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peregrina2000 said:Hi, Patrick,
I recently walked the Norte from Irun to Santiago. At Villaviciosa we "dipped down" to Oviedo and then went back up to the Norte at Aviles. So I can't speak to the Oviedo-Santiago section, but many of the people we met on the Norte did turn off at Villaviciosa to continue on the Primitivo from Oviedo to Santiago. And we also met people in Oviedo who were starting out there, and they were all going to walk the primitivo. We saw some of those people again in Santiago and they said that the primitivo was really nice, except for some confusion at the point where the Norte hits the Frances, that is either Melide or Palas del Rei (there are other posts here on that topic).
As far as waymarking, we found that the Basque and Cantabrian sections of the Norte were very well marked. The Asturian section was uneven, we got lost on several occasions (once in a pine forest outside Luarca and once outside Cadavedo), but these points are both west of where you would drop south and leave the Norte. We had no problem with path marking up to Oviedo.
As far as guidebooks, we were lucky to usually be able to get help from either a German or French pilgrim, both of those languages have excellent guidebooks. We used Eric Walker's guide pubished by the Confraternity of St. James, and I'm glad we had it but sometimes it was very unclear and unhelpful.
One thing I would highly recommend is that when you see an opportunity to take the E-9 (the coastal path which sometimes, but not always, coincides with the Camino), do it. The stretch from Pendueles to Llanes, for instance, is absolutely spectacular.
And my other recommendation is that when you leave Villaviciosa and have gotten past the split (one way to Gijon, the other to Oviedo), consider taking a detour to visit the church and monastery at Valdedios. It is marked, and it's a couple km down into the valley, but the way back up to join the Camino is a very prety walk with lovely views of Valdedios below. The church is pre-romanesque and is in a beautiful setting. There's a monastery as well (it's "en obras" --under construction-- because of a lot of flooding problems), and there is an albergue there. We didn't spend the night there but we met some who said it was a very nice experience.
So, no, you are not mad, you will find other people doing the same thing, and it is a very nice alternative to the crowded Camino Frances. There are more kms on asphalt, but rarely on busy roads.
The albergue in Santander is in a downtown apartment. It is rather small, room for about 20, I think, but the people there are very helpful, and I know there is a lot of alternative accommodation nearby. It was filling up every day in May, so I'm sure it will be full in July and August as well. If I remember correctly, it opens at 3 p.m., but there is a bar a few buildings down where you "sign in" and wait for the opening. I am not sure about where to get the credencial in Santander since we already had ours, but I am sure that the albergue staff will know this answer.
Buen camino, Patrick!
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