Camping Caminio Primitivo

[Ange]

Hi from Ange,
Setting out tomorrow from Villeneuve sur Lot in France with my French friends, to start the Camino Primitivo on Monday. This is supposed to be a much quieter route, though the thought of all those mountainous ups and downs on the profiles - linked by the forum - http://www.mundicamino.com, in the heat, pretty daunting. For anyone starting off in France the temperatures are up to 40 degrees during the afternoons - whatever will it be like in Spain? I promised to inform readers of any camping availability on this route if the Albergues are full. So far the Albergue at Borres has responded favourable saying there is an area we can use. The caminosantiagoastur.com replied more generally that although there are no specific areas for camping, most of the albergues would be able to suggest somewhere. Reports for the last bit of the journey from Melide to Santiago, are that the local authorities have other albergues that can be opened up specially if there are greater numbers. The big albergue just before Santiago, for example, Monte de Gozo, are almost doubling their allocation of places from 500 to 800. I didnt get any response from my letter and email to the Galicia websites. If the weather is going to be as hot as forecast, then asleep under the stairs is possiblity a good idea! Internet connections are rare on the Primitivo, so I probably wont get to report in during the journey, but at least will be available to answer questions on the Forum when I get back.
So Buen Camino everyone! Ange in France.

 

[Ange]

Re: Camping Camino Primitivo

CAMPING ON THE PRIMITIVO - ANGE
First thing we found out when talking to the Tourist Office in Oviedo was the confirmation that it is forbidden to camp ‘wild’ in Spain. However, during the Holy Year on the route the authorities have relaxed the ruling – just present your credencias if questioned. Obviously to allow use of the facilities - next to the albergues is best – ask the hospitalero first of course – bearing in mind some do not arrive until after 5pm to register everyone. In general we only saw people camping on the Camino Frances, Ribadiso, for example where we used our tents for the first time. In the morning the tent was wringing wet with humidity, despite it being July. There were a lot of people in mummy style sleeping bags only – I wondered if they were OK.
On the Primitivo we managed to obtain accommodation the whole way and the tents nearly got dumped. The hospitaleros would pass information to each other and the more modern albergues had added a lot more beds and a few mattresses for this year. There were also secondary albergues in some places - we ended up in an old school after Ferreira in a district called Augus Santas but nearly missed it. I think it was near the hamlet of Codeseda - you would need to ask someone nearby for information concerning the key - it was already open when we arrived. In Grandas da Salime the albergue lived up to its name ‘slime’, and it only had about 12 beds, so everyone either dispersed into Pensions/hotels (like us) or continued 5 kilometres up to Castro (which has reopened). We got beds in Padron outskirts of O Fonsagrada, but the garden was flat and there were a couple of tents placed overnight. Other albergues with grounds available where we got beds and were too tired to struggle with spanish to ask, were Oviedo - even though in the town it is down a dead end and had a garden round the back, Villepanada near Grado - sloping ground but maybe, Cornellana - big enclosed courtyard - not sure about outside though, Salas - although in a modern district it was next to fields, Tineo - garden too steep, Borres OK but the albergue was full of flies so beds are available if you bring spray!, Pola de Allande in the town, just concrete outside, Padron nice flat field area , Cadavo Baleiro not sure as we stopped in Hotel Moneda - arrived too late for a bed and too tired to think about tents. Lugo has secondary albergues, the one inside the walled city was just the building, no grounds at all.
I think that you have to consider the extra weight unless you take it in turns to carry a tent. If you take the time to visit the tourist offices they will assist you with information on not only the registered albergues, but the temporary ones and costs of cheaper pensions – and even ring up and book for you - which for the odd occasion gives you a bed on your own, easy access to a bathroom without having to rush, and meals with a bar for the odd beer or cafe con leche! To be honest, I would not take one again - carrying a tent with the extra weight, even carried in turns, and the thought of having to put it up and dismantle it – ok you just have to throw it and it pings into place... I got so tired that I could have slept on a park bench! The only reason we did was because we were heading into Santiago for the Jubilee weekend, and worried we may not get anywhere. We ended up at Monte de Gozo for two nights - ok we had to queue - but we had somewhere to sleep.

 

[TerryB]

Hi Ange,
There is actually a good cover by the Internet on the Primitivo. I listed the places I used here:-
camino-primitivo/topic6375.html
You may not be there when they are open, although the public ones are usually open in the evenings up to at least 7.00 pm. -Closed in the afternoons for siesta!

Blessings
Terry

 

[DavidF]

Ange,

Interesting comments - I'd like to offer a slightly different point of view though, if I may.

We just finished the Primitivo from Oviedo on Aug 20. We took tents and I was glad we did. Lots of the albergues were full and/or pretty dirty and the one in the town of Salas was closed (last year it was full and very dirty). There we stayed in a hotel - it was pretty cheap for 3 sharing a room. Herminia has opened a new private albergue with a washer and dryer in Camiello. The albergue at Berducedo is horrible and so is the state of the lawn (really bad for camping being full of weeds and thorns) - the lawn at La Mesa is a better bet for camping. We statyed in a hotel in Grandas because the albergue was full and there was nowhere to camp. You can camp at the albergue at O Fonsagrada - pretty nice spot. They were using the gimnasio in O Cadavo as overflow again and so we camped on the lawn of the gimnasio - they won't let you erect tents at the albergure (at least last year they refused - this year we didn't ask). Lugo we got a hotel. Camping at San Roman is really nice although a new albergue has opened about 10 km after San Roman (if my memory is right it's about 10K). We ended up sleeping in a field owned by one of the friendly bars just before Melide. It was the week of the fiesta and there were a huge number of peregrinos in Melide as well which meant that essentially everything was full. The line to get the sello was about 100 people long in Melide so we just pressed on. It was impossible to find any accomodation in Arzua or Lavacolla - we walked in to Santiago from Arzua and stayed in a hotel there, but there were campsites available after Lavacolla.

Tents do add weight (obviously) but some of the new lightweight ones weigh almost nothing - have a look at the BigAgnes FlyCreek range - the 1 person tent weighs just less than a kilo and the 2 person not much more. My pack was around 17 pounds all told - tent, sleeping bag, rainwear, etc. And I think I can get it down to 15 next year.

The other reason for a tent, I think, is that if you take the Hospitales route you might end up having to bivouac overnight in the mountains. We ran into a couple from England who stayed overnight at one of the hospitales and they were really cold because they didn't have a tent.

 

[FatmaG]

Hospitales...