Camino Primitivo for younger person

[Viva Terlingua]

I did the Frances from St. Jean in 2022 and am eager to do another Camino. However, I don't have a much time this year. Thought I would try the Camino Primitivo starting in Oviedo. This time my partner is going to join me. She's 60 and I'm 64. Our niece would also like to join us, she's 20. I have no worries about her being able to complete the Camino, she's in excellent shape. However, I worry that there may not be enough social stimulation for her or people around her own age to interact with. Although she's not a party animal, she is a 20 year old college student and peaceful walks, beautiful churches, and quiet dinners for 2 weeks might be pushing her limits. I'm wondering if we wouldn't be better off on the Frances.

 

[jpflavin1]

I did the Frances from St. Jean in 2022 and am eager to do another Camino. However, I don't have a much time this year. Thought I would try the Camino Primitivo starting in Oviedo. This time my partner is going to join me. She's 60 and I'm 64. Our niece would also like to join us, she's 20. I have no worries about her being able to complete the Camino, she's in excellent shape. However, I worry that there may not be enough social stimulation for her or people around her own age to interact with. Although she's not a party animal, she is a 20 year old college student and peaceful walks, beautiful churches, and quiet dinners for 2 weeks might be pushing her limits. I'm wondering if we wouldn't be better off on the Frances.

The Primitivo has a nice mixture of generational walkers. I do not think she will have any issues finding peers to interact.

 

[David Tallan]

I did the Frances from St. Jean in 2022 and am eager to do another Camino. However, I don't have a much time this year. Thought I would try the Camino Primitivo starting in Oviedo. This time my partner is going to join me. She's 60 and I'm 64. Our niece would also like to join us, she's 20. I have no worries about her being able to complete the Camino, she's in excellent shape. However, I worry that there may not be enough social stimulation for her or people around her own age to interact with. Although she's not a party animal, she is a 20 year old college student and peaceful walks, beautiful churches, and quiet dinners for 2 weeks might be pushing her limits. I'm wondering if we wouldn't be better off on the Frances.

College age kids weren't hard to find when I did the Primitivo last summer.

 

[davejsy]

I'm in a similar situation and will hopefully be doing it with my 14yr old godson and potentially one of his friends this coming July. I had the same thoughts about maybe the CF would be more lively for them, but then the primitivo I think gives them a recognised start and end point and a true test of character which you wouldn't get on a shortened CF. I think it will be a beautiful mix of slog, scenery and other pilgrims without the distractions they may have at that age on the CF.

 

[Kiwi-family]

After walking with some of my kids (at the time aged 8-14 if I remember rightly) along the Frances we turned right at Leon. The first day on the Salvador, the yongest one said"This is the kind of walking I like" and it continued all the way along the Primitivo too to Santiago. Years later when another family asked if we would do a camino with them, the kids said "Let's do the Primitivo with them" (at that stage they had also done the Frances, Via de la Plata, Baztan, Voie de la Nive and walked to Finisterre and back)
Full disclosure: on the first walk which was in summer, there were loads of friendly people of all ages - in fact, there was such a bed race that some people had to taxi on to other places just like on the Frances. The second time we walked, in October there were far fewer people and they mostly kept to themselves. The kids weren't so enamoured with the second walk!

 

[Antonius Vaessen]

I walked the Salvador with my than 22 year old daughter. She liked the walking but found the evenings in the " dead villages" a little bit dull. There were not many young people on the Salvador. On the Primitivo thete were a lot more younger people. I would not worry about that.

 

[Arctic_Alex]

If the evening seems to dull, then you have not done enough in the day I suppose
No but I really think there is quite a blend of all ages at the Primitivo. However the majority seemed between 30 and 60 when I walked.
Also, not all above 40 are dull for a 20 year old ;-) I remember walking long stretches on different Caminos with young people between 18 and 22 (that makes me 30 years older) and we had great times and long conversations.
Does she have an interest in Spanish as a language? Then a Camino will have some additional possibilities for entertainment.

 

[Korilu]

I did the Frances from St. Jean in 2022 and am eager to do another Camino. However, I don't have a much time this year. Thought I would try the Camino Primitivo starting in Oviedo. This time my partner is going to join me. She's 60 and I'm 64. Our niece would also like to join us, she's 20. I have no worries about her being able to complete the Camino, she's in excellent shape. However, I worry that there may not be enough social stimulation for her or people around her own age to interact with. Although she's not a party animal, she is a 20 year old college student and peaceful walks, beautiful churches, and quiet dinners for 2 weeks might be pushing her limits. I'm wondering if we wouldn't be better off on the Frances.

I did Primitivo last June and there were plenty of young people. Also, the first week of that route is more rural and the physical challenge and the astounding scenery (for someone new to mountain hiking) will occupy her. By the time she's bored there will be places with nightlife and she will have made a friend or two to party with.

 

[Paul_Garland]

I did the Frances from St. Jean in 2022 and am eager to do another Camino. However, I don't have a much time this year. Thought I would try the Camino Primitivo starting in Oviedo. This time my partner is going to join me. She's 60 and I'm 64. Our niece would also like to join us, she's 20. I have no worries about her being able to complete the Camino, she's in excellent shape. However, I worry that there may not be enough social stimulation for her or people around her own age to interact with. Although she's not a party animal, she is a 20 year old college student and peaceful walks, beautiful churches, and quiet dinners for 2 weeks might be pushing her limits. I'm wondering if we wouldn't be better off on the Frances.

Plenty of youngsters on the Primitivo, all year. I hospi regularly in Grado municipal and even in March, some nights the under 25s make up almost all the guests.

 

[Peterexpatkiwi]

@Viva Terlingua , whilst you don't actually say when you plan to walk, from the responses above it doesn't really seem to matter. Especially that from @Paul_Garland , which is particularly relevant.

I started walking mid July last year, there were pilgrims from 8 to over 80. Literally.

At the end of it all two weeks of quiet evening's is not the end of the world even if she was a 'party animal'. And who knows, it may actually be even exactly that, that she's seeking !

You could of course actually ask her?

The wonderful thing with the Primitivo is that there are enough people to socialize with, without being overwhelmed. And perhaps because of that we don't tend to socialise just with their own age group, rather the opposite. Plus, it may be that she would welcome the chance to get to know you both better. My niece (19, German ) came to live with us ( in NZ) for a few months some years ago, she's like a daughter to me now.

 

[Viva Terlingua]

Okay, we just finished the 8th day of our Camino Primitivo. It is definitely not the demographic I had hoped for. While she is being a good sport and enjoying the people we meet, there aren’t any young people. It seems mostly like a bunch of old men (I can say that since I’m an old man too). The miserable weather we’re having isn’t helping, but she seems to be holding up well so far.

 

[Arctic_Alex]

Okay, we just finished the 8th day of our Camino Primitivo. It is definitely not the demographic I had hoped for. While she is being a good sport and enjoying the people we meet, there aren’t any young people. It seems mostly like a bunch of old men (I can say that since I’m an old man too). The miserable weather we’re having isn’t helping, but she seems to be holding up well so far.

Which is strange as I remember quite an amount of young people in their 20s and 30s from last year, of mixed genders. But maybe it just varies from year to year or demography is highly sensitive to the exact season? I have no clue.
In any case sorry to hear about the weather. It seems this year was some extreme weather in some parts of Spain. Hopefully it will get better towards Lugo ... that would not be uncommon.

 

[Peterexpatkiwi]

Okay, we just finished the 8th day of our Camino Primitivo. It is definitely not the demographic I had hoped for. While she is being a good sport and enjoying the people we meet, there aren’t any young people. It seems mostly like a bunch of old men (I can say that since I’m an old man too). The miserable weather we’re having isn’t helping, but she seems to be holding up well so far.

That is indeed a shame because as I said I met people from eight to eighty , including a smattering of teenagers and quite a few in their 20s and early 30s. Clearly the time of year must have more influence than I would have expected.

Judging by others reports on the Primitivo over recent weeks you've definitely not had the best of weather. Hopefully you all still get to enjoy the walk.