Advice needed with planning a trip in May.

[Gabor7]

Hello everyone,

I'm a new member and I'm planning on doing my first El Camino and have chosen the primitivo. I'm currently planning it and could use some knowledge from people who have completed it before.

I'm only going to walk the section between Oviedo and Lugo then taking a bus to Santiago to fly back to the UK, due to limited amount of time.

I have created my stages in the Buen Camino app, however I'm not sure how achievable they are. I'd consider myself fairly fit who runs regularly and I'm in my late twenties. However I have never done multi day long distance walks/hikes with such elevation changes as on the primitivo.

Day 1: Arriving to Oviedo
Day 2: Oveido - Grado (26 km)
Day 3: Grado - Salas (22.5 km)
Day 4: Salas - Borres (35.5 km)
Day 5: Borres Berducedo (24.5 km)
Day 6: Berducedo - Castro (25 km)
Day 7: Castro - O Pineiral (23.5 km)
Day 8: O Pineiral - Castroverde (28.5 km)
Day 9: Castroverde - Lugo (22 km)
Take the 17:30 bus from Lugo to Santiago de Compostela
Day 10: Fly back to the UK.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Many Thanks.

 

[trecile]

I can only offer you the stages that I did from Oviedo to Lugo:

 

[CTLawGal]

My stages were similar to @trecile with a few variations. I also walked in May and in checking my notes I am reminded I caught some rain for several of the stages, not terrible but it slowed me down a bit. Your Day 4 seems unnecessarily long?? I too walked from Salas to Tineo, but then from Tineo to Polla de Allenda. In my notes for the next day to Berducedo I wrote that it was tough (2200 feet of elevation gain in about 4 miles), but I loved the climb and the vista and was glad I wasn’t rushing.

My stages (sorry, in miles, to tired to convert now) - also I note this was my 4th week of walking, I felt great at this point but was glad for shorter stages. I was also 64 at the time and it was my first Camino, you’re much younger! I loved every minute!

Oviedo to Grado - 17 miles
To Salas - 16 miles
To Tineo - 14 miles
To Polla de Allenda - 18 miles
To Berducedo - 12 miles
To Grandes de Salime - 13 miles
To A Fonsagrada - 17 miles
To O Cadavo - 16 miles
To Lugo - 20 miles

Buen Camino!

 

[Anamya]

I feel a bit concerned with your day 4, which is really long to walk, plus all the elevation gains. Quite a killer.

Then your last day - you won't have much time to enjoy Lugo nor Santiago, which are both very nice cities. You are going from a long walk to a quick jump into a city to then fly out. As long as you are ok with that, then, sure!

And should we also assume you are not aiming to receive a Compostela, as the rules, for the time being, seem to remain the last 100km? (although it could have changes by the time you walk).

Then, out of curiosity, any special reason you are starting in Oviedo and not closer to Santiago, given your lack of time?

Lots of questions, I know! Anyway, your current itinerary covers a very nice area and will be a lovely walk regardless! Buen Camino!

 

[CTLawGal]

I feel a bit concerned with your day 4, which is really long to walk, plus all the elevation gains. Quite a killer.

Then your last day - you won't have much time to enjoy Lugo nor Santiago, which are both very nice cities. You are going from a long walk to a quick jump into a city to then fly out. As long as you are ok with that, then, sure!

And should we also assume you are not aiming to receive a Compostela, as the rules, for the time being, seem to remain the last 100km? (although it could have changes by the time you walk).

Then, out of curiosity, any special reason you are starting in Oviedo and not closer to Santiago, given your lack of time?

Lots of questions, I know! Anyway, your current itinerary covers a very nice area and will be a lovely walk regardless! Buen Camino!

Yes, Day 4 was my concern too, you were more blunt than I was!

 

[Peterexpatkiwi]

@Gabor7, welcome to the forum.

I did similar stages to what you've got planned in July'23, slight variation on days two and three.
Day 2 I walked past Salas to Albergue Bodenaya. I had injured my leg prior to walking so that was a bit of a tough day, especially with the 400 meters or so of elevation gain coming out of Salas right at the end of the day. Adding that 7.2km made the day 30 kilometers in total. Fortunately there are multiple places to stop and rest on the way out of Salas. It was a very slow 7 km!!

It made day 3 an absolute breeze, because rather than having two sets of elevation gain I only had the stretch from Tineo to deal with (it's only around 250 meters, but there are a couple of short rather steep sections). I stopped at Casa Pascual, it's a kilometer or so before Borres. (El Espin, halfway between Campiello & Borres).
Both of these stops are donativo, both provide dinner and breakfast and both rate in the top 3 Albergues I have yet had the pleasure to stay at. Not so much because of the facilities but because of the welcome.

Be aware both can be booked so if you have fixed plans it may well be worthwhile doing so, as both only have 10 beds. The advantage of booking those first few days is that you can then just take your time to get there, zero stress.

Day 4 I had an hour or so break in Berducedo, then walked on to La Mesa. (No real reason, I just felt like it).
Thence Castro ( also great Hospitaleros), O Pineiral, Castroverde, Lugo.

To put it in context I was 59, not as fit as I could have been but had done a little training. Using well seasoned Gear, not my first Camino.

Well worth trying to get in some training - especially with a little elevation gain. Start off slowly, without your gear. Then build up a little, once comfortable add your gear and ensure that everything is working for you. Try and get in a three-day walk, minimum 15 km per day back to back, with your gear. Whilst it's nice to go away you can keep it cheaper by simply taking public transport in and out each day or getting someone to drop you off if you can't do a circular route.

I'll l send you a PM with a video link.

I completely understand your desire to do that section rather than starting later, the section between Oviedo and Lugo is by far the best part of the walk. Yes it would be nice to have more time and Lugo because it's a great city but you have the advantage that you're not going to have to wash Gear etc, so you can literally just take a break and then explore a little before your bus.

Buen Camino!

 

[AntiguenoTom]

Hello everyone,

I'm a new member and I'm planning on doing my first El Camino and have chosen the primitivo. I'm currently planning it and could use some knowledge from people who have completed it before.

I'm only going to walk the section between Oviedo and Lugo then taking a bus to Santiago to fly back to the UK, due to limited amount of time.

I have created my stages in the Buen Camino app, however I'm not sure how achievable they are. I'd consider myself fairly fit who runs regularly and I'm in my late twenties. However I have never done multi day long distance walks/hikes with such elevation changes as on the primitivo.

Day 1: Arriving to Oviedo
Day 2: Oveido - Grado (26 km)
Day 3: Grado - Salas (22.5 km)
Day 4: Salas - Borres (35.5 km)
Day 5: Borres Berducedo (24.5 km)
Day 6: Berducedo - Castro (25 km)
Day 7: Castro - O Pineiral (23.5 km)
Day 8: O Pineiral - Castroverde (28.5 km)
Day 9: Castroverde - Lugo (22 km)
Take the 17:30 bus from Lugo to Santiago de Compostela
Day 10: Fly back to the UK.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Many Thanks.

I will also be walking the Primitivo this May. Your day 4 looks like a killer. You might consider going beyond Salas to extend day 3 and take some of the pressure off the next day. Say to Bodenaya or La Espina, which both have good albergues.

 

[Gabor7]

I feel a bit concerned with your day 4, which is really long to walk, plus all the elevation gains. Quite a killer.

Then your last day - you won't have much time to enjoy Lugo nor Santiago, which are both very nice cities. You are going from a long walk to a quick jump into a city to then fly out. As long as you are ok with that, then, sure!

And should we also assume you are not aiming to receive a Compostela, as the rules, for the time being, seem to remain the last 100km? (although it could have changes by the time you walk).

Then, out of curiosity, any special reason you are starting in Oviedo and not closer to Santiago, given your lack of time?

Lots of questions, I know! Anyway, your current itinerary covers a very nice area and will be a lovely walk regardless! Buen Camino!

I agree that day 4 is the tricky one as well.

My initial thought was to compress a few shorter stages but the 35.5 is probably pushing it a bit too much.

I might get to spend the morning in Santiago given I take an afternoon flight but I'm not too worried.

I'm aware that doing this leg will mean no Compostela but I would very much swap the views and the solitude for the paperwork.

@Gabor7, welcome to the forum.

I did similar stages to what you've got planned in July'23, slight variation on days two and three.
Day 2 I walked past Salas to Albergue Bodenaya. I had injured my leg prior to walking so that was a bit of a tough day, especially with the 400 meters or so of elevation gain coming out of Salas right at the end of the day. Adding that 7.2km made the day 30 kilometers in total. Fortunately there are multiple places to stop and rest on the way out of Salas. It was a very slow 7 km!!

It made day 3 an absolute breeze, because rather than having two sets of elevation gain I only had the stretch from Tineo to deal with (it's only around 250 meters, but there are a couple of short rather steep sections). I stopped at Casa Pascual, it's a kilometer or so before Borres. (El Espin, halfway between Campiello & Borres).
Both of these stops are donativo, both provide dinner and breakfast and both rate in the top 3 Albergues I have yet had the pleasure to stay at. Not so much because of the facilities but because of the welcome.

Be aware both can be booked so if you have fixed plans it may well be worthwhile doing so, as both only have 10 beds. The advantage of booking those first few days is that you can then just take your time to get there, zero stress.

Day 4 I had an hour or so break in Berducedo, then walked on to La Mesa. (No real reason, I just felt like it).
Thence Castro ( also great Hospitaleros), O Pineiral, Castroverde, Lugo.

To put it in context I was 59, not as fit as I could have been but had done a little training. Using well seasoned Gear, not my first Camino.

Well worth trying to get in some training - especially with a little elevation gain. Start off slowly, without your gear. Then build up a little, once comfortable add your gear and ensure that everything is working for you. Try and get in a three-day walk, minimum 15 km per day back to back, with your gear. Whilst it's nice to go away you can keep it cheaper by simply taking public transport in and out each day or getting someone to drop you off if you can't do a circular route.

I'll l send you a PM with a video link.

I completely understand your desire to do that section rather than starting later, the section between Oviedo and Lugo is by far the best part of the walk. Yes it would be nice to have more time and Lugo because it's a great city but you have the advantage that you're not going to have to wash Gear etc, so you can literally just take a break and then explore a little before your bus.

Buen Camino!

Thank you for the detailed answer this is exactly the kind of info I was hoping for.

I'm definitely planning on doing a few walks with similar elevation changes to the Primitivo stages but doing back to back 3 days is a good idea as well.

I will also be walking the Primitivo this May. Your day 4 looks like a killer. You might consider going beyond Salas to extend day 3 and take some of the pressure off the next day. Say to Bodenaya or La Espina, which both have good albergues.

I think I'll definitely split the extra kms from day 4 on the earlier days.

Thanks everyone for the replies it's much appreciated.