Cf and primitivo

[christian527]

Hi all, I had a question about the camino primitivo, is it possible to combine the camino Frances with the primitivo ? And so from where? Many thanks

 

[Kiwi-family]

Frances from your chosen starting point, then San Salvador from Leon to Oviedo, then Primitivo back to Melide or Arzua or Santa Irene depending on which way you go. Of course you could just catch a bus from anywhere on the Frances to Oviedo!
There are two suggestions for starters.
BTW I'm doing the first suggestion now - Primitivo is wonderful ( but just as busy as the Frances!! And fewer beds)

 

[edandjoan]

My husband and I will start the CF in SJPP on August 17 and walk to Leon and then probably take the train or bus to Oviedo and walk the Primitivo. We have 40 days to walk and will not be rushing so we don't plan on walking the San Salvador from Leon to Oviedo. We walked CF, Leon to Santiago, in September 2012 so we want to see new areas so we decided to journey into Santiago on the Primitivo.

 

[econodan]

We did this in 2012, following (in part) the route Rachel mentioned above: Leon to Oviedo on the Ruta del Salvador (which is beautiful), then following the Primitivo down to where it meets the Camino Frances just before Santiago. Details in the blog linked below.

Wow, I'm surprised that the Primitivo is busy. We didn't run into too many other pilgrims. I'm glad to learn that others are discovering this enjoyable route.

Dan

 

[Juanma]

........
BTW I'm doing the first suggestion now - Primitivo is wonderful ( but just as busy as the Frances!! And fewer beds)

Hi Christian. You've already been answered, so not much to add. Just a little comment on Kiwi-family's comment that the Primitivo is just as busy as the Frances but with fewer beds. The second part of the sentence... yes, of course not as many beds! The first part... not at all! Statistics say that last year only approximately 3% of all pilgrims arriving in Santiago took the Primitivo. Ok, the statistics are not 100% reliable, but let's say the actual percentage was... 5, or even 8 or 10%. That's far from the Frances figures! And if you plan your Primitivo ahead and reserve on those albergues that admit reservation, you shouldn't have a problem, even in the busy season, which is starting right these days...

The Primitivo has less beds and infrastructure in general than the Frances? Of course yes!, but I believe that's part of what makes it a much more interesting option!

Buen Camino to all of you!

 

[Kiwi-family]

In the last week I've met people who started the Primitivo two days after us - for them, it was quiet. For us, every place we stopped was completo every night and people had to take taxis on or back. We shared beds or mattresses on the floor more than once and pilgrims with tents pitched them. We were expecting as few people as the Baztan and Salvador (camino families of 2 and 5 people respectively), but 25 of us arrived in Santiago from the Primitivo on the same day and a dozen more we'd been rubbing shoulders with were only a day behind. Just my experience!!

 

[Juanma]

I guess it can happen out of the high season (July and August) as well, and you were unlucky to suffer it, but in general that's not the case in the Primitivo, especially out of that high season. We ourselves noticed in May and June that some days the Camino brought tens of people (and we had our albergue complete those days), while just the day after of before that one, we only saw a few pilgrims pass by or stay with us. In fact, the day you stayed in San Roman (I checked the actual date in your blog), if you would have continued 8km more, you could have stayed with us, as that day we had our albergue at half its capacity, while the day before and the day after that we had it complete! It's a matter of luck.

But I insist that even in the season when full occupancy is expected, you should have no problem if you plan one or two days ahead: if you have a Camino book guide or check a Camino online guide, you can call albergues one-two days ahead and reserve your stay; if one is already full, check with the closest one before or after that one. Yes, I know that in some parts of the Primitivo, especially in Asturias, that won't grant you a bed at all, but again... that's a small price to pay for enjoying a more quiet and peacefull Camino as compared to the Frances. Just my opinion!