Camino Primitivo
Oviedo to Santiago, April-May 2019
The Camino Primitivo is a ~310 km route from Oviedo to Santiago de Compostela. It is believed to be the oldest Camino de Santiago route and first taken by King Alfonso II, considered to be the first pilgrim, in the 9th century.
The route is more challenging compared to the other popular routes and more akin to hiking than walking with very little road walking. It involves more elevation gain (and hence great scenery) over other routesĀ and it quickly became my favorite!
After walking the Camino del Norte and Camino Ingles immediately prior to this, I was in solid walking shape so I wanted to try and push myself. The typical duration for this camino is 12-14 days, but I managed to complete it in 10 days, including a few short days in the middle due to limited accommodation options. I met some great pilgrims along the way, some of which started the Primitivo from Oviedo while others were continuing on from the Norte.
I would certainly consider walking this camino again, likely combining it with the challenging Camino del Salvador from Leon to Oviedo, making for an epic mountainous route.
Dates: April 24, 2019 to May 3, 2019
Walking days: 10
Distance: 310 km
Average per day: 31 km
Longest day: 42 km
Shortest day: 17 km
Day 1: Oviedo to Cornellana, 37 km
Una MƔs! After finishing the Camino del Norte two weeks ago and Camino InglƩs earlier this week, my legs felt good and I wanted to keep walking. When I was in Oviedo 3 weeks ago during my Norte walk, the upcoming bad weather prompted me to continue along the coast on the Norte instead of walking over the mountains of the Primitivo.
I saw that the weather forecast looked good for the next few days so I took a bus from Santiago to Oviedo yesterday and today started walking the Primitivo. It was a beautiful and long day with a some solid warmup climbs to Cornellana. After just one hour out of Oviedo, I was in lush green countryside valleys. If today is any indication of whatās to come on the Primitivo, this will be an amazingly beautiful walk. A huge bonus today was seeing my good friends Anna and Miguel who coincidentally happen to be working on the camino route at the moment.
Day 2: Cornellana to Tineo, 31 km
This camino is more akin to hiking (which I prefer) vs. walking compared to the other caminos Iāve walked and Iām enjoying every moment of it. Todayās route was 31km and climbed to 700+ meters with plenty of sunshine, but the really strong wind made it tough at times. Beautiful scenery all day! Oh, and I had a face off with a bull standing in the middle of the trail. Thankfully he stepped aside after a few minutes and I scurried past.
Day 3: Tineo to Samblismo, 17 km
Another beautiful day on the camino, climbing to over 900 meters. Today was a short 17 km ārestā day in order to set the stage for tomorrow when we plan to walk the famed Hospitales route over the highest point on the Primitivo. Hopefully the weather cooperates.
Day 4: Samblismo to Berducedo (Hospitales Route), 27 km
Today our group of 8 from last nightās albergue hiked over the Hospitales route, a jaw dropping beautiful day climbing to 1200 meters into the clouds. The day included grazing cattle, wild horses, and sunshine in the afternoon. It was one of the most beautiful days Iāve walked out of all my caminos.
Day 5: Berducedo to Castro, 25 km
Out of the 5 caminos I have walked, the Primitivo is turning out to be my favorite in so many ways, especially the constantly changing scenery. Of course the first camino is always very special as well. The perfect bluebird weather today made it even better. Today was the final day in Asturias as I will cross into Galicia tomorrow.
Day 6: Castro to O PiƱieral, 24 km
Another beautiful, sunny, warm, & relaxing day on the Primitivo. Today I walked 25km and crossed from Asturias into Galicia over Alto de Acebo (1120 meters).
Day 7: O PiƱieral to Vilar de Cas, 35 km
For the past 4 days, I had been walking a maximum of 25km due to scarcity of accommodations but really wanted to walk longer days. Finally today I had a longer day with a fair amount of climbing. Iām staying at a luxurious albergue converted from an old stone house in a tiny village surrounded by cows and beautiful countryside.
Day 8: Vilar de Cas to Ferreira, 42 km
Today I walked a marathon, 42.2km! Iāve been walking for 42 days total including the Norte and Ingles, and all I want to do is walk all day. Only 72km until Santiago!
Day 9: Ferreira to Ribadiso, 31 km
Today we connected back to the Camino Frances. The highlight was eating amazing pulpo (octopus) in Melide, a town known for this typical Galician specialty. Tomorrow Santiago!
Day 10: Ribadiso to Santiago de Compostela, 41 km
After another almost marathon day, I reached Santiago today, tired, sunburned, but happy! I could not have imagined that my body would adapt to walking long distances day after day with minimal issues. Hereās to hoping for more long walks in the future.
