An unnecessary diversion

[Bert45]

I walked the Camino Primitivo in June/July this year. Between A Mesa and Grandas de Salime there was a signpost pointing to a "temporary" diversion. There was nobody about to ask (and no reason to expect that anybody would know any more than I did whether or not to take the diversion) so I followed the sign. After about three hours I met up with the original route and several people who had been advised by the manager of the hotel they had stayed at to ignore the sign. The diversion, I was told, added 4 km to the journey and was because there had been a forest fire FOUR YEARS AGO! If you are walking this route in the future, please save others from this unnecessary diversion by removing the sign.

 

[Via2010]

Hi,

I walked the Primitivo this june, too, and took the diversion. It has been marked due to the woodfires which were in April 2017 (not 4 years ago). A friend of mine walked the Primitivo one week earlier and took the original route, which is much steeper and could be dangerous after rain, because the burnt trees will no longer protect the path from erosion. According to Gronze, the diversion is 1,7 km plus. But it is very comfortable walking on rather flat and wide forrest tracks. So refrain from removing the signs. They may be there for good reason.

BC
Alexandra

 

[jungleboy]

Leading down to the dam? We took the normal route in late May this year and I loved it for the wildflowers juxtaposed with the burnt out trees. It was the most evocative part of the Primitivo for me.

 

[BeatriceKarjalainen]

Burnt forest can be beautiful but if the authorities says stay out it is for a reason. The ground not trees are stable for quite a while. Where I live we weren't allowed to enter a forest after a fire until 2 years after. When the ground had settled again and they had taken down dangerous trees.

 

[Bert45]

What Via2010 and BK have written just goes to show I shouldn't believe everything I'm told, even though I'm sure it was told in good faith. I don't think that anybody followed the diversion within a couple of hours of the time I walked that way, as I overtook nobody and nobody overtook me. I didn't see a soul during about three hours.

 

[Bshaffer]

Peregrinos, I walked it today - there is no sign and there is no danger. Beautiful countryside.

 

[Elle Bieling]

Thanks all for the comments. I start the Primitivo in six days!

 

[morningcoffee]

We did the Primitivo a couple of weeks ago. At the intersection we saw some pilgrims on mountain bikes who decided to take the diversion as the standard route would have been very steep for them. We took the standard route and it was in good condition even after a couple of days of rain.