MarkCheeswright
New Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- Planning to walk Camino Primitivo late March 2016
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Hi all, I hope everybody is having a great Easter holiday, and enjoying a fair bit of chocolate today too.
I am relatively new to the forum, this is my first post, but have been reading up and absorbing a lot of the great info everybody shares here for a while. Thank you for sharing, it has been a great source of knowledge.
My partner and I were originally planning to start the Camino Primitivo on the 18th March until approx 9th April. We got a bit worried a few weeks back after we saw some flooding on the Camino Portuguese and decided to postpone until weather is a little bit more predictable. We had a bad experience last year when we got stuck trekking deep in a rain forest in South East Asia and had to be rescued by extraction teams!! We thought we would play it safe in Northern Spain so decided to start end of May through to mid June.
We have been hiking regularly here in Andalusia, carrying full kit for weight training, and covering some decent distances with quite intense ascends and descents! The mountains here are gorgeous with countless treks and hikes to enjoy so training isn't without its positives
We are basing our route plans on the info available at the Eroski website - http://caminodesantiago.consumer.es/los-caminos-de-santiago/primitivo/
One subject I haven't been able to find a huge amount of detail on is alternative accommodation at the various stages. My partner, whilst able to handle herself surprisingly well in the jungle for 24 hours without food or water surrounded by snakes, spiders, leeches, land slides, burst rivers, flash floods and torrential rain... is also inclined (probably understandably at this point) to book into a hotel if the option is available.
If anybody happens to have any information on hotels or private accommodation along the route it would be very much appreciated. The most difficult aspect of the camino for her is shared accommodation, bathroom ,snoring & bed bugs!
Thank you all in advance and Buen Camino to all!
Regards,
Mark
The only place where I would suggest that a reservation might be a good idea is Berducedo... There is one small albergue and one private place that has both albergue and rooms. It is not a well loved place, gets many bad reviews because of the attitude of the owners, but I assume they take reservations and it would be worth it to call a day or two in advance.
Oh, Anemone, that's great to know. Did you know that Casa Marques used to be a fancy starred restaurant, named "La Culpa la Tiene Maria". It didn't make it, so they sold it to the young guy who you probably saw when you were there. His mom does the cooking in the restaurante, certainly not "starred" cuisine, but perfectly fine. I remember they had one Plato combination available, take it or leave it. Eggs, fries, maybe a slice of lomo thrown in, I don't remember the details. (I don't know if you remember this, but the cutlery, glasses, dishes, etc, were way above what you would normally find in a place like that, obviously the restaurant sold the whole operation with all its furnishings)The main restaurant in town, Casa Marques, also has rooms on the second floor.
Yes Laurie, when I was there a young honeymooning couple was looking for La culpa and were disappointed when I pointed out what is left of the signs on what used to be the main entrance. I had not noticed the quality of the dishes and cutlery, just how short tempered the young man was as he was overwork come dinner time. But he only has a few rooms, so the private albergue will keep making money, especially as they accept reservations which in Berducedo is wise to have, as you pointed out.Oh, Anemone, that's great to know. Did you know that Casa Marques used to be a fancy starred restaurant, named "La Culpa la Tiene Maria". It didn't make it, so they sold it to the young guy who you probably saw when you were there. His mom does the cooking in the restaurante, certainly not "starred" cuisine, but perfectly fine. I remember they had one Plato combination available, take it or leave it. Eggs, fries, maybe a slice of lomo thrown in, I don't remember the details. (I don't know if you remember this, but the cutlery, glasses, dishes, etc, were way above what you would normally find in a place like that, obviously the restaurant sold the whole operation with all its furnishings)
I also remember the story associated with this place -- this young guy was able to "cash in" his entire unemployment compensation that would otherwise have come to him in monthly payments over however many years it lasts. There is (or at least there was) a program that allows people to do that if they have a verified business opportunity. It was a great story to hear, and I'm so glad that they seem to be doing well. Hope they get all the private accommodation business because the people in the other private place are consistently reported as being rude and "all about the money." I know that at some level it's always "all about the money", but come on, a little congeniality would be nice. Buen camino, Laurie
Bed bugs are not finicky. You can suffer them in everything from a flop house to 5 star accommodationHi all, I hope everybody is having a great Easter holiday, and enjoying a fair bit of chocolate today too.
I am relatively new to the forum, this is my first post, but have been reading up and absorbing a lot of the great info everybody shares here for a while. Thank you for sharing, it has been a great source of knowledge.
My partner and I were originally planning to start the Camino Primitivo on the 18th March until approx 9th April. We got a bit worried a few weeks back after we saw some flooding on the Camino Portuguese and decided to postpone until weather is a little bit more predictable. We had a bad experience last year when we got stuck trekking deep in a rain forest in South East Asia and had to be rescued by extraction teams!! We thought we would play it safe in Northern Spain so decided to start end of May through to mid June.
We have been hiking regularly here in Andalusia, carrying full kit for weight training, and covering some decent distances with quite intense ascends and descents! The mountains here are gorgeous with countless treks and hikes to enjoy so training isn't without its positives
We are basing our route plans on the info available at the Eroski website - http://caminodesantiago.consumer.es/los-caminos-de-santiago/primitivo/
One subject I haven't been able to find a huge amount of detail on is alternative accommodation at the various stages. My partner, whilst able to handle herself surprisingly well in the jungle for 24 hours without food or water surrounded by snakes, spiders, leeches, land slides, burst rivers, flash floods and torrential rain... is also inclined (probably understandably at this point) to book into a hotel if the option is available.
If anybody happens to have any information on hotels or private accommodation along the route it would be very much appreciated. The most difficult aspect of the camino for her is shared accommodation, bathroom ,snoring & bed bugs!
Thank you all in advance and Buen Camino to all!
Regards,
Mark
Yes Laurie, when I was there a young honeymooning couple was looking for La culpa and were disappointed when I pointed out what is left of the signs on what used to be the main entrance. I had not noticed the quality of the dishes and cutlery, just how short tempered the young man was as he was overwork come dinner time. But he only has a few rooms, so the private albergue will keep making money, especially as they accept reservations which in Berducedo is wise to have, as you pointed out.
Casa Marques did have a numer of combinados on the menu so the offer must improving. Also wifi with a long contrsena. Is it me or do the Combinados make a better meal than the CF's Pilgrim Menu? Not as good as a Menu del Dia on the Norte, but a clear step above the Pilgrim meal, and at a fraction of the coast.
Laurie, try the bar in Borres. While guides don't have much good to say about it it has a lovely terrace, mom is in the kitchen, son helps out, lovely combinado of french fries, chorizo amd fried egg (your heart will thank you, notToo bad about the temper. When we were there, his mother was doing all the work in the kitchen, and he was serving drinks and being quite the chatty host. He had some new "cidra pourers" that apparently get the cider oxygenated much like pouring with the bottle over your head, but far less atmospheric.
Also too bad about the menu. It may very well be that increasing the complexity of the menu increases the tension and bad temper. I think that the places that have it down right are places like the albergue at Ponte Ferreira, where every night there will be a paella served (if there are enough people). Do one thing and do it well, the clientele will not be repeating. One of my disappointments when I was on the end of the Frances two years ago was in La Venta Celta in O'Cebreiro. I had eaten wonderful meals there on two different occasions about a decade ago. There was one meal on offer -- a wonderful salad, caldo gallego, and tortilla espanola. All freshly cooked, all perfectly prepared. And dessert was, oh so heavenly, queixo O'Cebreiro with local honey. When I went back two years ago, there were two cooks and a long menu. "The clients demand it," she told me. They don't know what they are missing.
Buen camino, Laurie
Hi, Mark,
Welcome to the forum. As mspath suggests, take a look at the gronze pages for the most complete listing of private accommodation and public. Mundicamino.com is also good. The Eroski site is good as well, but it only lists albergues, not pensiones, etc.
I have walked the Primitivo twice and never reserved anywhere. In my experience, it's the albergues that fill up, not the private places. Not making reservations, as you of course know, allows you to be much more flexible. The only place where I would suggest that a reservation might be a good idea is Berducedo. It is a real "Primitivo bottleneck." It's really the only logical place to stop whether you've started in Pola de Allande or Campiello/Borres. There is one small albergue and one private place that has both albergue and rooms. It is not a well loved place, gets many bad reviews because of the attitude of the owners, but I assume they take reservations and it would be worth it to call a day or two in advance.
Unlike the Norte, where the private places are sought after by tourists, on the Primitivo, there is very little of competition for beds from that sector. And as you'll see on gronze, there are private places in all the "main stoping points". Calling on the day when you start out or a day ahead of time should be very ample.
Buen camino to you, I think you'll love the Primitivo. Laurie
We will be travelling part of the Primitivo by car this year. The Casa Corral is very remote and we have decided to stop over elsewhere. I think it would be very difficult unless taking a taxi from Pola de Allande and back, which does not help with breaking the stage between there and Berducedo. A better way would be to try for Berducedo or plan to taxi from there to Grandas de Salime (where accommodation is bookable) and back.Great information, Laurie I was wondering about Casa Corral in Monon? Is it too difficut to get to, are there any taxi's in this area?
Just order your credencial from this forum.Hi Guys,
Thanks again for all the great info you have provided, I appreciate it lots.
I have one more concern which I hope you can provide some clarity on?
We will be heading north to Ovideo by train. Arrival time is in the late evening, too late I expect to visit the Tourist Information Office or Pilgrims Registration (if there is one!). I am worried about any admin we might need to complete ahead of our debut walk to San Juan de Villapañada, the main thing being able to obtain a pilgrim passport.
We could plan to depart Ovideo the following morning or we could spend the day in Oviedo figuring everything out. My worry is we are already short on time (due to our back to work deadline) so would prefer to just get up and go the morning immediately following our arrival. Each day is a valuable rest day if needed, which I would prefer to keep in the bank just in case!
Any advice on the Pilgrim Passport, registration and other prep required pre-departure in Oviedo would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance
Regards,
Mark C
Hi Guys,
Any advice on the Pilgrim Passport, registration and other prep required pre-departure in Oviedo would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance
Regards,
Mark C
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