AT 88 years of age Fermanagh man, Mickey Donnelly, has conquered the Camino de Santiago, managing to complete more than his planned 144km route (thanks to some slight detours!) in seven days.
Although he would never have described himself as a walker “by instinct or habit”, Mr. Donnelly is glad he can chalk the Camino walk down as another experience to tick off the bucket list.
He and son, Kevin took on the pilgrimage to the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in north western Spain in mid May.
It is often said that the Camino is an intensely spiritual experience. 
When asked whether he found this to be the case Mr. Donnelly says: “I said my prayers to keep myself going!”
In the month running up to the trip Mr. Donnelly walked distances each day to ensure he could get the distances of around 12 to 13 miles a day.
He tracked his speed too, but was aware that much of the Camino stretched across hilly ground.
“I found that all but slight up gradients slowed me noticeably,” he says. 
“But there were still every day preoccupations and it was felt that the absence of these would make the daily walking stint on the Camino more negotiable.
“I also went twice for osteopath treatment to gauge my ageing limbs condition,” he adds.
He believes his preparation was an integral part of the entire event.
On Monday, May 14 he and Kevin took off from Dublin airport to Santiago airport where the took a taxi to where an overnight stay was booked in the Plaza de Galicia.
Their starting point was from Triacastela, where they had their pilgrim passports officially stamped.
“With some verbal directions we set off on the 9.5km journey to Samos and immediately went astray!” says Mr. Donnelly.
“Two miles uphill on a rough surfaced road and we knew we were wrong.”
Although he had a relatively pain-free walk throughout the week-long pilgrimage, Mr. Donnelly says he was annoyed to find his initial choice of footwear was entirely wrong for the job.
“My feet were feeling every step of the sharp surface,” he says. 
“But I bought myself new shoes and I never had any bother after that. 
“I was glad every day that that the walk was done and I could rest, but I could walk forever on the flat.”
Throughout their journey the father and son met inspiring people along the way.
“It was frequently chastening to discover the feats and ambitions of others,” says Mr. Donnelly.
“One French girl was bare-footed. An Australian man, aged 81,  had done the walk before. He had found the last stretch of the journey fatiguing but none the less was going to continue 20 miles more in spite of sore legs and his age.
“On the earlier stretch of the journey a German man caught up with us to ask whether we had lost some money on the way. I hadn’t even realised the money had fallen out of my pocket. But that was the genuine nature and the generosity of the people there.
“One of the people Kevin met was a woman who had worked for a time in the Erne Hospital.”
One of the overriding memories of the walk for Mr. Donnelly is the smell of Eucalyptus from the trees.
With many miles and experiences behind him, Mr. Donnelly says the last km was the longest.
“It seemed to go on forever,” he says, but it was worth it to reach the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.
“This was the most spectacular area in the town, “ says Mr. Donnelly, “Every generation, from my age to youngsters and children in prams were there.”
His only regret is that they had little time to spend in some of the key areas of interest. Asked whether he would consider doing it again he replies: “I don’t think Kevin would take me!
“Kevin took very good care of me on the walk, I would never have managed without him.”