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Hi, Ditte,
I have walked the Primitivo twice. Once in 2009 in 11 days: camino-primitivo/topic4841.html
And once, in 2012, in 12 days: camino-primitivo/topic14728.html
The main difference is that last year I wanted to do the Hospitales route, and because of the location of albergues, I couldn't find a good 11 day way to do it.
As I describe in my posts, I think the Camino Primitivo is almost perfect. It gets really overcrowded only in August. In June when I walked last year, there was a nice group of people but never a crowd. It's beautiful, you'll probably get a little rain, but June/July are drier months.
I'm 62, pretty fit but not a super-athlete by any means, and the pace was fine for me. Others take longer, but it just depends on your stamina and the distances you feel comfortable with.
Speaking Spanish helps a lot on the Primitivo, but I met three young peregrinos last summer who didn't speak more than a few words, and I mean Hola, Buenos Dias, Albergue, and Gracias were the total of their language ability. Though lots of townspeople won't speak English, other pilgrims are very likely to, so you shouldn't have a problem.
I think you will love it, let us know if you have more questions. Buen camino, Laurie
Sv: Primitivo instead of France ??
Hello
. I have another question. Actually two :grin::grin:
How many rain days should I expect on the Primativo, walking 11-12 days ??
How many km is there from Oviedo to Santiago IF I go via Melide. ??? I am reading on the internet all from 320-369. And there is big difference when having only max 12 days
Hope to hear :grin:. Thanks
Ditte
I'm having a dilemma about which route to take. Did you do the primitivo route, and, if so, what was your experience like? Thanks.
Hola Ditte,Thank you so much, Laurie
I have now decided to walk from Oviedo to Santiago - having 11,5 days. I have been looking around this forum, but still need to know a few things. Hope someone can help me
1.Guidebook on the Camino Primitivo ?
2. I will arrive Madrid June 27th and plan to take the ALSA bus to Oviedo, arriving Oviedo in the middle of the night at 02.15. Does anyone have an idea where to sleep - inexpensive ?
3. I will start walking the morning on the 28th, but where do I get the pilgrim passport ?
I have walked the Camino France from Leon around the same time. But shouldn´t I expect a lot more rain on the Primitivo ? And what about bedbugs on the Primitivo ?
Cannot wait
I agree with most things here.Hi Polite,
I walked the Primitivo this past July 27 – August 12, 2013 from Oviedo to Santiago via Melide. For route info I used two excellent sources: "The Northern Caminos" by Laura Perazzoli and Dave Whitson and the forum post by Peregrina2000 (Laurie) of her 2012 walk.
Overall it was a wonderful walk but in truth, more difficult than I had anticipated. The weather was great. Hot but not unbearably so. The hottest days were also on my two toughest walking days – over the Hospitales route from Campiello to Berducedo and then the next day to Grandas de Salime. There was one day of rain – between Lugo and San Roman da Retorta.
It is indeed a much quieter route than the Frances, but even though I saw few fellow pilgrims during the day, the albergues were almost always full by the end of the day. Only one place was "completo" when I arrived - the municiple albergue in Berducedo. There was room in the more expensive, private albergue.
It is important to be in moderately good shape for this walk. Be prepared for a lot of climbing and a few joint stressing descents. I would also advise packing as light as you can – of course this is important for all routes, but the Primitivo in particular I think demands it.
There are longer stretches between facilities. Make sure you have enough water at all times. I ran out of water on the Hospitales route and it was pretty tough for a couple of hours until I reached the mostly abandoned village of Montefurado. There seemed to be only one inhabited house but there wasn’t anyone home. After a bit of searching, found an open tap on one of the buildings. Such a relief!
The scenery on the Primitivo is spectacular and there are some wonderful places to stop if you’d like to take a break for a day. I walked a shorter stage leaving Grandas de Salime and stopped for the rest of the day and overnight in Castro. A beautiful little spot with a very interesting archeological site and museum to explore.
Also spent 2 nights and 1 day in Lugo – a wonderful city to spend some time and walk the Roman wall that surrounds the old part of the city.
Even though I really enjoyed the quiet times on the Primitivo, I also liked re-joining the Camino Frances in Melide. Suddenly very crowded but also fun to be around the energy of all the people for the final days into Santiago.
Despite a few tough days, I'm very happy I had the experience of walking the Primitivo. Buen camino!
If you like museums this is worthwhile, but it is good to check accomodation at Castro as it is private and can get booked up by youth groups.
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