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Primitivo or stay with the Norte?

Jim O'Keeffe

New Member
Time of past OR future Camino
Aug-Sept 2016, Camino Del Norte
Hi All! I will be doing my 1st Camino starting in Irun on 24th Aug this year. Having chosen the Norte as a way less travelled, my question is whether to stay with the northern route all the way or branch onto the Primitivo from Oviedo? As I'm a little time poor I will probably cycle to Oviedo then walk the remainder to SDC. I understand the Primitivo is hilly and physically challenging so it may be a shock to the system getting off the bike to go on foot! Any advice or considerations would be greatly appreciated! Regards Jim
 
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Hallo
 
Hi Jim!

Nice to see you in the forum! I walked the Primitivo last year after finishing the San Salvador. It is more challenging than the Frances but I found it ok - it's a beautiful camino.

Buen camino
 
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norelle said:
Hi Jim!

Nice to see you in the forum! I walked the Primitivo last year after finishing the San Salvador. It is more challenging than the Frances but I found it ok - it's a beautiful camino.

Buen camino
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Hi Norelle, thanks for that. You should come up for a visit in the holidays so I can pick yur brain! Regards Jim
 
Hi, Jim,
Welcome to the forum,
There are several threads on exactly this topic, but I just can't find them right now. I have walked both, but when I started in Irun, I decided to stay on the Norte. My reasoning was that if I switched over to the primitivo in Oviedo, I was much less likely to come back and walk "half the Norte" than I would be to come back and walk "all the Primitivo." I know that may sound silly, since the designations are all artificial, but that was my thinking. The Norte after Villaviciosa (which is where you turn south for Oviedo and the Primitivo) is quite nice, and I really loved the Galicia part of the Norte. But I also love the Primitivo too. I hope to be on it for the third time this summer, so that must mean something!

Most people continuing on the Norte do not "dip down" to Oviedo. They stay along the coast. I did it because my walking partner had never been in Oviedo and it is such a lovely city. We had some glorious rest days there, it was wonderful. The way from Villaviciosa to Oviedo is fine, but the way back from Oviedo north to rejoin the Norte in Avilés was a true horror along the highway because we couldn't find the arrows and no one knew anything about the camino, but that was years ago. I am hoping that that part has been greatly improved by now, but that stretch from Oviedo to Avilés is unlikely to have much/any other pilgrim traffic.

I think your idea about holding off is a good one, especially if you are walking alone and are likely to be part of a group by the time that decision has to be made. There is no bad decision here, so I would just go with the flow and see what your "camino family" is thinking when the time comes. Buen camino, Laurie
 
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Peregrina, I'm waking the Norte this April and had the same dilemma I felt kind the same way, you just tipped the scale The Norte All the way!

zzotte
 
By the time i reached the splitting point along the Norte, i had enough of the ocean (some 20 days) and wanted some mountains so it was easy decision to turn towards the Primitivo. About one third of us did that. I don't know whether rest of the Norte route is any better than the first three weeks. Either way, you will enjoy it.
 
norelle said:
Hi Jim!

Nice to see you in the forum! I walked the Primitivo last year after finishing the San Salvador. It is more challenging than the Frances but I found it ok - it's a beautiful camino.

Buen camino
Click to expand...
So Norelle, did you do the San Salvador and Primitive straight after each other or have a break? Where did you start and how long did it take to do both? I'm still considering all options...
 
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We stayed on the Norte and did not regret it. It's a beautiful camino, and I particularly enjoyed the walk south through Galicia. We did not walk to Oviedo (as Laurie did) but we took a couple of days off and went back and forth by train, rejoining the Norte where we had left off.
 
Hi Jim,
Last year I started in Leon and walked the San Salvador to Oviedo. Then I started the Primitivo the next day.
I wish I had spent another day in Oviedo. If your time is too short for the full Norte/Primitivo - I (and others!) can highly recommend this combination.
I'm planning on walking the Norte in September and will probably stay on that way but pop down to Oviedo for a day.
 
Thanks for the feedback Kanga, I'm still undecided but as all roads lead to SDC I'll just go with the flow when the time comes
 
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