Our Camino del Salvador

[fortview]

Hi All,
Here we are in Oviedo! Got our Salvadoranas from the Cathedral, and very beautiful they are too.
We bumped into a total of 5 Peregrinos in 6 days from Leon to Oviedo. Such peace and solitude in stunning surroundings.
Our stages were:
Day 1 Leon to La Robla
Here we stayed in the Albergue and cooked for ourselves. This is a lovely place to stay, and we were very well looked after by Sixto. We had the Albergue to ourselves. Highly recommended.

Day 2 La Robla - Poladura de la Tercia
Fantastic day´s walk. We stayed at the Pension Posada El Embrujo, as recommended. Very lovely place. GREAT meal, and amazing to meet Ender and Maria-Jesus, his wife, and have dinner with them.

Day 3 Poladura - Pajares
It was a clear day, no clouds. In spite of Ender´s detailed instructions for avoiding the road at Puerto de Pajares, we ended up taking the road for the 500m. It was a Saturday and very quiet, so we risked the road, rather than the cows, who were blocking the senda behind the barrier. Rosario, a Spanish Peregrina had taken the senda earlier, and told us it was partly damaged by the cows. As she climbed over the barrier, people started shouting at her, calling her back, saying. " NO! Come back and live! Don´t jump!"
We stayed in the Albergue at Pajares with stupendous views, and the wonderful Marisa, who cooked for us, as the Restaurant was closed for holidays.

Day 4 Parajes - Campomanes
Stayed at Casa del Abad Pension, as recommended.

Day 5 Campomanes-Mieres
Very hot, walked in 34 degrees,which made the final stretch into Mieres quite taxing. We stayed at the Albergue, which is a fair way out of the centre. It is a bit basic, limited facilities, only a microwave.

Day 6 Mieres - Oviedo
This was a lovely walk, with 3 manageable ascents and descents, through beautiful countryside. Beautiful city.

This is a beautiful, and special camino. Once again, we are so grateful to have Laurie et al´s guide, and Ender´s thorough and thoughtful signage.

We are off on the Camino Primitivo tomorrow.

John and Helen

 

[GunnarW]

Hello John and Helen,
Congratulations. Thank you to write down this report.
What a luck to meet Ender.
Buen Camino.

 

[MendiWalker]

Thanks a lot. Useful info for a future walk.

Buen Camino!

 

[jpflavin1]

Congrats on your Salvador. I believe this is going to become a popular route for folks who only have a week to walk. It also provides a nice option to tie in the Primitivo.

Ultreya,
Joe

 

[GunnarW]

Another advantage is that it's easy to reach with an airplane. Oviedo and Valladolid (South of León) have airports with cheap opportunities. León has also an airport but it seems to be an "expensive to reach" one. ALSA buses and RENFE trains are riding regulary between Oviedo and León.

 

[fortview]

Its hard to know how to pitch a report on this camino. We don't want to put people off - hard to know how popular it will become but its not for the faint hearted !!

 

[Silvester]

Another advantage is that it's easy to reach with an airplane. Oviedo and Valladolid (South of León) have airports with cheap opportunities. León has also an airport but it seems to be an "expensive to reach" one. ALSA buses and RENFE trains are riding regulary between Oviedo and León.

I've been researching flying into León and discovered that there are no flights from Barcelona on Tuesdays. So I wonder how well the RENFE trains to León connect to the Valladolid or Oviedo airports?
Thanks
Mary

 

[angulero]

Oviedo, como ya he dicho en otra ocasión, no tiene aeropuerto. No es problema ya que cada hora hay un autobús que conecta el aeropuerto con Oviedo. Es un viaje de aproximadamente tres cuartos de hora. La estación de autobús y la de Renfe están muy próximas en Oviedo.

Una vez en Oviedo, tienes estos trenes a León.

 

[fortview]

Just a few more notes...
About Sundays . Sundays can turn a very quiet, rural road, into the highway from hell! Hunters are setting off in droves, in their 4x4 with dogs in trailers on the back. This happened both on the Salvador, and Primitivo!
When we stayed in Pajares , the Taberna de las Cortinas , was closed for holidays, but Marisa, hospitalera, told us that there may be a problem with the people running it, so it may remain closed. Marisa cooked for us, hopefully she will continue to cook if the Taberna is closed, but I don't know if she will or not.
It is worth noting that there is a Fuente in Fresnedo. We were running short of water here, so it was great to find the fountain.
The albergue in Mieres, is a fair way out of the town centre, about 1.5 to 2 kms. It is very basic, and the beds are very close together. There were only 3 of us, so it wasn't an issue. There is a microwave, but that is all. There is a small tienda close by, and a Meson, just down the road, but it doesn't serve food until 9 pm. Another time, I would stay in Mieres itself, and take the opportunity to have a nice meal, and some sidra !