Three months locked down with other independent free travel spirits, sounds easy and fun, but we were like caged tigers who didn't want to be there. The only thing we all had in common with each other was we were on the Camino de Santiago when the first lockdown was enforced, and there were only a couple were true pilgrims there, and I was one of them, the rest were camino hobos

Nobody would have imagined that in 2020 the world would close down, but it did. At the time I was walking the Camino de Santiago, because three months earlier I'd broken my leg and the doctors said it would take a year to heal at my age, but I believed by walking on it everyday all day, it would heal faster, and if that wasn't enough, I got locked down in northern Spain for three months, this is that story, my time on the camino, and the thousand kilometers I walked.

... even if you are only a weekend hiker, camper, or just have a love for the great outdoors you'll have encountered one or more of these critters. I cover the 9 most common pests that I've experienced while backpacking, camping, and hiking over the last few years

Here are two short travel stories, the first from Australia, and the second Agra, India. While hitch hiking around Oz I met a great guy and his wonderful family, he's since tragically died and this stories is dedicated to him. The second from India is about a cup of chai and a rickshaw

... while managing a backpacker hostel I saw one of the guests having trouble sitting down, I asked him if he was ok, and he told me this story. It took place in the Rainforest Taman Negara in Malaysia .... I'm not sure if this is true karma or not ....

During my backpacking adventures through south east asia, I lived and worked in Georgetown, in Penang, Malaysia for awhile. One day I came back from the supermarket to find a dead body in the street in front of my hostel, the victim of a violent attack, I tried to discover what really happened, the police didn't seem that interested about it, because in seems life is pretty cheap in Asia

... this guy's life is spent helping those who are a lot less fortunate than ourselves, his way of meditation and relaxation is to get out on the open road on his bike where ever it takes him. Open to new experiences and adventures he set off to cycle to the Scandinavian countries for his holiday, but had to change his plans due to the pandemic, this created new opportunities to explored France, Spain, and Portugal, taking in a Camino de Santiago en route, his plans changed yet again, as his reformed plan to cycle down and through Morocco was scuppered by yet more lockdowns, pushing him west to check out southern Portugal ... which is where I sat down with him for a chat ...... you can check him out on Instagram @bordvoor.jekop.2020

The whole episode only lasted an hour, and changed my life, and has stayed with me for ever .... I was riding down the west coast of North Africa, in Morocco some years ago on my motorbike

Passionate about all things outdoors, Alex craves the weekends to hike the mountains and valleys around Portugal and Spain for now while the pandemic still has its strangle hold on the world, he's also walked a couple of Caminos to Santiago, backpacked South America, and spent years travelling and living around Asia

She has just discovered backpacking after travelling many countries around the world and now loves the hostel community and the friends she's made. My chat with this well travelled lady was conducted as the sun set over the marina