General Introduction + Alternative Accommodation Question.

[MarkCheeswright]

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

 

[Stephen Nicholls]

Hi Mark!
Welcome to the Forum!
Not that I can help at this stage. I plan the Finisterre for May/June this year and the Primitivo next year, so will be watching replies with interest.
I sympathise very much with your wife: albergues are great for fellowship and company, and shared meals and chat. But after a long day there's nothing like a quiet en-suite room!! . I usually try a mixture of both.
Buen camino!

 

[mspath]

For a start use the Spanish Gronze Primitivo site. Tap each location to see what is available. Regular tourist accommodation is listed in black ink while pilgrim albergues are in brown. Booking.com links are also provided.

Happy planning and Buen camino to you both!

 

[peregrina2000]

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

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

 

[Anemone del Camino]

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.

The main restaurant in town, Casa Marques, also has rooms on the second floor.

 

[peregrina2000]

The main restaurant in town, Casa Marques, also has rooms on the second floor.

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

 

[Anemone del Camino]

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

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.

 

[Urban Trekker]

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

Bed bugs are not finicky. You can suffer them in everything from a flop house to 5 star accommodation . You could both sleep in the same room but in different beds and one gets blessed and one does not. I have walked 2 different caminos and have slept in all possible types of accommodations some of them real iffy . No nibbles, no bites .
I walked Porto to Santiago in 2014. We stayed in hotels, hostels, pensions, private room rentals and albergues. We would ask the locals, visit the information center, or refer to our guide book. In Portugal most young people speak and or understand English. So if you're looking at room for 2 accommodations it will not be a problem. Expensive but not a problem. Buen Camino

Happy Trails

 

[peregrina2000]

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.

Too 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

 

[Anemone del Camino]

Too 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

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, not ) and she will make you a bocadillo for the walk up Hospitales.

 

[Juanma]

Hi Mark. It is true that some times it is not easy to find private rooms in all stages of the Primitivo. As you've already been suggested, have a look at the Gronze guide, where you will find more options than on the Eroski one!

 

[MarkCheeswright]

Hi Guys,
Thank you all for your responses. I really appreciate you sharing with me. I have noted all suggestions and advice here and after looking into the websites mentioned I am sure they are going to help us a LOT!
I will try to keep you as updated as possible and will be back with some more questions at some point or another I am sure
Thanks again,
Mark C

 

[Paulette S]

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

 

[Paulette S]

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?

 

[Tia Valeria]

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?

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.

 

[MarkCheeswright]

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

 

[Anemone del Camino]

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

Just order your credencial from this forum.

 

[peregrina2000]

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

Hi, Mark, I second Anemone's suggestion -- either order it from Ivar's online store, or get one from your home Association. I always get mine from APOC, the American Pilgrims on the Camino, but I don't know where you are from.

There is no registration or anything like that, you just fill up your Credential/passport with stamps, and that will document your trip to the "authorities" in the Pilgrims' Office. No other required prep I can think of, but I personally think it would be a terrible shame to leave Oviedo without enjoying it a bit, and taking a walk out to the Naranco sites. But I know you said you're getting squeezed at work, so that may not be possible. Buen camino, Laurie

 

[MarkCheeswright]

Guys, absolutely stellar!

I will order from the online store tonight.

Apologies I should have mentioned earlier, I am from Gibraltar

 

[Bradypus]

Missing the Naranco sites would be a shame. Leaving Oviedo without eating a huge bowl of fabada and drinking at least one bottle of Asturian cider would be unthinkable!

 

[MarkCheeswright]

Hi again guys,

We have decided to stay a day in Oviedo as recommended. We will definitely take a stroll up to see the Naranco sites!

I have ordered our passports from the forum too, expecting them to arrive soon

The information we have received through this forum has been absolutely priceless, especially with regards to private accommodation, which I am now confident we will be able to book into in most areas.

One question which occurred to me now that I expect to have ensuite at least some of the time is regarding the actual passport stamps?

Do all accommodations, private or otherwise provide official stamps for the pilgrim passport? If not, do I need to actively search out albergues along the route and ask for a stamp? My concern is that in order to be given a stamp you need to actually stay at the accommodation? How does the stamp situation work if you are camping along the way for example?

Thanks in advance for any advice
Regards,
Mark C

 

[Anemone del Camino]

Glad your planning is going well.

Regarding the Naranco sites, it is quite a steap hike to get to them, but there is a bus on calle Uria that will take you there. It also stops across the street from the toursim info kiosk.

As for stapms, there are no "official Camino stamls" though albergues have their own as do some cafes and even a few individuals who hope you'll drop in, pass by, like the lady as you are about to enger Logrono or David on the approach to Astorga. But every business seems to have a stamps,they use for their work, ugly perhaps, but it's a stamp. Those also can be part of the stamps you need to collect to get your Compostela. I doubt hospis would like to have random people walk in asking for stamps while they are changing beds and cleaning bathrooms, so getting them in bars may be better.

 

[mspath]

Spanish post offices/Correos along the caminos not only sell postage stamps but now offer free sellos for pilgrims to use as they pass through town. See more on this system complete with newly designed examples here.

 

[Anemone del Camino]

I like the one for Bilbao! I guess you can have your credencial stamp as you drop off you pack for them to carry. Smart Correos. But what time do they open? Both times I wanted to mail something they were opening ninish if not later.

 

[mspath]

Don't know about Correos office hours but there is no need to drop off your pack at their office.
Correos will pick up your pack from wherever you are staying and deliver it to where you will next be stopping. See more info here.

 

[MarkCheeswright]

I did mean the stamps required in order to fill the pilgrim credential passport.
Or have I misunderstood the pilgrim passport?

I thought it was a requirement to pick up stamps along the way in order to prove the journey and get sign off in Santiago?

Or are there only specific stamps needed from specific places along the way?

I think i've confused myself! :/

 

[mspath]

You can ask for a stamp or sello any place along the camino. Albergues, hotels, bars, restos, and the Correos all have them. Whenever you stop for the night you will be asked to show your Pilgrim Passport/Credencial and in turn the Passport will be stamped. The only requirement to obtain a Compostela in Santiago is to show that you have walked the last 100 km on your camino by means of 2 stamps per day in your Credencial. However many pilgrims like collecting stamps so much that they obtain several per day.

 

[MarkCheeswright]

Ok great, I understand now... I think!... basically hotel stamps qualify for the credentials, plus correos and bars and anything really as long as they have a stamp to provide

Also, thanks for the information regarding Correos... I've just been on the phone with them and sounds like an absolutely awesome service! We were going to have a case sent to Santiago and wait for us there, but sounds like its a better idea to have it delivered from place to place along the way. Brilliant.

Have you had any experience with the Correos bag transfer service? One thing I forgot to ask on the phone is what is the latest time of day a pickup can be arranged for same day delivery... just incase we don't know where we will be staying before we walk for the day...!

 

[Anemone del Camino]

Mark, the stamps are ink stamps, they can be pretty and have drawings of a building in town, the church you are getting it from, an albergue logo, what have you. Any business or just about has one, with its adress, phone number, what have you, used for receipts, etc.

 

[mspath]

For Correos pick-up you or the hospitalero can arrange it via your phone by 21:00 the night before. Use their Paq Mochila service to book. See more here.

I used this last autumn after I fell
and the service was fine. My only regret was the Correos could not not carry me in their truck along with the backpack!