In part one of my Camino Portuguese pilgrimage documentary, we covered the first two stages of the trip from Porto to Barcelos. Part two picks up right where we left off in Barcelos, passing through beautiful farms and vineyards before reaching the medieval bridge at the heart of Ponte de Lima. From Ponte de Lima, we climbed the highest incline of the entire Camino Portuguese to get ourselves up and over Alto de Portela Grande. This was also the point in the Camino that my son became a little Camino celebrity. Word was spreading along The Way of the little boy pilgrim!
Back in 2012, I completed the Camino Frances and put together a documentary called “A Journey of the Mind“. The popularity of that video is a large part of what encouraged me to launch Trail to Peak. Six years after walking 500 miles from St. Jean Pied de Port to Santiago de Compostela, I returned to the Iberian Peninsula to walk the 150-mile Camino Portuguese. This time around, I was joined by my wife and son.
It’s been a few months since we returned home from a trip to Vietnam and Cambodia. I finally got around to putting together a few clips from our travels around Hanoi, Halong Bay, Hoi An, My Son, Saigon, and the Mekong Delta. Make sure to check out all of my Vietnam posts if you’re looking for travel advice, things to do, or if you just want to see some inspiring pictures.
When we first arrived in Vietnam via Hanoi, we knew we were in for a fun family adventure. We had read about the rivers of motorbikes flowing through the city streets that don’t adhere to traffic rules, but nothing prepares you for taking that first step out into madness. It was a bit overwhelming at first, but eventually we realized how well organized the chaos was. We also quickly realized that the Vietnamese love children. While traveling in the US, people can treat children as if they are a nuisance. Not so in Vietnam. Owen was treated like a little prince everywhere we went.
From Hanoi, we made our way to the magical Halong Bay. The weather wasn’t the best in Halong Bay, but we still really enjoyed our time there. From Halong Bay we travelled to a quant little village of lanterns called Hoi An, and from there, made our way to Saigon and the Mekong Delta.
This video is a short 3-minute cut of a few of the highlights. I hope you enjoy it. Also, make sure to head over to YouTube and subscribe, as I will be producing many more travel videos in 2018-2019.
I traveled to Iceland this summer with Julia and Owen to explore the island’s waterfalls, mountain peaks, black sand beaches, glaciers, hot springs, geysers, and quaint villages. We rented a car upon arrival in Iceland and began our adventure on the Ring Road (Þjóðvegur 1). This 827.7 mile highway runs along the circumference of Iceland and connects to many roads that lead towards the island’s interior. On our Ring Road trip, we covered just north of 1,800 miles!
I put together a short video to highlight some of my favorite moments from our Iceland Ring Road adventure. Enjoy!
I came home from the John Muir Trail with more photos and video footage than I know what to do with. I just finished the daily trip reports for the entire John Muir Trail and have set my sights on tying to put together a proper video, like the ones I did for the Camino and my Peru treks. Until then, here is a preview of some footage I captured on my 222 mile hike from Yosemite Valley to Whitney Portal.
I logged in to YouTube this morning to reply to a comment on one of my videos and realized that my Camino documentary has eclipsed the 100,000 view mark! It is also one of the top videos that show when searching for “Camino de Santiago”. This was quite a surprise for me given how everything started off. After walking ‘The Way’, and putting together a 42 minute movie, the pessimist in me figured no one on earth would ever want to watch it. I started feeling a little better about things after receiving a lot of positive feedback from friends and family, and that gave me the confidence to post it on YouTube. Since then, I’ve received almost nothing but positive feedback.
One of the coolest and least expected outcomes of posting this video to YouTube is the feedback I’ve received from former and prospective Camino pilgrims. It’s been very special for me to hear their kind words of nostalgia, appreciation, and longing. There are also many who have always wished to walk a pilgrimage, but aren’t able due to reasons of health, time, or finances. When they leave comments about how they were able to walk The Way vicariously through this video, it makes all the work it took to put it together all the more worthwhile.
It’s been three years now since I made my pilgrimage to Santiago, and rarely a week goes by that I don’t think about it. It made that much of an indelible impression. As I mentioned in the video, there comes a time when being a pilgrim isn’t just about what you do, it becomes a part of who you are. That is something that doesn’t just wash away.
I’d like to give a big thank you to anyone who has watched my Camino documentary, because in a lot of ways it was the catalyst that launched this blog. It gave me the inspiration for my Peru documentary, and has filled me with excitement about bringing the John Muir Trail to video this summer!
Last weekend I hiked the 37.2 miles of the Trans-Catalina trail. This scenic hike starts in Avalon and ends at Starlight Beach. Santa Catalina Island is a very magical place. It was special to be surrounded by the Pacific Ocean, with beautiful beaches, massive bison, and island foxes throughout the course of this two day trek. Check out the video below, I hope you like it!
