Oviedo - Santiago de Compostela, 29. september - 11. october 2023 (13 days), distance: 347.8km (811.9km).
In front of the cathedral, I meet June from Taiwan. She and I met on the Camino Portuguese in 2018 and we have kept the friendship afterwards. I have for a long time thought of doing the Camino Primitivo again and as she wanted to do it as her next Camino, we had planned to team up. It provided some logistical puzzles for me in terms of arriving at Oviedo in time, though.
Oviedo, Catedral San Salvador, the starting point of my favourite Camino de Santiago, the Camino Primitivo.
The Camino Primitivo is not the most primitive, or the most basic and unsophisticated of the many routes to Santiago de Compostela. The name denotes that it is officially being declared as the first of the many pilgrim routes to Santiago de Compostela. It is on the other hand less developed in terms of infrastructure like the more popular Camino Francés. Expect fewer accommodations and places where you can get food and drinks along the way.
On the first stage of the Camino Primitivo.
Grado, the city hall in the evening.
We have ample time to explore the wonderful old town of Oviedo, including a visit to the cathedral with its cloister garden. In evening we go out for a dinner where most of the bottle of cider that we bought are being shared with the pavement (goes with the show).
Wonderful view over Grado when leaving the town as the low clouds are slowly lifting.
Peregrinos in the mist, on the way up towards El Fresno.
On my first Camino Primitivo, the weather out of Oviedo was a mix of light drizzle combined with clouds lying low over the surrounding hills. It was wonderfully atmospheric, but did not provide much of a view. Now it is hot, and the sky is mostly clear of clouds. Places that were obscured by clouds back then are now visible.
The often photographed house before Santa Eulalia de Dóriga (when I passed it back in 2015 it had a tree perched on top of it).
Old bridge over the Río Nonaya.
It is interesting walking through your own memories, and seeing which places that still resides in your memory and which places that does not. This feeling would follow me throughout the whole Camino Primitivo. Grado was a town that I did not found very interesting when I passed through it before, but as we are spending our first night here, I find that it appeals a lot more to me now. In the evening, we meet up with Terje and Margit for dinner.
In Salas, the Torre de Valdés Salas.
Weather on the Camino Primitivo can be slightly more inclement than on the routes that goes more inland in Spain, not that one can entirely escape the wet element on them either. The rain in Spain stays mostly in the plain is however more of a misnomer I feel. Those having spent a considerable time in Galicia or have done the Camino del Norte would probably nod in recognition. June and I are on the other hand extremely lucky with the weather. Throughout the whole Camino, we only experience one rainy day. Unfortunately, that day was the one we hiked the Hospitales route, more on that later.
Cascada de Nonaya, a worthy detour after leaving Salas.
On this occasion, walking out of Grado is a problem for those interested in photography, one could spend too much time making use of the perfect conditions for those who like to play with light. Clouds are lying low, but the sun is illuminating the landscape below them. Climbing up, the surrounding scenery and other pilgrims becomes mysterious figures in the fog. When I am at the top, the clouds are on a retreat through the bottom of the valleys and a blue sky carry promises of another hot day.
A tunnel of vegetation on the way towards Tineo.
Tineo, a charming small town on the Camino Primitivo.
I would recommend that one does not stay at the same places as before if you were to do a Camino a second time (or more). On this pilgrimage, we stay at places I did not stay at back then, although with a few exceptions. It makes the walk different from before.
Leaving Tineo on a wonderful path ascending through woods with nice views of the town and its surroundings.
Alto de Guardia, here the pilgrims walk with the highlight of the Camino Primitivo approaching in the horizon.
Bodenaya has always resided as one of my favourite albergues that I have stayed at, if not the best. This time we stop in Salas, another town that I just briefly spent some time in last time, the arch of the Torre de Valdés Salas still the most prominent part of it. Tineo is also a good memory, with the colourful buildings surrounding the Plaza del Ayuntamiento.
In the ruins of Santa Maria de Obona.
On the Hospitales route, approaching the ancient Hospital de Paradiella.
It is after Tineo that the Camino Primitivo really begins to shine, if you look away from the few kilometres of walking on the road before Campiello. Slowly ascending, the path provides a striking display of Tineo, but it is the mountains behind that catches the eyes, a blending combination of green and blue. Even more striking is the view of the Cordillera Cantabria later, where I try to pick out the mountains the Camino crosses over on its famous Hospitales route. Do not forget to take the detour down to the Monasterio de Santa Maria de Obona.
Panorama of the magnificent Hospitales route of the Camino Primitivo, with the Hospital de Fanfaron below.
The Hospitales route is by all means the icing on the cake of the Camino Primitivo. It is strange then that most guides recommend taking the Pola de Allande option. Understandably, the Pola de Allande route is the safer option, providing both accommodations and places to eat and drink, but avoiding the most spectacular stage of the Camino is a pity. Be prepared as there are no places to get food or drinks until Berducedo, about 27km after Borres.
Scenery on the Hospitales route.
And on the next day everything changed, approaching the Hospital de Paradiella in mist.
And pay attention to the weather. Which is what I did. The forecast was for rain the day June and I was to cross over, but an early arrival at Borres the day before gave me enough time to walk up to the last of the three old pilgrim refuges of La Paradiella, Fanfaron and Valparaiso (called hospitales, hence the name of the route). The weather was perfect, although there was a distinct wind in the air. Among grazing cows, horses and sheep, the path takes on an undulating course up into the mountains all dressed up in green. It is a beautiful walk. Climbing up to the summit of Cima Pico provides you with a 360 degrees view. Tired, I arrive back at Borres at dusk, catching up with June for dinner, who unfortunately could not join me due to her ailing feet.
Ghostly apparitions of trees as mist covers the Camino Primitivo on the Hospitales route after Puerto de la Marta.
In the low visibility, the Hospitales route is an altogether different experience than before. Given that I got to see most of this stage in good weather yesterday, I am happy to experience the other side of it. More ghostly, more mysterious, and more atmospheric in its appearance, but it is also raining, and the wind makes us wrap our jackets tighter around us. Sparse trees drifts in and out of the fog, as well as the occasional livestock, with no views to the outside world. Few other pilgrims are around, we briefly meet our friend from Aruba. Like the trees, she emerges like a ghostly figurine out of the clouds, before gradually disappearing behind us afterwards. For lunch, we seek shelter inside a stone farmhouse next to the ruins of the Fanfaron hospital, sharing the primitive shelter with a couple from Belgium having walked all the way from their homes.
Panorama, Mirador de Montefurado.
Below the Puerto del Palo, views are opening up, and then the old hamlet of Montefurado are passed by. Arriving at Berducedo, we spend the night at an albergue where the dormitory carries all the smell of musky pilgrims drying up after having walked all day in rain.
Descending below the clouds, approaching the old hamlet of Montefurado.
Embalse de Salime.
The walk to Grandas de Salime is all about the Embalse de Salime, with the views of its blue water below, its lovely and tiny chapel of Santa Marina de Buspol, all the hydroelectric relics at the dam and the abandoned buildings surrounding it. In the morning after, we are walking engulfed by low clouds once more, being mesmerized by the appearance of a fog bow and the cows looking surprised of the low clouds. Beautiful is the word, when sunrays are filtered through the last wisps of mist walking through the woods.
At the Presa Grandas de Salime, the huge dam of the Embalse de Salime. On the approach to the dam, make sure to visit the Mirador de Boca de la Ballena, but this is a view of a statue of a saint as seen from the dam.
In Grandas de Salime, the convent in the centre.
Flat is not the word of the Camino Primitivo, not before the Hospitales route and not after. From Grandas de Salime it goes up over El Acebo crossing into Galicia on its way, then the climb up to another old pilgrim hospital awaits, Hospital de Montouto founded in 1360. This time, I choose the other alternative from A Fonsagrada. Highlight of that route is the ruins of the tower of Castelo da Pobra de Burón in O Chao and the views opening up when you arrive above the hospital de Montouto (as opposed to coming up from below). We spend the night in O Cádavo Baleira, a less interesting town where we again meet Terje and Margit.
Cow in the mist, another misty morning when leaving Grandas de Salime.
Then, when the clouds and mist was ascending, the filtered sunrays created a magic moment on the approach to Castro.
While I will walk to Lugo, June has decided to travel to the city by bus hoping to get some medical advice regarding her feet. Unfortunately, it is a Sunday, so the only option is the hospital.
A Fonsagrada in the evening, the Fonte Sagrada with the church.
Leaving A Fonsagrada with a ocean of clouds in the valley below.
Lugo is famous for its intact Roman walls surrounding the old town, standing up to 15 metres on its 2 kilometres continuous circuit. There are more to the city than its walls, but despite all there is to see, I personally do not found Lugo to be of much interest. Like the last time. We start the day leaving the city by circumventing the whole old town and then embark on the long walk out of Lugo on mostly hard surface underneath an unrelenting sun.
A Chao, on the alternative route starting just before A Fonsagrada, with the Fortaleza de Burón at the top.
Hospital de Montouto, another wonderful spot on the Primitivo.
Because there is no getting around that after Lugo the Camino Primitivo takes on a little bit of a different perspective, although one can argue that it is before and not after. With the exception of the climb over the O Hospital das Seixas the route now is more gentle, but not without its inclines. The hills above As Seixas is the last boon for the eyes before me and the other pilgrims on the Primitivo will merge with the queue on the Camino Frances. I make a detour to the top of the hill, while June continues, meeting up later at a stream where we can give our feet a refreshing bath.
Camino bliss.
On the old city walls of Lugo, with the spires of the cathedral. If there is just one thing that you want to do when visiting Lugo, it is going on a walk on the city walls.
Melide is where the steady line of pilgrims from the Camino Frances and the more scattered line from Camino Primitivo joins together, both in route and in anticipation of its culinary delight, pulpo (octopus). Much have been said about the commercialization (and constipation) of the Camino de Santiago once pilgrims reach the town of Sarria and the 100km mark, but the key point is to just accept it for what it is. If the crowds on this section of the Camino deters one from having a good experience, one can always take public transportation to Santiago de Compostela and skip it.
The old Puente Romano de Ferreira.
Camino Frances at its end is just as I envisioned it and remembered it, having gone this section now twice, although when I did it the first time back in 2011 it was far less crowded as in these times. It is pleasant walking, but to me not the most interesting. The most notable thing due to the amount of pilgrims walking is how the available services attune to it. We find that out when we are leaving Arzua late after a lengthy lunch break, at a point where most of the other pilgrims are satisfied having arrived. Too early for me, though, but the bars are following the hours of the pilgrims and are closed.
A lovely walk out of Ferreira in the morning.
Another highlight in my view on the Camino Primitivo, the walk over the hills towards Hospital after as Seixas.
Dark clouds come drifting in over Santiago de Compostela and the spires of its cathedral when we stand at Monte Gozo, the weather has been wonderful on our journey, but the forecast for the upcoming days is not positive. Just before we get to the old town of Santiago, we meet again the couple from Belgium, having just the walk out to Finisterre to finish their long walk from their home. At Praza de Cervantes we walk past Terje and Margit having a drink, and they accompany us the final steps to the Praza do Obradoiro and the façade of the cathedral.
Maybe the most famous stepping stone bridge on the Camino Francés.
Arzúa and an estrella on the Camino Francés.
Is it starting to become a habit? When you arrive at a place and does not feel like you have been away from it.
Pilgrims in one of the hollow ways on the Camino.
I am proud of June, finishing the Camino Primitivo with her hurting feet, later confirmed to be muscle damage. For me, it has also been a learning exercise. I am used to do my long-distance walks alone, walking at my own pace and be able to adhere to do whatever my curiosity sees fit. Now I had to learn to be patient. I hope I passed the test.
And after 29 days of walking, 812km and six different routes, the Catedral de Santiago de Compostela.
We spend two nights in Santiago. The first evening we go out celebrating with Terje and Margit. On the second day, Petra arrives and finishes her long and winding road. I was happy to meet her again and, in the evening, we go out celebrating (again).
What to do in Santiago de Compostela? There is a lot to see in the city, but what I like the most is just to be there. Not necessarily have a plan, just walk around (does that sound familiar?) and see the places where my feet take me. The old town carries its own atmosphere.
Evening light, Santiago de Compostela.
Absolutely thrilled to have done the Camino Primitivo again and satisfied that it gave me the same wonderful experience that I got when I did it the first time. It is always great to be back in Santiago de Compostela, but my days on the Camino de Santiago (or maybe my Combinado de Santiago) is not over yet. While June will travel to Malaga to have some rest days before continuing her journey in Europe, I will embark on the bus to Porto, where the 7th Camino awaits.
