camino primitivo in mid september

[tzufit]

hello all, we are planning to start the primitivo on 17th september. some questions: rain? is it an all day rain or some hours? how hard is the path? many ups and downs? we are walking with our 15 age daugther...i saw the way on internet and it looks not that hard...but i do'nt know. also we have only 10 days of walking. we would skip some parts. what is best to do and what we can skip ?
thank you!

 

[Kanga]

I have not walked it myself but @tzufit the Primitivo is generally considered one of the tougher walks. We walked the Norte in May/June, with the intention of turning onto the Primitivo when we got to it. Although we were "trail hardened" by then we were with a friend who had a knee problem and we decided against it and stuck to the easier Norte. I don't regret that decision, the Norte is absolutely beautiful and some of the best walking was after the Primitivo turnoff.

And yes, in answer to your specific question, the Primitivo is up and down. It is a mountain route. It sounds absolutely stunning however. I still hope to walk it one day.

I am sure you will get more specific information from those with first hand knowledge of the path. Whatever you decide, Buen Camino!

 

[tzufit]

hi kanga,
thank you very much!hope we will do it...

 

[Tia Valeria]

If you only have 10 days to walk then I would suggest that you start in either Grado, Salas or Tineo, getting there by ALSA bus from Oviedo. The alternative would be to skip a bit between Fonsagrada and Lugo using the little local bus. If you want certificates then you cannot skip a section after Lugo as that is the 100km limit.
Personally I would look at starting in Salas, and plan 9 days walking allowing for a rest day to explore Lugo, but that is just my thought. You can see gradients, distances, accomodation etc on Gronze and CSJ UK produce a guide too (Los Caminos del Norte F: Camino Primitivo) which we found easy to use and carry.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

many ups and downs?

You can view the profile here:

http://www.gronze.com/camino-de-santiago/caminos/guia-del-camino-primitivo

There is not much public transportation along the route, so skipping generally takes a taxi, which probably will need to be summoned from the nearest larger town (usually at extra cost).

 

[tzufit]

wow! did not know this site! thank you

 

[Tia Valeria]

From Oviedo to Grandas de Salime there was one bus a day (pm) on 6 days per week. No public transport between Grandas and Fonsagrada. Between Fonsagrada and Lugo there were 3 buses per day. We had a taxi number for Fonsagrada and used it for the final 10kms in atrocious weather, instead of the 5kms planned, then stayed in Hostal Manolo in Fonsagrada itself (booked it the night before by phone).
All that needs checking is the bus times through the various villages and days of the week as they are for September. We found it worked fine.
To Grado it is possible also to use the FEVE (cercania) out of Oviedo, approx every hour.