

Then prepping the tour. 

Then the tour itself, where I was privileged to spend time with some remarkable and courageous people. 

Then the Cannes Film Festival. And meeting Julian Lord, which was a treat. 

Then Budapest, for research for my second WHITE WITCH : BLACK WITCH book, and to meet up with my two buddies – Balazs and Laszlo – from my 2013 Camino. 

And now I’m looking forward to getting home to Mudgee, and getting back into a routine again. 

I have my intuition film to finish, and possibly a new film to shoot, along with finalising arrangements for our next two tours this year – the Mother Ganga Indian tour in September, and the Bavarian Romantic Road Christmas tour in December. 

What was the highlight of the trip? 

I think it was getting to know some of the New Zealand carers on the Portuguese Camino. I learned a lot from some of them. I learned a lot about the nobility of the human spirit. 

I think as well a highlight for me was spending that short time on the Santiaguino rocks at the back of Padron. I found that time there to be a greater spiritual experience than arriving at the Cathedral at Santiago. 

There was also one day on the Camino when, for a period, I walked by myself and I felt like I was flying. Transported on angels’ wings. It was truly transcendent. I’ll never forget that. 

What was the biggest lesson I learned? 

It came via something very pragmatic – when Jennifer and I arrived in Budapest and discovered the airline had lost one of our checked in bags. It was a bag that not only contained some purchases we’d made – gifts mainly – but also some personal belongings which would be hard to replace. 

At the time the airline – a low cost airline (the fare from Nice to Budapest was amazing!) – had no record and no idea where the bag was. It looked like it had disappeared for good. But three days later it thankfully turned up. 

I learned from that experience that these things which you think have value in your life really don’t – and they’re not important. In a previous incarnation I would have been anxious and recriminatory and worried for those three days, and ruined my time in Budapest. 

That didn’t happen. 

I did all I could to help find and retrieve the bag, I then went out and brought those necessary things that were in the bag that I urgently needed, and then I let go of all emotion and let it be. And trusted that the bag would turn up. I didn’t lay blame on the airline, or the baggage handlers – I trusted that through their care and professionalism, they would find the bag and get it to me. 

Which is what happened. 

A big lesson for me. 

Letting go. 

And trusting. 

Soon we will be landing, and then I’ll have to acclimatise to a chilly Mudgee – but there is a lot of very exciting work ahead, and now after five weeks I have fresh eyes, and I feel I’m ready to see things clearly. 

Edited with BlogPad Pro

A few months before I set out to walk my first Camino in April of 2013, I arranged via a forum site to share a taxi from Biarritz airport to St. Jean Pied de Port.

The three people who shared that taxi with me – two Hungarian fellows and a beautiful young lass from Holland – would become friends for life.

Laszlo

Rosa

Balazs

Foolishly, I had started my Camino with a dicky knee, born from too much over zealous training. By the time I’d walked to Pamplona, the knee had ballooned out to the size of a bloated grapefruit, and I was in a lot of pain.

As I was limping up to the massive walled city I met up with the two Hungarian blokes – Balazs and Laszlo. The three of us checked into an albergue, then they arranged to get my knee iced. Balazs bound the ice against my knee with his expensive hi-tech towel.

Later that afternoon he took me to a large department store where he urged me to buy some walking poles, because he said there was no way I would get to Santiago without using poles. Later he would tell me he didn’t believe there was a chance in hell I would finish the Camino. He thought my Camino was already over.

The next morning he and Laszlo prepared to leave the albergue to continue their walk, and as a parting act of generosity Balazs said I could keep his towel, as long as I promised to keep my knee iced.

I remember waving them off – sad that I would never see my two Camino buddies ever again.

Laszlo (L) and Balazs (R) at Pamplona about to continue their walk.

I spent the day resting, and fuming.

I wasn’t going to let my knee thwart my desire to complete the Camino. So the next morning I set off, determined to try and catch them up. But both Balazs and Laszlo were fast walkers. I heard along the grapevine that they were now way ahead of me.

I knew what day Balazs was due to fly out of Santiago, so I set my sights on being there the day before so I could give him back his towel.

During the walk I criss-crossed with Rosa several times – always a delight – and Laszlo too, who had surprised himself by walking so strongly.

I got to Santiago two days early – but Balazs had gone to Muxia and Finisterre. So I waited, and the day before he was due to fly out the four of us met in the square in front of the Cathedral where I ceremoniously gave Balazs back his towel. 

It was Balazs’s towel – or at least the need for me to give him back his towel – that got me through the Camino.

The four of us then went to the midday Mass, after which we had a very long lunch at the O Gato Negro where we ate too much pulpo, drank too much wine, and laughed way too loudly.

Since then we’ve kept in touch – and when Jennifer and I decided to come to Budapest I let Balazs and Laszlo know. Yesterday morning Laszlo picked us up from our hotel, after driving for three hours from his village to come and collect us – then he drove a further hour to where Balazs lives – in a beautiful town to the north of Budapest.

Both men took the day off work to show us around the town – Szentendre – one of the most picturesque towns in Hungary.

We then returned to Balazs’s house where we met his lady friend, a beautiful woman named Kinga – then he cooked us a truly amazing meal. Several courses of restaurant quality fare – the highlight being the best duck breast I’ve ever had, cooked to perfection – 12 minutes at 200 degrees Celsius, said Balazs.

It would be the catchphrase of the evening.

Balazs also provided some magnificent Hungarian wines. Man o man this country makes some good plonk

Laszlo is an architect and during the evening he showed us on his laptop the wonderful work he’s been doing, and later he sang several traditional songs from his village. It was very moving.
A great dinner and evening. Our only regret was that Rosa couldn’t be there with us.

This morning Balazs got up early and went down to the bakery and brought back some beautiful fresh pastries, then made us coffee which was of a standard that an Australian would accept – meaning that it was bloody good.

After breakfast we said our goodbyes – sadly – knowing though that we would see each other again sometime, somewhere, some other place.

This is the thing about the Camino – in a very short period you can develop incredibly strong bonds of friendship that can last years, even lifetimes. It kind of defies logic really.

Who would have thought that a taxi ride from Biarritz to St. Jean could be the start of such a friendship…

Julian and I finally met in Cannes.

For those of you who don’t know who I’m talking about, Julian Lord, aka JabbaPapa, has been a regular on this blog almost since it started.

I was very excited to meet him.

He and I have crossed swords on many occasions. Julian, you see, is a committed Christian, and I am not. I am not a Christian and I have not yet been committed.

But I’m working on it.

Julian lives in Monaco, about 30kms up the coast from Cannes. We arranged to meet during the festival but unfortunately when he arrived I was in a meeting with a UK sales agent and I kept him waiting a while. But he was good natured, and said that as a pilgrim time doesn’t really matter…

What stuck me when I first laid eyes on Julian is that he is an imposing figure. He’s a tall large man, with an intensity about him that some would find daunting. He was wearing all black, with a swirling black cape and a pilgrim’s staff.

This was no affectation for my benefit. This is the way Julian dresses.

I drove him back to Grasse, a small town in the hills behind Cannes which is where Jennifer and I were staying. We had dinner together and I asked him a bunch of questions.

Julian is a highly intelligent, highly educated man – educated at the Sorbonne, which is the most prestigious University in France. He has firm views on most matters, which he will argue passionately and with the scholarship to back up his position.

Julian has an incisive mind that consistently challenges the veracity of statements you might make. I like this. It keeps me on my toes.

Julian and I most recently parried when I wrote a blog –

Religion is a Fatburger

Julian felt that I was belittling religion, which was not my intention. Read the blog, read the comments back and forth, and you will get a sense of Julian.

I have enormous respect for his views, because I know they come from faith and erudition, which is a hard combination to argue against.

But I do my best.

Julian walked his first pilgrimage in the early 90s, before the Camino was as widely known as it is today. He has walked to Santiago many times since, from various starting points way further afield than St. Jean Pied de Port, and he’s walked back home again too.

He had a revelation during his first pilgrimage, and that turned him to Christianity.

Julian is the real deal.

The next day Jennifer and I drove him back to Monaco. When we got there he very kindly helped me with getting a French SIM card recharged for my iPad.

We spent too little time together unfortunately for us to really engage in the kind of discussions that we both hankered for. We just skittered around the edges. But there will be time again somewhere down the track, I’m sure. Julian has come into my life for a reason, I feel that very strongly.

As we parted I told him he was a true pilgrim.

He told me that I’m not, yet, but I’m getting’ there…

That’s a big compliment from Julian Lord!

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I tell people I have to go to the Cannes Film Festival again this year, and I groan.

And they roll their eyes and think I’m a wanker.

Perhaps I am.

But Cannes, for a working independent film producer, is gruelling. It’s a hard slog for the week or however many days you’re there. It’s not glamorous and it’s not sexy, it’s just meeting after meeting, late nights, early breakfasts, crowds rubbernecking, getting in your way as you’re rushing along the Croisette (the main drag) from one meeting to another.

Everyone is late for meetings at Cannes. Sometimes they simply don’t show, because someone more important crosses their path. Often the real business happens when you bump into someone in the street, or in a bar, or at a cocktail party.

It’s that random.
And it’s that structured.

For independent film producers such as Jennifer and myself, Cannes is the most important  market in the calendar year.

Because Cannes is actually two beasts in one – it’s not only a glamorous and prestigious film festival – the most prestigious and important festival in the world – but running alongside is a market, called the Marche. This is where the year’s business is done in the film industry.

Every major distributor, financier, sales agent, and producer comes to Cannes. It’s the one market they all attend. This Cannes is my 20th. And one side of me loathes it with a passion, and the other side loves the celebration of cinema, and the attendant glamour.

The film industry is a tough business – and the physical production of a film is often extremely demanding, physically and emotionally – and so I love Cannes because actors turn into movie stars, and directors are feted, and films are studied and respected, not as entertainment artefacts, but as works of art.

I’ve had films in Official Selection at Cannes, in the festival, and I’ve walked up the red carpet, and I’ve stood in the Palais – the main cinema – and looked out at the faces of 2500 cinephiles as they applauded my work. For a filmmaker, there are very few moments in your career that beat that.

On the other end of the spectrum I’ve had films which have not been chosen in Official Selection, and have screened in the Marche. That’s like one year staying in the Plaza in New York, and the next year staying in the YMCA.

It’s grounding, and humbling. And every filmmaker goes through it, even the big names.

One year I sat in a hotel room in Paris beside the chief Cannes selector as he told Clint Eastwood that his film would not be chosen for Cannes. It’s brutal.

I would be quite content never to come to Cannes again – unless of course my next film is chosen in Official Selection. Then I’ll tell everyone with great glee: I’m going to Cannes again this year – whoo hoo!

This is being posted two days late, I’m sorry, because of travel and lousy internet at my current hotel in France. Portugal has the best internet ever!!

Last day of the tour – no walking – most everyone slept in.

We’re staying in the luxurious San Bieito – the same hotel we stayed in last tour. Only a few hundred meters from the Cathedral.

At 11am some of us headed off for the midday Mass, and were fortunate to see the swinging of the Botafumierio – a surprising highlight of the tour.

Later in the afternoon we did some group portraits –

We then hopped in our charter bus which took us to Cape Finisterre – the End of the World, and the end of our tour.

We had an early dinner at one of the best seafood restaurants in Galicia – then drove up to the Cape and watched the sun go down.

It was a perfect end to the tour – time to relax, reflect on the last two weeks, and consider life after the Camino.

This was a wonderful and deeply moving tour with a bunch very special people… and we all felt sad that it had to come to an end… but for many, it will be just the start.

Here are some of my favourite shots from the Portuguese Camino tour, 2016.

These are not necessarily tour related, or Camino related – just some shots I took during this traveling that I quite like…

(this has been posted the morning after, because of slow internet speeds last night…) 

Today we walked into Santiago de Compostela –
We completed our walk.
Some 260 kms in twelve days.
And the relief, and sense of achievement for our group, was huge!

Bart arriving in Cathedral square

It was a particularly pleasing achievement for Marilyn Workman and Stella Kinniburgh – both women in their 70s who found it tough going these past few days. Today on the last day’s walk there were many hills that women half their age would have struggled up.

Marilyn and her sister Laurie

Alistair and Stella

But they made it, and they each now have their Compostela – their certificate of completion of the Camino.

Laurie Hilsgen too completed the walk, with huge blisters which for the past several days have caused her constant pain.

Laurie arriving in square

It’s stories like these, of people overcoming pain and adversity, which to me symbolise the power and mystique of the Camino.

It was a long day’s walk today – about 22kms – under overcast skies with a slight drizzle. Perfect walking weather.

Here’s Ruth powering through her last day. I remember on the first day, she was so anxious as to whether she would make it. She has been of the major success stories of this tour. (There have been many!) But just look at the radiance in her face.

Ruth on last day

Alistair, Stella and Ruth left early – about 7am – so that they could take it easy, take photos, and enjoy the last day of the walk. It meant that those who left later, and walked faster, caught them up towards the tail end of the day, which was perfect – as we all wanted to walk into Santiago as a group.

Jennifer meanwhile took Jan and Vivienne back to Padron, so they could climb those steps and see St. James’ preaching spot. They said later that it had been well worth doing, and a highlight of the trip for them.

I walked out front with Ian a good deal of today – and we kept a swift pace. We talked and i learned more about this extraordinary man, who with his wife have devoted their lives to the upbringing of their handicapped son.

Ian on last day

Ian to me epitomises the ANZAC spirit – strong in character, loyal, dutiful yet compassionate. And he also epitomises the Kiwi spirit too – honest, solid, no BS, totally reliable… In other words he’s a good bloke – except he tells too many jokes about underarm bowling for my taste… 🙂

(For those of you in other countries who don’t follow cricket, here is a Wikipedia link to what’s been described as “the darkest day in cricket history,” involving a game between Australia and New Zealand in 1981.)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underarm_bowling_incident_of_1981

Today’s walk with Ian might have been a bit too swift for me because halfway my knee started to pain me in disturbing ways – like shards of glass digging into the kneecap.

We came across Alistair and Stella, who had set off early and were taking their time, taking  photos. They are both wonderful photographers – former professionals – and even with their iPhones they can produce stunning images.

(yes, I know Steve…)

Here they are with Jennifer walking into Santiago –

Stella, Alistair and Jennifer talking Weird & Whacky

Even though they are High Anglicans, Stella and Alistair have Weird and Whacky tendencies. That’s why they enjoy hanging out with Jennifer.

By Camino Frances standards this Portuguese Camino is a short walk – about a third of the Frances – yet it’s no less demanding and no less an achievement. Have a look at the faces of father and daughter Bart and Merissa to see that sense of achievement…

Bart with his daughter Merissa in square

We then made our way to the Pilgrim’s Office to get our Compostelas,

Ian with Compostela

Just one day more, a ceremony at sunset on Cape Finisterre, then we sadly have to say goodbye to these amazing people…

L-R: Ian, Jennifer, Vivienne, Jan, Alistair, Ruth, Neville

I can’t quite believe that tomorrow we’ll be walking into Santiago.

It’s all happened so fast.

Soon, these wonderful people that we’ve got to know these past two weeks will be going their own separate ways. There will be no more shared Camino experiences.

It will be very sad for Jennifer and myself.

This morning we left Caldas de Reis and began walking the 22kms to Padron. The walk took us along some wonderful trails.

In the afternoon we finally arrived in Padron – a place of enormous significance on the Camino. This is the place where St. James is said to have preached on a mount or hill above Padron.

And later, his relics were returned to Padron briefly before being transported to Santiago de Compostela.

We all walked into Padron today – had lunch – then a after lunch Jennifer and I walked up the “1000 steps” to the mount where St. James preached.

It’s a place that carries a huge energy – quite palpable. Jennifer and I sat for quite some time in amongst the rocks where St. James preached.

For me, it’s been the highlight of the pilgrimage so far.

Sorry folks.

For the first time in four Caminos I missed a post last night.

I had no internet in the hotel, and stupid me put the wrong SIM card in my iPad and I couldn’t figure out why I had no internet connection in Spain.

So I had an early night and it was great!!

Anyway, let me now combine two days into one…

With both days there was intermittent rain. But today, coming into Caldas de Reis, the rain finally stopped. Both days were glorious walking – coolish, everything around us so green and lush, water spilling from rock crevices by the side of the road.

There are a lot of German pilgrims on the track now. And because we’re within the 100kms to Santiago zone (which enables you to get your Compostela), the crowds have increased. There are many more pilgrims walking each day now than when we first set out from Porto.

This morning Laurie, her sister Marilyn, along with Bart and his daughter Merissa and Vivienne too left early – about 7:15am – and got quite a few kilometres under their belt even before we left at 8:37am.

They walked at a brisk pace too – and it wasn’t until about midday or later that some of us caught them up, only about 7kms out of Caldas de Reis. (Today was a 22km day)

Yesterday the highlight for me was having lunch with Antonio. One of the best steaks I’ve had on the Camino, washed down with a cheeky Rioja.

The second bottle got even cheekier.

Later we were joined by Bill the filmmaker. We had a lot of laughs together.

The highlight today was walking with Alistair for a bit, and talking about religion versus spirituality – one of my favourite topics – with me expounding on my thesis that religion is like a Fatburger.

(Here is the post that explains what I’m talking about… Religion is a Fatburger)

This arvo, after getting into Caldas, Jennifer and I went for a walk and stumbled upon some of our group on the terrace of a bar overlooking the river. We joined them and had Sangria and Padron Peppers.

Everyone is having a fabulous time, and we’re starting to get sad that soon we’ll be going our separate ways.

Tonight at dinner I gave a little talk to the group about walking into Santiago, which will happen now in two days time. And I spoke about how when I did it the first time, I was completely underwhelmed.

I told them not to expect a major epiphany, or for a moment of transcendent profundity. Chances are it won’t happen. But it might happen later. Maybe weeks, more possibly months later. And it might happen when they’re reviewing their photos, or just recalling wonderful moments on the Camino that might have seemed insignificant at the time,

The Camino works in subtle and discreet ways. You can’t just dial in change and expect it to happen as you walk down those stairs, through those archways, and step out in front of the Cathedral. it doesn’t happen like that.

Life doesn’t happen like that.
Life happens when you least expect it.

Here are some shots I like from the past two days…