Anyone interested in a detour from Leon?

[peregrina2000]

Hi, I'm sorry to invade the Camino Frances forum with this post, but I thought maybe it would generate some interest. For the last year or so, I've been intrigued by the Camino del Salvador, it's a 120 km stretch (including some mountains) from Leon to Oviedo. In Oviedo, the Camino Primitivo starts, and it's about a 300 km walk from Oviedo to Santiago.

If you look through some of the posts on the Camino Primitivo forum, you'll see that Javier has found out that the Camino del Salvador was recently waymarked by the Aragones Camino friends group. Not too many albergues, but apparently there's accommodation that's not too expensive.

This might be an option for people who are on the Camino Frances and are attracted to the idea of getting away from the crowds, adding 100km or so on to their walking, and checking out this route. I have been near parts of it in a car and it is beautiful.

Javier might be able to start out with me in Leon in late September -- anyone else interested?
Laurie

 

[Rebekah Scott]

I´d love to. How long does it take, and isn´t it serious mountaineering- nosebleed territory? I went mule-riding up in that area a while back (I remember seeing the yellow arrows and wondering which camino they applied to!) and recall how tough the terrain was. (I also assume you meant the Asturian amigos did the waymarking, not the Aragonese... they have a lot of mountainous waymarking work already cut out for them over in Somport!)

Rebekah

 

[peregrina2000]

Thanks for catching that slip, Rebekah. I'm used to being on the receiving end of that, here in Illinois, which is frequently confused with Iowa and Indiana, oh those other midwestern "I" states. So I should be more careful of that kind of embarrassing misstep.

Well, this is good news indeed that you might be interested. You should look at the Asturian friends site, which Sil led me to, at http://www.caminosantiagoastur.com/ I was just browsing around it last week when I noticed that it had been substantially upgraded, and the site now lists etapas from Leon to Oviedo with good descriptions. That led me to ask if anyone knew if the waymarking had improved, and Javier posted that he had called the organization (I had tried an email but it bounced back) and they said that arrows have been recently painted. So, it seems like it's the time to do it. About a year ago, I translated into English one of Javier's friend's journals and that is also posted in the Camino Primitivo part of this forum. His friend took 5 days, while the site lists four stages.

The web site has an elevation profile, and a quick check looks like one day has 850 meters' gain, two days around 600, and the last day negligible.

Javier has said he might be able to walk on the weekend of Sept. 27-28, so I'm envisioning a start from Leon on the 27th. But I'm flexible. I'm going to be living in Portugal starting in August for the coming academic year, so I can change dates around. But this timing works fine for me.

I'm hoping maybe this exchange will pique the interest of others, it'd be nice to be some of the (21st century) pioneers of the Camino del Salvador, especially since it provides an alternative to the busiest part of the Camino Frances.

To be continued.... Laurie

 

[Kevin F. O*brien]

We were wondering about this camino as well and have read the excellent translation of Javier's notes. We hope to be starting from Madrid but it will be a bit later - in October. The idea is that we walk the Camino de Madrid up to Rebekahs place in Moreno and then on to Leon to try the Camino de Salvador (based on those notes) and the Camino Primitivo. Question at the moment is how much time we can take off from our respective jobs. Anyway we'll keep an eye out for you all.

Best,

Kevin and Kari

 

[Rebekah Scott]

I am walking the mountain portion of the San Salvador again in mid-September, in company with Piers, a waymarking & maps & trail-finding guy. Anyone interested in a fascinating and beautiful alternative camino experience should consider joining us. We will meet up on 14 Sept. at Buiza albergue, and will continue over the next three days to Puente Fierros or Sta Christina de Lena.

Rebekah

 

[peregrina2000]

Rebekah, you're killing me. What I would give..... Can't wait to hear all about it, though. Laurie

 

[Javier Martin]

I am walking the mountain portion of the San Salvador again in mid-September, in company with Piers, a waymarking & maps & trail-finding guy. Anyone interested in a fascinating and beautiful alternative camino experience should consider joining us. We will meet up on 14 Sept. at Buiza albergue, and will continue over the next three days to Puente Fierros or Sta Christina de Lena.

Rebekah

Uffff ... I'm afraid I'm reading this "a bit" late to meet you during this weekend...

Buen Camino, I hope you enjoyed it!

Javier Martin
Madrid, Spain.

 

[JohnnieWalker]

Enjoyed it?

They enjoyed it so much they wrote a new guide to the route which is fabulous!

 

[nathanael]

the detour sounds fascinating had decided to do Camino Primitivo after walking from Lourdes France..now looking into doing Camino Frances as far as Leon then do the detour and on to Santiago by the Camino Primitivo is it doable.
n

 

[nathanael]

Rebekah, what do you mean by nose bleeding territory literally..I get them rarely but when I do I usually need to go to the hospital cause they won't stop and therefore need to have them packed..
n.

 

[Rebekah Scott]

Nathaniel, connecting to the Primitivo from the San Salvador is perfectly doable. Just don't try it in winter, or even early spring, because the snow and chancy weather can hide what few waymarks there are, and make things dangerous for you very quickly.

The altitude on the Salvador reaches 1575 meters. I did not get a nosebleed, that comment was a figure of speech!

 

[AJ]

the detour sounds fascinating had decided to do Camino Primitivo after walking from Lourdes France..now looking into doing Camino Frances as far as Leon then do the detour and on to Santiago by the Camino Primitivo is it doable.
n

Yes it is doable: I did it in July. The scenery is magnificent. However the track may be difficult to folllow over the high pass in poor visibility. I was very lucky and had good weather on the tricky bits.