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Primitivo ....lugo to north route...info needed

AnimalDoc

New Member
Time of past OR future Camino
primativo (2017)
I have some questions ....hopefully someone can help me out.
If one takes the route from Lugo to Friol to Sobrado dos Monxes join the North route down to Santiago.....
1) are there stamps available in friol ?
2) is this route acceptable for the official compostela certificate?
3) how many days to travel from Lugo to Santiago via Friol to north?
4) any reason not to do this?
 
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Hi @AnimalDoc - quick answers to your questions:
1. Yes - you can get a stamp at the pension in Friol
2. This is a debatable point as it doesn't involve the final 100kms of a recognised route. However, those of us who have done it had no issues when we presented our credenciales at the pilgrim office.
3. Probably 4 days, depending on how far you like to walk per day.
4. Don't do it if you want lots of company, need lots of arrows and are afraid of loose dogs.

Best of luck and Buen Camino!
 
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@AnimalDoc 1. stamps at Casa Benigno and at modern timber and glass bar restaurant next to dilapidated (but working, though closed) church as you enter the town.
2. I don't believe you need to follow any specified route to get a Compostela. Just walk last 100k and two stamps a day. I got one no problem.
3. Lugo-Friol, 1 day; Friol- Sobrado, 1 day; Sobrado - SdC, various options. (2days).
4. If you are are worried a lot by loose dogs, or anxious about being alone, or anxious about having to navigate a bit (though it is well signposted) think a bit more. If it is calling you.........do it! Buen Camino. (Jealous):p
 
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Hi @AnimalDoc - quick answers to your questions:
1. Yes - you can get a stamp at the pension in Friol
2. This is a debatable point. Strictly speaking, it probably isn't eligible as it doesn't involve the final 100kms of a recognised route. However, those of us who have done it had no issues when we presented our credenciales at the pilgrim office.
3. Probably 4 days, depending on how far you like to walk per day.
4. Don't do it if you want lots of company, need lots of arrows and are afraid of loose dogs.

Best of luck and Buen Camino!
@NualaOC Hi Nuala. Remarkable synchronicity and unanimity! Hope you are well. I'm in a hermitage (trying to keep up with UK politics). :)
 
Hi @AnimalDoc I added the Green Way resource on here, I was just chatting with the route maker José @xmsg the other day about the stamps. Jose says stamps at Casa Arcadio in A Retorta, and Casa Zapateiro in Cota (both restaurants). Then at the Pension Benigno, church or other bars in Friol, Bar Muso in O Mesón (just after the green way meets the Norte) and at Sobrado. Jose and I are going to walk the route in August and double check the stamps locations, by the way - I had held back on updating the resource until I have done this.

You do not have to walk a 'recognised' route to get a compostela. Check the rules page on the pilgrim office website. You do have to start 100km from Santiago and then go to Santiago (i.e. not wander about!) and get 2 stamps per day. The time I did the green way I didn't queue for a certificate, but others say they had no problems.

As for the loose dogs, yes there are a few that will bark at you. Just stop, call out 'Hola! El perro! El perro por favor!' The owner will come out and call in the dog. I did this and had no problems. The people you meet in the villages are very friendly and lovely.

You will probably be on your own all day unless you walk the route with someone. If that freaks you out, don't do it. You will not have mobile reception some of the time, so be sure to download offline maps. Print out José's blog pages.

As for the signage, José updated the arrows last August, and his brother recently put up two new plastic arrows on the way out of Lugo.

How many stages - I did Lugo>Friol>Sobrado>Boimorto>Pedrouzo (via the shortcut that avoids Arzua)>Santiago (All 4 villages have lush outdoor pools btw!).

José doesn't log in on here often, but if you click on his handle here: @xmsg and click on Start a Conversation and send him a private message, it triggers an email, and he gets back to you quickly.
 
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@NualaOC Hi Nuala. Remarkable synchronicity and unanimity! Hope you are well. I'm in a hermitage (trying to keep up with UK politics). :)
I'm well thanks, Tim - hope you are too! I'm trying not to keep up with UK politics today :)
 
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About dogs:
After saying "El perro por favor " and the owner it is not near.
Try this:
First, say KISS, KISS (twice) in a friendly way and show it your hand as if you had food in it . It usually works
If this doesn´t work:
Say GO (aloud), show it your sitck or/and get down traying to grab a stone.


KISS KISS doesn´t mean anything in Galician but it is what we say to be friendly with dogs.
GO sounds similar to HO (stop in Galician for animals). We usuallly say TISTO but it would be more difficult for you to remember.
 
Somewhere near O Veral on this route, a German Shepherd farm dog ran past us. I joked to Damian that he was going to round up his friends. We didn't laugh for long - a few minutes later we faced that dog and about five others, barking like crazy. They were blocking our path and there was no point in calling for help as no one was around. After a moment of standing frozen with panic, we plucked up the courage to walk purposefully through them, clacking our sticks in front of us. Much as I loved the green route, that moment scared the life out of me.

That said, it was also a learning experience. We learned to expect dogs every time we saw cattle or sheep and as this is a less-travelled route, those dogs were less likely to be tied up. They made a lot of noise when protecting their territory, but they stopped barking as soon as we passed their farm.

I faced a couple of loose dogs when walking solo on the Norte last month. After calling in vain for help, I just marched on through. I'm nervous around dogs, so I was quite chuffed about my new-found bravery - no doubt helped by that earlier experience.
 
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The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
Absolutely recommendable route, good choice! I have little to add; dogs are not the most significant issue in this variant of the Primitivo, I did find a couple of them neear Santa Eulalia de Bóveda. I have very little to add, but I can give you some suggestions

1) Santa Eulalia de Bóveda (also spellt Santolalla) is a MUST, do not miss it, seeing fresco paintings which are 1500 years old is something else. It is an unbelievable place. Simply magical.
2) Friol is a quite lovely town, real Spain, because it has not been "corrupted" by the Camino. Pension Benigno is clean, has nice food, and the people there are most helpful, they should be able to give you any assistance related to the route for the following day.
3) Friol to Sobrado crosses some lovely rustic landscape, wild, and beautiful
4) Sobrado: the monastery and the church are worth a visit, no doubt!

After that, there is a bit of tarmac to Boimorto/Arzua, but it is quite bearable if you leave early enough in the morning.

Do not worry about the dogs' issue, it has taken over this topic, but it is only fractional, not relevant of some 70 km of beautiful Lugo landscape.

Santa Eulalia. Unforgettable.
 
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indeed, good catch, fellas!

All museums and monuments, except the Alhambra, Sagrada Familia and a few more, close on Monday all over in Spain.
 
I gather from reading this thread that the Camino Verde is marked so as to be walked from the Primitivo over to the Norte. I am on the Norte and am interested in crossing over to Lugo. Is this reasonably doable or is the way marking such that I would likely end up lost and frustrated?
 
I think the arrows are positioned for Lugo to Sobrado, and the directions on José's blog are certainly that way round. If you are used to following Wikiloc map routes would probably be possible to find the way in the other direction. The worst that would happen would be that you would end up walking some of the way on the small roads instead of paths.
 
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I walked this route a couple of weeks ago. It was mostly straightforward, but not all junctions were clearly marked. Luckily I had a track marked on maps.me which was extremely helpful. I walked at the same time as forum member @Undermanager, although we didn't walk together that much. He sent me a link to the track and I am sure if you asked him, he would do the same for you.

Although it hadn't rained much before I walked his section, some of the tracks were very, very wet and muddy and boggy with cow manure. Quite trying on long stretches and guaranteed to get your boots well and truly soaked. Hopefully it will have dried by the time you get there, but be aware. Couldn't have managed at all without walking poles.

The two stages of Friol and Sobrado were very pleasant. Staying in the monastery was a fabulous experience.

The next day from Sobrado, I took the alternative route from Boimorto to O Pedrouzo. I was surprised to see mojones all along this route, brand new and plenty of them. In the event I stopped reading the directions provided by @notion900 and just followed the mojones. But that was probably a mistake. I realised too late that these markers were eventually taking a different route, directly towards Santiago along the N-634. By referring to the maps.me app I worked out a cut through directly into O Pedrouzo, but I ended up walking almost entirely 40 km on asphalt, 30+ on quiet country roads with very little traffic, but the last section along on a raised track alongside the busy N-634 was not at all pleasant. It was also extremely hot and there was virtually no shade.

Meanwhile @Undermanager had taken a different route to Pedrouzo via some woodland tracks that emerged at Santa Irene.

I stopped at a bar just after hitting the N-634 and was told that the route with the new mojones from Boimorto had only been set up for the last three months. It would be good if anyone knew exactly where this route went and where it joined the CF.

At the risk of sounding like a stuck record, you can read my write up of these stages here, stages 29-31. Lots of photos and elevation profiles.
 
Thank you both for your very complete replies. Based on the descriptions (deep mud and cow manure, inconsistent waymarks, etc.) I think that I will find another way to explore Lugo this time around.
 
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Thank you both for your very complete replies. Based on the descriptions (deep mud and cow manure, inconsistent waymarks, etc.) I think that I will find another way to explore Lugo this time around.

I hope I haven't put you off. It's a lovely route. The bogs can be encountered anywhere on any camino or not at all. Luck of the draw!. I was really pleased that I walked the camino verde, you just need a bit of an adventurous spirit.
Buen camino!
 
I would never have guessed that looking at your forum name ;) Buen Camino, SY
 
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