El Camino: A mini documentary

[Matthew_SWilson]

So I did the Camino Frances in October 2010, and must say that it was the best month of my life. The weather that time of year was perfect (was only rained on twice!) and the albergues were not too full.

As well as a lifetime of good memories and new friends, I returned to Australia with a memory card full of photos and a little video footage I'd taken. What to do with it, I wondered?

So I put it all together, mixing it with some of the songs that I had listened to along The Way. This mini documentary was the result:

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p ... A93F2F18FF

Buen Camino!

Matt

 

[JohnnieWalker]

Matt

I just watched all of it. What a wonderful film. Thanks.

John

 

[Arn]

Matt,

Well done!

Thoroughly enjoyed walking along the Way with you and your Camino friends...well, we are all friends now!

Arn

 

[Beverley]

Matt, I just saw your entire video. You did a great job. Thanks for posting it. I walked the Frances in 2009 in the Spring. It was great to see the autum landscape. I also was reminded that I did not spend enough time in the cities. Your video has inspired me to go again and this time linger a little!

Bev

 

[Matthew_SWilson]

John, Arn and Bev - many thanks for your kind comments. Am glad you enjoyed it, and look forward to seeing your pictures and reading your blogs on your upcoming pilgrimages. Buen camino

 

[smullins4]

Matt
Thanks so much for sharing your trip with the documentary! I leave for the Camino in just a month and am seeing really what a fantastic time you had with new friends and places. Still deciding which Camino to go on but the Frances through your lens looks wonderful ! Buen camino for whatever path you are now on!
Susan

 

[virveb]

Yes, thank you, kiitos, tack. Your film was amazing.

 

[Matthew_SWilson]

Matt
Thanks so much for sharing your trip with the documentary! I leave for the Camino in just a month and am seeing really what a fantastic time you had with new friends and places. Still deciding which Camino to go on but the Frances through your lens looks wonderful ! Buen camino for whatever path you are now on!
Susan

Thank-you very much Susan. Have a great trip. Whichever path you take, I'm sure you'll love it. Thanks again for the kind feedback.

Matt

 

[Matthew_SWilson]

Yes, thank you, kiitos, tack. Your film was amazing.

Many thanks for taking the time to watch it and pass on the nice feedback!

Matt

 

[Matthew_SWilson]

Re: El Camino: A mini documentary - UPDATE

A bit of an update, in case people ever wonder what happened to the guy from these videos (me!).

On the Camino, one of the things that I was wrestling with was whether I could finish the novel I was writing. I was really struggling with it and found it very difficult to juggle all of my day-to-day responsibilities with my life passion, writing.

I'm very happy to say that I finished my first novel, The Devil's in the Detail, in September 2012. I am positive that I would never have done this unless I'd done something like the Camino de Santiago. It taught me to really embrace every day and make the most of every day. I know this sounds a little cheesy, but on the Camino if you don't walk on a particular day, you don't progress. Some days, even when my blisters were so sore, I walked a little. Not a lot. The important thing is that I walked. I progressed. Writing is very much the same. Some days, I just don't feel the words, but I still try and write a little. And all of those 'little' amounts resulted in my novel.

My second novel is now about 75% done as well and, surprise surprise, it's a story about self-discovery and awakening on the Camino de Santiago. So if you feel like a read on your next visit to the Camino, check out http://www.matthew-s-wilson.com

Buen Camino,
Matt

 

[nellpilgrim]

Hi Matt,
Just spent a very happy hour looking at your video journal. Thank you for sharing it and bringing back so many memories. I hope the book sells like hotcakes!
Nell

 

[Matthew_SWilson]

Thanks Nell! I'm glad you enjoyed the videos. I'm excited about potentially returning to the Camino this year for research for the second novel (any excuse to get back to Spain really!). I was leafing through my credencial/pilgrim passport the other day. Such happy memories!

 

[WALKER007]

Inspirational

Hi Matt

Doing it at the end of April. Loved your video and the music - really inspirational. Thank you

 

[Matthew_SWilson]

Re: Inspirational

Hi Matt

Doing it at the end of April. Loved your video and the music - really inspirational. Thank you

Thanks for watching and I'm glad you enjoyed. April will be an amazing time to do it - sunny and dry hopefully. Enjoy every little step

 

[Dubbydub]

Hi Matt,

Your trip sounds great!

Unfortunately I was only able to watch part one, as the rest are blocked from mobile devices.

But maybe that will be sorted out at some point.

I'm sure you had a really Buen Camino.

 

[Maire Keenan]

Hi Matt

I just watched your blog and really enjoyed it - thank you for putting it all together ! I am off again at the end of the month to complete another 10 days - one of these years I will walk the whole way in one go !
Keep us posted when your second book comes out - just bought the first one !
Maire

 

[Matthew_SWilson]

Hi Matt,

Your trip sounds great!

Unfortunately I was only able to watch part one, as the rest are blocked from mobile devices.

But maybe that will be sorted out at some point.

I'm sure you had a really Buen Camino.

Hi there Dubbydub

Apologies, but I believe that some of the videos aren't available on YouTube mobile due to the music I use (silly, given that it is not used for anything more than pure enjoyment and sharing with fellow pilgrims). Please find a link to the Vimeo videos. I hope these are playable on mobile/tablet:

https://vimeo.com/album/2038276

I hope it works and that you enjoy them.

Buen Camino,
Matt

 

[Matthew_SWilson]

Hi Matt

I just watched your blog and really enjoyed it - thank you for putting it all together ! I am off again at the end of the month to complete another 10 days - one of these years I will walk the whole way in one go !
Keep us posted when your second book comes out - just bought the first one !
Maire

Thanks for watching Maire. How was your last trip to the Camino? Perhaps you are there right now!! So jealous I hope you have a fantastc time. Which stretch of the Camino will you be walking this time.
Thankyou so much for taking interest in my novels. My writing has been an equally enjoyable journey for me since the Camino and I've been humbled by the response to Book 1. My follow-up is going along well, with 80,000 words now complete. It's been fantastic re-living the Camino through the eyes of my new characters and has brought back so many wonderful memories. Thanks for your support,
Enjoy your Camino and look forward to hearing all about it.
Buen Camino,
Matt

 

[Dubbydub]

Hi Matt, for some reason I can't quote your reply.

And I got the clips on Vimeo, thanks. Really enjoyed them.

BTW you had the vimeo link already in your OP, but doh..me!

Whats the playlist? The music was great.

Hope the book goes well too.

 

[Matthew_SWilson]

Whats the playlist? The music was great.

Hope the book goes well too.

Thanks for the well-wishes on the book. The second book (the Camino one) is coming along. My characters have just crossed the meseta!

Before I forget, the music from my vids is as follows (minus one or two titles that escape me at the moment):
London Still - The Waifs
M79 - Vampire Weekend
Lemonworld - The National
Jigsaw falling into place - Radiohead
No good with faces (?) - Jack Johnson
Don't think twice - Bob Dylan
Long Way Around - Stereophonics??
Dustland Fairytale - The Killers
So Tired - The Beatles
Dog Days are Over - Florence and the Machine
Kingdom Come - Coldplay
Lovers in Japan - Coldplay
End of the Road - Me First and the Gimmie Gimmies

Enjoy and thanks for watching!

 

[JabbaPapa]

Re: El Camino: A mini documentary - UPDATE

Nice video !!!

I've never walked with a group of people like that, though of course I've met many such groups and shared time and some meals with such pilgrims in the albergues and so on and so forth, so it's cool to get an insider's eye on what walking with this "type" of pilgrim is like. Just some subtle little differences mainly.

Thanks !!!

I know this sounds a little cheesy, but on the Camino if you don't walk on a particular day, you don't progress. Some days, even when my blisters were so sore, I walked a little. Not a lot. The important thing is that I walked. I progressed.

It's not cheesy at all !!! But ...

I guess it's because you walked "only" four weeks, but you'd find if you ever did the "long version" of the Camino that it's not so true as it sounds

Sometimes on a much longer journey you can get to the stage where you're so flat-out exhausted both physically and mentally that you just can't go on.

It took me a LONG time to learn this -- but then you should just stop.

NOT give up, NOT look backwards, NOT "cheat" with the Camino -- just stop, then wait, freshen up, lighten up, let your body and mind and spirit rest and heal -- then get up on the following morning, get your boots on, and walk.

There's a little of that in your semi-halt at Burgos, but there are times when nothing else will do but the full day's rest :wink:

Good luck and buen camino mate !!!

 

[D.Matthew]

So I did the Camino Frances in October 2010, and must say that it was the best month of my life. The weather that time of year was perfect (was only rained on twice!) and the albergues were not too full.

As well as a lifetime of good memories and new friends, I returned to Australia with a memory card full of photos and a little video footage I'd taken. What to do with it, I wondered?

So I put it all together, mixing it with some of the songs that I had listened to along The Way. This mini documentary was the result:

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p ... A93F2F18FF
https://vimeo.com/album/2038276

Buen Camino!

Matt

Matt, it's good to see you on here. I can remember seeing your documentary a few months before I left for my Camino last year. It was a huge motivator for me, and inspired me to make a movie of my own. I even used one of your soundtrack songs as an homage. Keep up the great work with your book writing as well.

Best, Drew

 

[jazzer2]

So I did the Camino Frances in October 2010, and must say that it was the best month of my life. The weather that time of year was perfect (was only rained on twice!) and the albergues were not too full.

As well as a lifetime of good memories and new friends, I returned to Australia with a memory card full of photos and a little video footage I'd taken. What to do with it, I wondered?

So I put it all together, mixing it with some of the songs that I had listened to along The Way. This mini documentary was the result:

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p ... A93F2F18FF
https://vimeo.com/album/2038276

Buen Camino!

Matt

Thank you for sharing Matt. I leave for my second Camino on October 2nd with my 80 year old friend. The pictures and music were inspiring. Can't wait to read you book!

 

[Matthew_SWilson]

Wow - I stumbled back upon this thread (after a decade). I still remember the time I took in creating my 'documentary' on my 2010 Camino. I loved slicing together all of my photos and adding them to some of my favourite songs. It was lovely seeing others watch and comment on the video. I think it had thousands of views by the time YouTube had cracked down on the use of licensed music and forced me to take it all down. I watched my personal copy today, and it was a lovely trip down memory lane

I've actually been spending quite a bit of time reminiscing about my 2010 Camino of late. Earlier in this thread, I mentioned a Camino book I was writing. Well - after years of tapping away - it will be released this month! In anticipation of its launch, I've posted some photos of my pilgrimage to Santiago on my Instagram account (https://www.instagram.com/matthew_swilson/).

Listing all of this onto such an old thread is probably like shouting into the void - but I've always been drawn to messages in bottles. You never quite know who will open them and read.

 

[LavanyaLea]

Well I usually have my 10AM coffee while browsing “What’s New” on the forum so this popped to the top of the list .

Looking forward to reading your book! Will you be doing a book tour, of course, along the Camino?

 

[Matthew_SWilson]

Well I usually have my 10AM coffee while browsing “What’s New” on the forum so this popped to the top of the list .

Looking forward to reading your book! Will you be doing a book tour, of course, along the Camino?

Looks like my little topic came back into style (like vinyl records or acid wash jeans)!

That would have been my dream: to load up a backpack with copies of my book and leave one in each of the albergues where I stayed. But alas, I won't be getting to do that for the launch. Just a few too many things going on here which would prevent me from travelling back to Europe. But I'm quite sure I'll walk the Camino again, and I'm quite certain I'll leave a copy or two along my pilgrimage. I have modest hopes for the books, but for another weary pilgrim to be reading my novel in an albergue after a day of long, dusty hiking is one of my dreams.

Thanks for the reply and enjoy your coffee