Camino Primitivo; a pilgrimage from Oviedo to Santiago de Compostela (Spain) late summer 2024; by Anton van Zutphen and Biya Han

The Camino Primitivo, Northern Spain, a pilgrimage by Anton van Zutphen and Biya Han, late summer 2024. (20 August - 15 September 2024). We counted 318 km.

Beautiful image / painting of Saint James / San Thiago / Apostel Jakob in Church in Boente village

 According to history and documented legends this Camino is considered the original one; it stretches over 310km plus from Oviedo (Asturias) via the towns of Lugo and Melide to Santiago de Compostela (Galicia). It took us 18 walking and 2 resting days to accomplish our measured 318 km. 

Start in Oviedo at the Cathedral San Salvador

Were we Peregrinos or Caminantes? I guess a bit of both. We cannot be considered hardcore pilgrims such as those who undertook this route before the 2nd World War, or before the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), which for Spain was a historical watershed. After that terrible period the secularization process accelerated all over Europe. And ever since the various Caminos (there are over 25 now / for details see the app Buen Camino) have been declared a cultural heritage/event by the E.U. and as such sponsored with subsidies, the walkers continue to increase with a short interval during the Corona period (2020-2022). 

I expect this year that the number of those who accomplish one of the Caminos and receive a certificate will be around 425.000, not counting the thousands of short holiday and weekend walkers/pilgrims that only do parts of a Camino. Those that walk to the grave of San Thiago for religious reasons have become the vast minority. Pilgrims that pursue a spiritual or perhaps even a Roman Catholic objective have become rare. Perhaps a few percent of the total? Regrettably we noted that many churches and most chapels (capillas) were closed during the day or even abandoned and left to rot without regular maintenance. 

On the Los Hospitales stretch of 28 km
'El Camino te ensena tu camino' =
The Camino teaches you your own camino

Perhaps this is more so along the Camino Primitivo because villages are very small with many farms we found also locked up. 

I developed the habit to talk to farmers as often I walked a bit ahead of Biya. We met this lady farmer in her sixties at her modest farmstead in the hamlet of Buron. She mentioned that her life was a good one, quiet, but often she felt lonely. 'Tengo una buena vida pero estoy solitaria'. 

As in France and Italy, farming families lack children that wish to continue tilling the land and rearing cattle.

Feeding happy cows with green apples in Leboreira

And we saw no primary schools anywhere. How will this Camino landscape look around 2035? Then we rested one day in Fonsagrada and went to evening mass. To my big surprise we were the only pilgrims/walkers that attended mass although we knew that at least 70 pilgrims were overnighting in the town. How wonderful it was when after mass the Father asked Biya and me to come forward in front of the 25 church goers while he prayed for us and blessed our pilgrimage. Never to forget and a big encouragement. 

And true to the bone: I believe that only with Biya, I would be able to accomplish such a trip/pilgrimage. Obviously we both suffered (she because of her knees and I because the walking was slow). Then after each day's walk we were profoundly 'feliz' and ready to rest and eat together. Do not forget a lot of the camino is like this:  walk, rest, eat, walk, eat, rest, sleep....and repeat. It proved to be a great daily rythm in a changing landscape while meeting people from all over the world.

From the estimated 425.000 pilgrims that arrive this year in Santiago only 5% take the Camino Primitivo route: some 20.000 divided over about 230 days (the winter months are quite cold and very few pilgrims dare to walk for days in the cold and snow). And we counted definitely not more than 70 pilgrims on our daily marches. Once we joined the Camino Frances in Melide on day 17, this daily number jumped to over 500! Many blogs and info sheets warn that this Camino Primitivo is quite difficult with a lot of steep, long walks and heavy descents. For a trained walker this should not be an issue. True that between Campiello and Berduscedo there is a stretch of some 28 km to cross the Cantabrian mountains that rise up to 1215 meters. 

Biya walking the 'Los Hospitales' mountain road

When the weather is bad (fog, cold, winds, rains) this can be indeed a serious challenge; and it is better to stay put for a day in Campiello village, in Casa Ricardo or Casa Herminiana where you can sleep, eat and drink like a king; and stock up food and incidentals in their shops.

Then from Berduscedo to the dam across the Salime river is mostly a going-down hike of some 20 km. I found this more difficult from Buspal village (especially for the knees). But also doable. Then there are no places to hide...when it rains the cattle paths become streams and slippery. Poles to lean on are definitely useful. This is the socalled Ruta Los Hospitales as one passes the ruins of three simple albergues: Hospital de Pardiella, Hospital de Fanfaraon, and Hospital de Valparaiso on the crest of the mountain range. Easy to imagine that these Hospitales (Rest and Recuperation pensions/shelters) or 'pit-stops'  during the Middle Ages (from 12th century onwards) were necessary in this hostile environment where the weather is unpredictable. It can be an eerie environment when the weather is bad. One is only accompanied by hundreds of cows and horses freely grazing around. We were fortunate throughout: weather was clement with only one day that we had to use our ponchos, arriving in As-Seixas Merlan on day 15. 

The only poncho day, just for an hour or so 

Interestingly we saw lots of young people walking this Camino, in particular Spanish and Polish. Biya and I stood out as an elderly exotic couple and were nicely treated throughout. In the 'pueblo' of Porcelis (10 houses) we met Sara and Flora from Milano (18-19 years) who had started in Irun and had switched to the Camino Primitivo because of the cold weather along the coastline. Very nice ladies, eager to listen to the advise from Biya. 

With Sara and Flora in the Streets of Santiago de Compostela

But let me not forget Pedro, the Spanish emigrant to Toulon in France. Clocking up his 8th Camino and counting 81 years he hopped around like a mountain goat. 

With Pedro in front of the Oviedo Cathedral

Pedro was one of the hundreds of thousands whose families left Spain because of the Civil War and the aftermath when General Franco ran the country as a dictator until his death in 1975. On our previous travels we have met such Spanish emigrants from Cuba to Paraguay and many indeed left for France. Pedro liked talking to us and we met him three times in one day in Oviedo. He mentioned he came walking from Leon to Oviedo after finishing the 'Camino Invierno' that pilgrims used to take because of the accessibility during the winter. At 81 he really shuffled like a young man. 

Sadly and as a sign of progress?...quite a lot of young people walk with earplugs and remain in their own digital bubble. And then increasingly there are the cyclists, not always warning the walkers when passing by, and organised groups of travellers that clog up the albergues with their booking.com approach. Indeed times have changed Anton! 

With Biya I had to endure, well a better verb is to accept, more planning than last year when I walked solo from Lourdes to Muxia (see a previous blog from 2023). Biya's knees remained intact with a lot of cooling gel and bandages for support. Thanks to her high level of pain tolerance we were able to continue. On average some 3 kms max. per hour.....So we walked at times around 10 hours a day with many rests. I taught myself evermore patience and was impressed with her commitment and perseverance. 

Yes babe, it is a long road to A Cadavo village! 

Perhaps she did not walk like a 'springbok', but she advanced like a Mercedes Benz diesel! On average we walked 17.5 km a day during the 18 days walk. Not at all bad for a 66 years young lady having some knee trouble. 

Taking care of my lady's knees and feet

Nevertheless we decided to use the 'donkey service' that took care of Biya's luggage. We started using this luggage transport service as of Campiello to Lavacolla for 12 days. Therefore my luggage went down from 11 to 7,5 kg. and Biya only carried the foodies bag. 

Ahhh food: surely one of the reasons why Spain remains a top location. Whether you eat the Pilgrim's Special or the 'Comida del Dia' these cheap three course meals, usually come with a bottle of red, and vary in price from some 11 euros to about 15 euros in the village restaurants. What a treat! I miss this in the NL. Here is a nice example from Tineo village: 

- primero: white beans soup with sausages/bacon (the local 'fabada'), 

- segundo: beefsteak with fries and

- postres / as desert a home made yoghurt.

 A full bottle of vino rosado included at the price of 15 euros. And meat of excellent quality because all cattle grazes outside in evergreen pastures for nine months a year! In a typical Spanish family run restaurant called 'Tineu', with professional and smiling waitresses. 

Then often we had 'Fabada soup', an Asturian traditional and specialty: big white beans, chorizo sausage, black pudding (blood sausage) and pork lard. Yummy/delicioso!

Fabada soup: a must eat!

When I walked solo I only had a baguette and a piece of chorizo with me / and water. Now together with my lady we included fruit like bananas and apples, and peanuts, and protein bars. And we had trouble eating it because on the way there is always coffee and tortilla awaiting us. So my advice remains: plenty of food along the camino to be bought (except along the Ruta Los Hospitales), and the tapwater is everywhere drinkable/safe. 

The long trail downhill from Buspal...Anton is in it somewhere..

Every pilgrim has stories to tell and here are two of ours: 

1. On day 8 we arrived in Grandas de Salime after a 20 km walk, of which some 8 km downhill, quite tiring. 

We had booked a room in the excellent La Barra Hotel and before checking in, we ordered beers (Estrella Galicia of course!). When we sought a seating place on the terrace a lady waved at me and gestured to come and sit down. I was a bit surprised; then did what she asked and she explained that her friends suddenly had to leave and had left her with a huge platter of local dried meats and cheeses which she, as a pilgrim wanted to share with us. I had not remarked her during the walk previously but she and Biya had said hello to each other: 'Buen Camino'. So we talked and it turned out that she, Lorena Rotella lived in Liege, Belgium (100km South from our village Leende) and was a daughter of a miner from Asturias who had emigrated to Belgium in the early fifties where her father had met her mother, daughter of a miner hailing from Italy. We had a long chat and Lorena mentioned she worked for the Red Cross in Liege (asylum section). 

with Lorena in Grandas de Salime

We left it at that (after I basically finished the platter of meat/cheese specialties washed down with another round of beers). 

There was that evening a piano concert in the church facing our hotel and Lorena said she would go and hoped to see us there. We were too tired for that and rolled into bed early. 

The following day we planned to walk to Fonsagrada, a distance of 25 km so we needed our rest. After some 10 km in a small place called Penafonte we rested and digged into our foodies bag in the bus abri. Suddenly a small white Kia rocked up and a young man stepped out who showed us a wallet with Lorena's picture. 'Por favor Senhor, sabes este Senhora Peregrina'? Whether we knew this lady, and yes we explained that we had met and talked with her and that we had become Camino-trail friends. He then said that he was Javier, the recital pianist performing at the church concert the evening before and that, this early morning while he collected his instruments, he found this wallet with Lorena's I.D. / bank cards on one of the church benches. He gave the wallet to us after I mentioned that I was definitely going to find her today somewhere on the trail. I asked Javier's tel.nr and he left looking for her in the next cafetaria in a village called Acabo some 6km up the road. 

Later it turned out he never found her as Lorena had decided to leave very early that morning and was more than two hours ahead of us. 

Biya and I simply assumed that Lorena would also stay overnight in Fonsagrada, a town with all possible services. Pondering over how to connect with Lorena I decided to call her office in Liege and got through to the asylum section where I explained the situation and told a surprised staffer that Lorena could pick up her wallet at the Portico hotel in Fonsagrada after 6pm, where we had booked. Upon arrival we found a note from Lorena to meet with her in the restaurant where she was sipping a beer and eagerly waiting for us. Wow, she and us could not believe this had happened the way it did. God's intervention was the only way we could explain it. We were so happy and kept wondering about this 'miracle'. We then all agreed that an intervention from 'Above' made it happen. Then in the end Lorena confessed that she was puzzled that her boss called her from Liege and when he said that a Dutch/Korean couple had her wallet.....she had not even noticed that it had gone missing!!! A story to remember and a friendship to be continued. 

2. Snoring in Spanish means 'roncar' and a man/woman that snores is called a 'roncador/roncadora'. It is written that snoring is the music during the Camino. And all pilgrims sooner or later use the dormitories in the albergues as one cannot always find a private room. Biya and I managed to have a private room during 13 of the 20 days we were on the trail. And fortunately the snorers/roncadores were not a problem until we hit the dormitory of albergue Ponte de Ferreiros in the village of Calle. 

A group of Spanish middle aged men and women had not only been loud but also drank plenty of wine that eve. I already feared a lot of noise during the night. 

Then two of the guys competed who snored loudest. One of them was world class: he produced a sound as if someone was killing a pig with a blunt knife (and Biya agreed!). My earplugs were useless as the snorers were close to me. I decided to use toiletpaper instead and filled up my ears to the brim; it worked. Nevertheless the whole night these 2 guys carried on their snoring competition. I pity their wives! 

Obviously one hears other unpleasant sounds during the night such as coughing, farting, and throat scraping, but I won't go into details about these. My advise is to avoid large dormitories if you want to have a good night's sleep. Then we found the dormitories generally clean, but still too many bunk beds are crammed into one sleeping hall, and quite often too few showers and toilets. 

The one donativo albergue in Porcelis we stayed in, and managed by an eccentric individual called Nico, only had one shower/toilet for a total of 15 pilgrims. Although there was a decrepit toilet outside the house as well, but who wants to go there during the night? 

And here are some small things we shall never forget. 

When we arrived in Grado (day 2) we checked into the AutoBar hotel and experienced the smallest shower basin in my life. I measured the size: 40x40 cm. I could not manage to pick up the soap that had landed on the floor without stepping out of the shower. We should have taken a picture of it. 

Then we had an evening walk through Grado and met a Spanish couple talking with two young people. We were asked to translate and it turned out the young couple was looking for a place to stay and had already found the municipal albergue completely full. We mentioned our hotel for 40euros a night with breakfast but they were not interested. After they had gone the Spanish couple told us that these two young people were from Eastern Europe and had bluntly asked them if they could stay in their home...which they obviously declined. Biya and I with the Spanish couple were so surprised about such idiotic behaviour...this did not fit the image of a pilgrim at all. 

In Oviedo the local cider (fermented apple juice) is famous and we tasted it of course ( a full bottle). Next day both Biya and I had the runs. Haha, no cider for me anymore!

Traditional pouring of cider in Northern Spain

I prefer cerveza and vino! Then we bought a bottle of Aquarius, a soft drink which mentions on the label that it helps against indigestion (based on a salt-sugar mix). And it did immediately. 

Usually Biya wanted to book a room a day ahead and we had been paying around 40 euros (or less!) for a room an about 12 euros on average for a bunkbed in a dormitory. When she called the Posada hotel in Tineo she asked for the price and when the lady mentioned 60 euros with breakfast Biya was so shocked that she simply 'hung up the phone' / broke the connection. The poor lady on the other end of the line must have been puzzled (name of Paloma who later turned out a super sweet woman). I managed to convince Biya that this was a good price so she finally called again and agreed to Paloma on the price. 

Sometimes my wife can be so stingy in spending money on her own travel. At that moment though she was not mentally prepared to pay 60 euros. It turned out to be a fine room with a beautiful vista.

This Camino was Biya's first, and for me the second. We plan to do together the Camino Portugues (260km) from Porto to Santiago in 2025. And I will try to start end of April 2024 in Cadiz to walk the Camino Augusta/de la Plata, via Sevilla, Caceres, Salamanca and Ourense to Santiago (1130 km). We shall see but the plan is already there! 

These boots were made for walking to the Cathedral in Santiago de C. 

20 August : Travel from Leende house-home via Schiphol/AMS to Oviedo airport and Oviedo city / Albergue La Peregrina, dormitory / overpriced. 

21 August : Sightseeing in Oviedo / Albergue El Salvador in old seminary, dormitory, good. 

22 August : My 73th birthday Oviedo to Escamplero (15km) Albergue Municipal /cheap but dirty.

23 August : Escamplero to Grado (15km) Hotel AutoBar (Esther) / good. 

24 August : Grado to Cornellana (13km) Albergue Municipal/Monasterio (Gloria) / dormitory very good. 

25 August : Cornellana to Porcelis (16.5 km) Albergue donativo / room / quality so so (Nico). 

26 August : Porcelis to Tinao (14.5km) Hotel La Posada (Paloma) very good. 

27 August : Tinao to Campiello (13.5km) Casa Ricardo (Gaita) room / very good.

28 August : Campiello to Berduscedo - Ruta Los Hospitales - (27.5 km) / Casa Marques (Frank) dormitory / good enough. 

29 August : Berduscedo to Grandas de Salime (20.5km) Hotel La Barra (Ruben) very good. 

30 August : Grandas de Salime to Fonsagrada (25.5km) Hotel Portico (Nuria) / room and very good.

31 August : Resting day in Fonsagrada in Hotel Portico.

1 Sept. :      Fonsagrada to A Cadavo (25km) / Albergue San Mateo (MarieCarmen) / room good. 

2 Sept. :      A Cadavo to Vilar de Cas (16.5 km) / Albergue 'A Pocina de Muniz' (Ruben and 'Captain') excellent facility.

3 Sept. :     Vilar de Cas to Lugo (16.5km) Hotel Espana (Loly) good room. 

In Lugo: only 100 km to go

The town of Lugo is known worldwide to have the only Roman wall intact = all around the centre of this pretyy town / 15 meters high.. We walked its full length of 2.25 km. An impressive work of art by the Romans finished some eighteen hundred years ago. It beats the wall in Dyarbakir, Turkiye.

4 Sept. : Lugo to San Roman de Retorta (19.5km) Albergue O Candida (Nito/Nitro and Noelia); very good. 

5 Sept. : Resting day in San Roman de Retorta in Albergue O Candida. 

6 Sept. : San Roman de Retorta to As-Seixas Merlan (13.5 km) -only rainy day- / Albergue A Toqueira (Lucia) room good. 

7 Sept. : As-Seixas Merlan to Boente (20.5km), Pension Boente (Margarita) very good. 

8 Sept. : Boente to Calle (16km) Albergue A Ponte de Ferreiros (Nancy) dormitory good but heavy snoring. 

9 Sept.   : Calle to Lavacolla (20km) Albergue Labacolla (Ana) room good. 

10 Sept. : Lavacolla to Santiago de Compostela (10km) Albergue Sixtos (Lola) / dormitory room for us alone; good enough. 

11 Sept. : Travel by bus from Santiago to Lugo; hotel Espana again / good. 

12 Sept. : Travel by bus from Lugo via Ponferada to Oviedo; Green Hostel (Ana) room ok. 

13 Sept. : Stay in Oviedo (wild strike at Charleroi airport / we changed flights to AMS) / in Albergue El Salvador again. 

14 Sept. : To Oviedo airport and late flight to Amsterdam. Overnight at Schiphol airport in front of Burger King (2 Whoppers after midnight for 20 euros; for that price we nearly had to full Comidas dle Dia on the Camino trail). Biya nearly went into a fit! 

15 Sept. : Early Sunday morning arrival in Leende by train and bus. 

Two relevant songs that I sang quietly during this camino: 

 1. I am a pilgrim from The Byrds (1968) and 

 2. How can we keep on moving? from Ry Cooder (1972) / the original is from Sis Cunningham (1932); ( musicfromthedepression.com ). Well worth listening to. 

 We met the following nationalities / pilgrims from NL, Korea, Germany, UK, USA, Columbia, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Poland, Italy, France, Spain, Hungary, Belgium, Portugal, Ireland and... Ukraina. 

WINDMILLS all over the place and we saw and felt the impact at the village of A Mesa (3km from Berduscedo). From a distance of more than 750 meters one could hear the noise clearly: poor villagers. Visually it poisons the environment, and because of the noise birdlife has disappeared...and for maintenance reasons a complete new road usually has to be built. Better to build these windmills on the sea like we do in the NL. 

We had planned this walking event with a budget of 120 euros per day for the two of us including all travel/flights. We actually spent over the 27 days (to Santiago de Compostela and back home in Leende) 2.625 euros which equals 48.6 euros per person per day. And we lived like a King and a Queen. 

Leende, 21st September 2024

Camino Primitivo Certificates, from Oviedo to Santiago 318 km