- Time of past OR future Camino
- A few and hopefully lots more.
I’m posting this in the Camino Primitivo forum, but I’ve included some comments on the Camino Francés, where our walk began and ended.
Earlier this year, we decided that we’d walk the Camino del Salvador & Primitivo in September/October. As we’re both freelancers, we enjoy marking the dates on our calendars and beginning the countdown. We also liked the challenge of a more mountainous Camino, as it was a good motivator to do more hillwalking at home. Fast-forward to August, and we found ourselves revisiting this plan and considering alternatives. 2016 had been a pretty horrible year, with a number of sad and stressful events. We didn’t feel strong or fit enough for a physically challenging Camino and after much deliberation, we came up with an ‘easier’ plan of walking from Burgos to Santiago.
We set off from Burgos on 21st September. We love the Meseta and it was nice to walk through that familiar landscape, also noticing places and vistas that we had forgotten. However, by the time we reached the pilgrim ‘bottleneck’ of Carrion de los Condes, we knew that this was not the best place for us at this time. We made a spur of the moment decision to leave the busy CF at Sahagun and make our way to Oviedo to walk the Camino Primitivo.
Two days later, we began walking from Oviedo with no particular plan or schedule. We’re very grateful to everyone who gave us advice on guidebooks, apps, stages etc. We bought the Editorial Buen Camino guide in Oviedo and Damian also downloaded the TrekRight app to his phone. Both were great resources. We knew that we’d have plenty of time for the Primitivo as it was shorter than our planned route on the CF, so we were pretty relaxed about it all. However, almost as soon as we’d started we had what felt like a big setback when I came down with a horrible tummy bug. I managed to keep walking for a couple of days, but then needed three rest days and a visit to a doctor. Everything was fine in the end, but it was incredibly frustrating at the time. In hindsight, I should of course have rested and sought medical help a lot sooner – a lesson learnt the hard way!
I don’t think I can say anything about the Primitivo that hasn’t been said before. It’s a spectacularly beautiful Camino and we felt very privileged to be walking in such stunning landscapes. Yes, it was tough at times but every effort was rewarded many times over. It was also the perfect environment for us we tried to come to terms with sad events, particularly the recent and tragic death of Damian’s younger brother. We had time to think and talk, but also times where we just enjoyed the walking and the happy events of each day. We saw no crowds or bed races and we seemed to see the same faces (about 25 or so) at some point each day.
As regards our stages, this is how it worked out:
Needless to say, things got pretty busy when we reached Melide and Santiago was definitely much more crowded that last year (June and September). It was also apparent that more people were booking ahead and using bag transport. We did a few ‘straw-polls’ between Melide and Santiago and backpacking pilgrims were definitely in the minority. This was also very evident on our flight from Santiago to Dublin - most passengers were returning home after a Camino, but the majority seemed to have walked from Sarria to Santiago, using a tour company. The suitcase:backpack ratio was probably about 4:1!
We’ve been home for a couple of days now and we’re in that ‘twilight zone’ between the Camino and normal life. Reflecting on our Camino, we both agree that the Primitivo was the most perfect walk for us. There’s something very special about walking in such beauty, and in the daily rhythm of walking without a pre-defined destination. This was very much a ‘solvitur ambulando’ Camino, in spite of the changes of plan and the little setbacks. Although walking doesn’t negate the sad or stressful events, it definitely helps the process of finding peace and solace. Damian’s compostela states that his walk was in memory of his brother, but that’s just one part of the story. Our Camino was a very happy and life-affirming one and it felt like a wonderful gift from the universe. We’re grateful for all of it and for the little surprises along the way – such as the festivals in Lugo and Santiago.
I’ve a flickr album of our photos, which I haven’t yet got around to captioning. They are in chronological order, from Oviedo to Santiago.
Thanks again to all who answered my questions and to everyone who has so generously shared their experiences of the Primitivo in earlier threads. Having said that, I do of course agree that we should probably be keeping this one a closely guarded secret!
Earlier this year, we decided that we’d walk the Camino del Salvador & Primitivo in September/October. As we’re both freelancers, we enjoy marking the dates on our calendars and beginning the countdown. We also liked the challenge of a more mountainous Camino, as it was a good motivator to do more hillwalking at home. Fast-forward to August, and we found ourselves revisiting this plan and considering alternatives. 2016 had been a pretty horrible year, with a number of sad and stressful events. We didn’t feel strong or fit enough for a physically challenging Camino and after much deliberation, we came up with an ‘easier’ plan of walking from Burgos to Santiago.
We set off from Burgos on 21st September. We love the Meseta and it was nice to walk through that familiar landscape, also noticing places and vistas that we had forgotten. However, by the time we reached the pilgrim ‘bottleneck’ of Carrion de los Condes, we knew that this was not the best place for us at this time. We made a spur of the moment decision to leave the busy CF at Sahagun and make our way to Oviedo to walk the Camino Primitivo.
Two days later, we began walking from Oviedo with no particular plan or schedule. We’re very grateful to everyone who gave us advice on guidebooks, apps, stages etc. We bought the Editorial Buen Camino guide in Oviedo and Damian also downloaded the TrekRight app to his phone. Both were great resources. We knew that we’d have plenty of time for the Primitivo as it was shorter than our planned route on the CF, so we were pretty relaxed about it all. However, almost as soon as we’d started we had what felt like a big setback when I came down with a horrible tummy bug. I managed to keep walking for a couple of days, but then needed three rest days and a visit to a doctor. Everything was fine in the end, but it was incredibly frustrating at the time. In hindsight, I should of course have rested and sought medical help a lot sooner – a lesson learnt the hard way!
I don’t think I can say anything about the Primitivo that hasn’t been said before. It’s a spectacularly beautiful Camino and we felt very privileged to be walking in such stunning landscapes. Yes, it was tough at times but every effort was rewarded many times over. It was also the perfect environment for us we tried to come to terms with sad events, particularly the recent and tragic death of Damian’s younger brother. We had time to think and talk, but also times where we just enjoyed the walking and the happy events of each day. We saw no crowds or bed races and we seemed to see the same faces (about 25 or so) at some point each day.
As regards our stages, this is how it worked out:
- Oviedo to Grado: about 26kms
- Grado to Salas: about 21kms. I was pretty sick at this point and we spent 2 nights here, which included 36 hours in bed for me and the most boring 36 hours of Damian’s life!
- Salas to Tineo: about 20kms by taxi to the medical centre (with a great commentary from the taxi driver on what we were missing). 2 nights here too.
- Tineo to Campiello: a short 12kms walk as I was still pretty weak. We stayed at Albergue Casa Ricardo – fantastic place with very kind people.
- Campiello to Berducedo: 29kms, but I took transport for the first 4 or 5kms and sent my bag ahead. I was 80-90% recovered at that point, so that little bit of help allowed me to walk the Hospitales route, which was definitely one of the highlights.
- Berducedo to Grandas de Salime: about 20kms. Another stunningly beautiful day.
- Grandas de Salime to A Fonsegrada: about 26kms
- A Fonsegrada to O Cadavo: about 26kms
- O Cadavo to Lugo: about 30kms
- Lugo to Friol, following the green arrows of the Camino Verde: about 29kms. This was another ‘spur of the moment’ decision – we started walking from Lugo with the intention of remaining on the Primitivo, but had some niggling doubts and were tempted by the green arrows. Apart from a scary encounter with six angry dogs, this was another favourite day for us. There are no services whatsoever on this section and we didn’t meet any other pilgrims. However, others subsequently arrived in Friol and nine of us enjoyed warm beds and a very good meal at Casa Benigno that evening.
- Friol to Sobrado dos Monxes (where the Camino Verde meets the Camino del Norte): about 25kms
- An off-piste walk from Sobrado to Melide: about 17kms
- Melide to Salceda: about 25kms
- Salceda to Santiago: about 29kms
Needless to say, things got pretty busy when we reached Melide and Santiago was definitely much more crowded that last year (June and September). It was also apparent that more people were booking ahead and using bag transport. We did a few ‘straw-polls’ between Melide and Santiago and backpacking pilgrims were definitely in the minority. This was also very evident on our flight from Santiago to Dublin - most passengers were returning home after a Camino, but the majority seemed to have walked from Sarria to Santiago, using a tour company. The suitcase:backpack ratio was probably about 4:1!
We’ve been home for a couple of days now and we’re in that ‘twilight zone’ between the Camino and normal life. Reflecting on our Camino, we both agree that the Primitivo was the most perfect walk for us. There’s something very special about walking in such beauty, and in the daily rhythm of walking without a pre-defined destination. This was very much a ‘solvitur ambulando’ Camino, in spite of the changes of plan and the little setbacks. Although walking doesn’t negate the sad or stressful events, it definitely helps the process of finding peace and solace. Damian’s compostela states that his walk was in memory of his brother, but that’s just one part of the story. Our Camino was a very happy and life-affirming one and it felt like a wonderful gift from the universe. We’re grateful for all of it and for the little surprises along the way – such as the festivals in Lugo and Santiago.
I’ve a flickr album of our photos, which I haven’t yet got around to captioning. They are in chronological order, from Oviedo to Santiago.
Thanks again to all who answered my questions and to everyone who has so generously shared their experiences of the Primitivo in earlier threads. Having said that, I do of course agree that we should probably be keeping this one a closely guarded secret!
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