The Final Destination.

All pilgrims will recognise this...

Granada, Granada, Granada!

I always get stuck here. Mostly, because I like it here. Granada remains my favourite Spanish city, and this time around, making cash is proving not to be a problem. Great weather (although I sense a change), good work, plenty of good friends and many parties and hiking expeditions.

On the downside, I have lost count of the number of times I've been 'controlled' by the police. Seems like every other day. Don't think I look particularly scruffy, or wrongun like. It gets to you after a while. I'm simply trying to save enough cash for my next walk to raise more money for charity by selling sketches and picking up commissions, but I'm made to feel like a criminal. It's me who gets stuff stolen - go find the real criminals you cowardly little fucks.

Yesterday evening I went shopping at Mercadona. Carrying 5 bags full of groceries I sat down on a bench in Jardins de Triunfo to pause for 5 minutes. Almost immediately Policia Nacional turn up and ask for my documentation. They then run a check whilst one of them looks for my non-existent discarded drugs. All is fine. I'm not a criminal on the run. No criminal record, but hey, they politely tell me to fuck off anyway. I'm not allowed to sit on a park bench for 5 minutes. They then wait just around the corner to see if I return to collect my non-existent discarded stash.

Worse than that, some police are also issuing bogus fines to people. If they don't like the look of you they make up a story about Guardia Civil searching you and finding an illegal knife. €301 to pay at the end of the month, or you go to jail. Nice street policing!

Those are the hazzards of working on the streets and being perceived as being poor. Or, perhaps looking poor, but with cash to spend on bags full of groceries from Mercadona is even more suspicious?

The other hazzards are disease. There seems to be a fair bit of TB around. A mate is recovering in hospital with secondary meningitis that has caused a few brain problems.

Not all sunshine and fun. However, I do like it here. Staying until I have saved enough for my next walk and new boots and togs.

They say it's addictve.

Perhaps it is.

I'm back in Granada. I want to head back to the North West coast of Galicia. I can't see any reason not to walk Mozarabe and Via de la Plata again. I'm in no rush and curiosity is getting the better of me. So, I walk the original route again with new knowledge and an eye for yellow arrows :) Through the winter :( It was very cold sometimes.

Photographs?

There aren't any!

Many people keep asking me where all the photographs and photographs of sketches and paintings are. Well, here's just one. The rest won't appear here until they have at the very least paid for themselves.

I've been shooting on film and sending films back home as I've been walking. Eventually, I hope to create some sort of 'guide', or, 'art book' about alternative walking routes to Santiago.

This was taken on a friends new digital compact. I seem to have returned to a base instinct. Forget the technical crap, all the rules, what is and isn't cool - just shoot what you see and like.

And, here's a painting. Not mine. A sample of recent work by a good friend. He's completeing a series of large oil paintings all about rural abandon. Many mountain villages in Spain have become deserted over the past 40 years, or so due to political, social and environmental change. Entire villages left derelict in varying states of delapidation. The series of paintings tell the story of why villages have been deserted.

Back from the mountains.

Not sure where I'm back to though!

That was a really nice and much needed break. Beautiful place, beautiful company. Now I have to find a route back to Granada from a €10 start. A little over 1,000KM. A beer seems to be the best place to start :)

On to Leòn - one of my favourite cities in Spain for many reasons. Then to Madrid for the sake of a cheap €17 bus ride to Granada. Then, I make plans to head back to the North West tip of Spain and start my new project. It may take time - I don't have the cash to play with until December, but it will happen.

The weather luck seems to be back with me. A careful plan back to Granada and I won't get wet.

The End.

OK. That's it for me as life as a pilgrim artist. No doubt I'll walk pilgrimage routes again at some time in the future. I'll also come back here and summarise in more detail after I've spent a bit of time normalising and chatting with old friends. Today ended with a policia local conflab. "Show me the law that says I can't sketch on the streets". Apparently I can paint, but not sketch on paper on the floor. It's got fuck all to do with art, and everything to do with being perceived as being poor. Why not go and demand a bug ridden albergue gets itself sorted out? That is doing Santiago no good at all. The vast majority of people enjoy what I do. It's harming no-one.

I'll keep this blog going for my next project.

Now I-m off to meet friends in the mountains and enjoy a proper holiday.

Blimey!

I'm fucked. Totally allergy fucked from bedbugs.

The albergue staff here are continuing to accept cash from pilgrims even though there is absolutely no doubt they have an infestation of bedbugs.

I can't be arsed to walk around town to look for alternative accommodation. I'm tired. My body is blistering. Swelling up. I will willingly sleep on the porch. Peacefully. But, they insist on calling Policia Local.

I have asked a couple of times for a complaint form.

*Quick edit - the owner has just turned up*


Guess I'll update tomorrow.

Not Mosquito - Bed Bugs :(

And, it turns out I'm hiper-allergic, or summat.

The lying, money grabbing, fuck wits at Acuario Albergue in Santiago can fuck off. They have known they have an infestation for sometime, but have chosen to carry on collecting cash. Fuckers. I hate them.

Stayed again last night, so I have another 3 days of puss ridden, blister popping, swelling joint agony ahead of me. Cunts.

I shall not be letting them get away with it.

Fuck off end to my years walking camino. First albergue I have come across with a problem like this. Expensive medical treatment. Painful as fuck. All because they chose to take the cash. This is just a dressed up garage with hippie shit everywhere. 56 beds at €7 a night. You work it out!

Vigo & Ourense.

Just went to visit whilst I had the opportunity. My intention was to walk north along the coast from Vigo. However, I got eaten alive by mosquito blanco - I seem to be a bit allergic to them. My body is covered with scars.

Vigo was OK. Expensive and overated. Had the feel of a very tired end of season tourist town. Loads of roadworks and building restoration going on, so perhaps I'll give it another chance another time. Can of lemon pop €1.80! Sketching paper (usually €1) €3. I left pretty quickly and took a random bus to Ourense.

Ourense has hot water mineral springs. Exactly what the doctor ordered. Beautiful city. There are so many in Spain. Ourense would make my top 10. If you ever visit be sure to cross the roman bridge and visit the part of town where all the real people live away from the tourists.

Back in Santiago. No sleep for Two days. Still very itchy and sore. Plan to sketch and sell here (police permitting) for the weekend and then head to the mountains to visit friends.

A call for pledges.

Anyone interested in getting the ball rolling financially on my next charity project can make a pledge here.

It is simply a pledge. As soon as an account has been set-up and new charity established (or, possibly an existing charity) you will be sent an email reminder to honour the pledge paying the charity directly.

Absolutely no idea how much I will raise myself from sales of paintings, but I'm hopeful for around €10K. A lot will depend on publicity - anyone reading who knows how to do that, please let me know.

An Intro to My Next Project.

Almost finished walking. A fabulous experience, but I'm looking forward to a more static life for a year at least.

I am going to rent a place on the North West coast of Spain and paint 5 seascapes a day. I will auction all paintings on the internet to raise more money for charity - hopefully a new charity that will offer camino experience to disadvantage people with a mentor. That is going to take a fair bit of organising. Until everything is established I'll try to raise funds to get the project started.

It's going to be a very wet seaside winter for me :) Don't care. I care more about having my own bed.

I have some work and exhibition commitments to fullfill next year, so will have to take a few short breaks from painting seascapes. Not entirely sure how this is going to work yet. It will happen mind, and I'll continue blogging here with pictures of each new painting. You will be able to see how my... erm... 'style' develops over the year.

For my own income I will be selling prints and sketches on the streets of Galician cities at weekends.

A loose plan at the moment. I'll post confirmed details here as soon as they are confirmed!

In praise of La Coruña bus station cafeteria.

Almost forgot this.

Burger with pork, bacon, egg, cheese and salad plus chips - €4.40. Take that Mr Kebap Pathetico man.

Tourist info incredibly helpful also.


I am getting ridiculous hassle from Policia local here in Santiago. Apparently it is illegal to sketch the cathedral. Blimey! I'm going to sketch a legendary LostPhotographer 360 degree panoramic umbrella this evening. Roll myself a big fat one and just sit in the middle of the plaza sketching and sketching and sketching. I can't see one single legitimate charge for sketching on an umbrella. I'll display a large 3 Meter x 1 Meter sketch also. Someone may ask me if it's for sale. Pathetic tossers. Arrest me if you so wish and I'll take every ounce of publicity from it. Arrested for sketching. Come on then.

Beautiful city. Love it here, but I actually got 2 police cars and and 4 police last night for having the audacity to sketch the cathedral without permission. I guess there's not a lot of real crime here to deal with.

Santiago de Compostela II

For all the walking I have (and have not) done this is only my second visit to Santiago. It's even more beautiful this time of year than it is at Christmas. The next couple of visits will happen far more quickly - just a case of filling in camino gaps rather than any more 1,200KM treks.

My excursion along the north east coast was fantastic. The most beautiful hiking I have yet to find in Spain. One stretch in particular was paradise. Lump in the throat natural beauty at every turn. Varied also. From boulders of granite to soft, pale dune beaches. A relatively easy 14KM hike along the coast from Laxe to Camelle following the obvious PR-G 114. Stunning!

Fish from the sea, fish from the rivers. Peaches, apricots, apples, pumpkin, sweetcorn, sweet juicy blackberries and much more all for free. I ran out of cash at Camelle after an almighty through the night fiesta and made way directly to Santiago, so I still haven't actually reached Finisterre. Maybe walk from here after all.

I have also met someone who has told me about an alternative 'pagan' route to Finisterre that follows megaliths and ancient monuments rather than Catholic churches and stuff. Interesting. I will investigate more.

My current plan is to rent a cottage on the coast in paradise for winter and spend a few months painting seascapes. Off season rentals are cheap and plentiful. I can make plenty of cash on the streets of Santiago de Compostela provided I get permission. I can't currently. Apparently all permissions are booked until November. I have one sketch half complete that I am determined to finish. There is absolutely no law in the world that can prevent me from sketching the cathedral surely?

Hopefully make a bit more money here before heading back to Oviedo to walk Camino Ingles. Rough plan. I am having to be very flexible.

My Holiday.

I'm walking from La Coruña to Fisterra. It's not a camino route. I'm walking with sod all cash. No map. No guide. My intention is to forget about money completeley for a week, or so and just fucking well enjoy the real spirit of camino (even though this isn't a proper camino de Santiago).

It's beautiful here. Stunningly beautiful. Atlantic coast surrounded by lushness. Tiny little fields and fertile flood plains around bays and estuaries. Dramatic, mellowdramatic and subtle all at the same time. I want to enjoy it whilst the summer lasts. I may not get another chance. For all I know I could get stuck back in the rat trap one day and regret not doing it now, so now I do it.

It's almost harvest time. There's plenty of free food growing everywhere. Mushrooms are already about (oh dear! :D) and I have a fishing rod. I will sleep wherever is dry.

Feel like I sort of lost my way a little on a money focus. Raising money for good causes mostly, but I'm getting grief for that and it's spoiling my own experience.

This is my holiday. No internet. No mobile. No cash. No nothing.

I will enjoy :)

Camino de LostPhotographer - the wobbly route to Santiago.

The Worst Kebab Shop in the World Ever...

... is in La Coruña. €5 for the most pathetic mouthful of meat, dribble of lettuce and white stuff. Not 100% sure, but there may have been a very small piece of onion in there also.

Just thought I would mention that.

Other than that, I like La Coruña. Money isn't good and it is expensive, but I like it. Not Spain's most beautiful city, but I like it. Fantastic swimming beaches.

Not sure what's going on on the sales front. Saturday and Sunday were business as usual. Yesterday was absolutely dire. Today has also been crap so far. Nothing has changed as far as I can tell. Just seems that everyone is in a dead grumpy mood and not interested in sketches at all. Rain is on it's way and I'm near skint. Expensive bed. Expensive meals.

Huge thank you for the tinned fish, bread and pears. You know you're in a good city when people go to that sort of trouble.


How did I get here? I cheated. Sort of. There were Three options from Oviedo. Three different routes and I wanted to explore all of them. I walked for about 60KM from Oviedo, then took the bus to La Coruña. From here I will walk to Finisterre before getting a bus back to Oviedo and walking a Third distance along the Second route.

It is just getting more and more beautiful. I'm almost speachless about the beauty of the countryside here. Tiny little fields cut out of forests and shrubs. Enchanting. Magical. If fairies exist they live here. I would like to live here also despite the rain.

Rain cometh. No money :(

Just another day.

Less than a year ago I would have been writing about the way the crazy people here drink their cider. Now it just seems like yet another local custom. I'm sure the locals take it very seriously mind.

Think this blog is getting a bit boring. I'm getting a bit bored. A brief explanation of my day will probably best explain where I'm at. I have had to save a bit of cash for an excursion, so I've been putting in the hours even if I haven't been hard selling. I've been in Oviedo for Four days now. I have a pitch that is far from good, but police leave me alone. People now know where to find me.

9AM - 11AM complete a few A4 sketches of scenes around town. I'm now carrying a folder with a stock of sketches from various places I've visited.

11AM. Put big sketches on display with smaller sketches (and today another 360 degree umbrella panoramic). Usually, I would sketch another 3 Meter x 1 Meter to gain attention. Today, I had more than enough commissions to keep me busy.

And, there you stay all day until 8PM. Hassle to pack-up and come back, and you never know if you might miss someone looking for you.

With angle grinders from pavement slab cutters going in the left ear, pneumatic drills from a building site in the right ear, and lump hammers through the spine and into the center of your brain all day long you sketch, and sell, and try to communicate with people in Spanish and deal with the wind that blows sketches around whilst irritating everyone. A very long day.

Sold umbrella sketch plus one more ordered. €70
One small commissioned sketch of a chapel. €20
Set of 4 small sketches from photographs. €60
Two sketches sold from stock. €30

Total €180

Outgoings (materials, umbrellas, bed and meal) €46

Saved from the day €136

(Plus a generous donation of €5 and about €6 in dropped coins).

That represents an average day if you know what you're doing and put in some hours. It's work. It's not particularly nice work. The pay is OK.

A better pitch, another day, a bit of selling without the noise and the wind, takings might double. On the other hand, it may bloody well rain. Three wet days in a row will see €136 disappear very easily.

It's all work and no play at the moment. I'm not enjoying it. Could be worse I know, but it should be much better. I was having far more fun and a far better adventure when I was surviving on virtually nothing. Those days of pilgrimage are going to be far more memorable and a great deal more valuable.

Not sure where I go from here other than towards Santiago again. It will no doubt change completely once more again very soon and I'll have something new to moan about :)

Rains lots here :(

Hardly surprising. The countryside is lush as it gets. Dramatic mountains giving way to dense eucalyptus forests. Beautiful little bays, estuaries and beaches. It's like living in a 17th Century romantic landscape painting.

But, it's crap for street artists desperately trying to make money. To be honest, all this rain along the coast has taken me a little by surprise. Expected some, but not this much.

I'm off to shelter in a bar and watch Villa get demolished at Anfield. Has been a shit day, might as well end on a bum note!

Oviedo.

I'm supposed to be in Barcelona. I'll be there Tuesday.

I'm glad I came to Oviedo instead. Picos de Europa, the Asturias generally and a very nice little city. I plan to live here. No need to say more really. Fun place. A little expensive, but worth it.

I backtracked to Santander to get a night bus to Barcelona. I don't like Barcelona, so when the ticket office man told me the buses were fully booked I was quite relieved. Decided to spend night in bus station. Got bored. Got first available bus out. Happened to stop in Oviedo and I liked the look of the place, so here I am. I may stay here forever one day.

Santillana del Mar.

If you ignore the hundreds of tourists snapping away on their Nokias, it's like walking back in time. A World Heritage site - a perfectly preserved/restored little medieval town with prehistoric cave paintings just a short walk away. All of history is here.

Thanks to a friend in Santander I already had contacts here. Good contacts. Contacts like; here's your bed, here's your food, here's your drink, here's my number for any help you may need - now get to work :) My sort of people. Staying for 2, or 3 days.

Interesting trip to get here via the Atlantic on a yacht! (Sort of).

It Rains Lots Here.

Lots.

It's a problem. This was supposed to be the easy route. Far from it. Whilst I've been stranded in Santander (still can't walk) I've picked up good work, met good people and received lots of help. But, outgoings have been high and it rains lots and lots.

I'm back to square One cash wise. It's raining and my boots leak. Foot is still painful. I'm not happy.

Think I will just start walking again on Tuesday regardless. A few strong painkillers. I'm beginning to wonder if my foot will ever get better. I think it might be fucked for good :( Can't hang around in Santander stagnating much longer. Something has to change.