smallp
New Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- Jul 22 - Camino Primitivo, Aug 22 - Camino Ingles
I returned last week from my very first, and definitely not my last, Camino. I found this forum so super helpful that I just wanted to share a few things that others might find helpful on their journey too.
Firstly, I cannot recommend this route highly enough. As my first, I can't compare it to the others, but I do know that it was magical. It is hilly, for sure, but with all day to do it, I found it very manageable. I had a mix of stage lengths from 12 miles (20k) to almost 22 miles (34k). I was really worried about the longer days but I broke them up with a mid-morning snack and coffee, a lunch break and a stop in the afternoon. In fact, as my enjoyment grew, on the short days I longed for the longer days.
I used the Wise Camino app and the Buen Camino app. The Buen Camino was particularly useful as you could tell if you'd gone away from the route.
I had my luggage carried for me by TaxiCamino. (I'd thought I'd run some stages so had extra kit, but I soon realised that that would made it pass far too quickly so abandoned that plan!). Booking was super simple, you just email your details, they send you a link to a booking site where they have added your stops and you pay. I couldn't print the labels but they added their label to my bag on the first day which was fine.
I also stayed in hotels. Having recovered from Covid a few weeks before I still had a hacking cough and didn't think anyone in a hostel would appreciate that all night. I can thoroughly recommend these:
Grado - Hotel Areces - very clean, simple rooms. Breakfast is included but as I was leaving before it started they made me a little packed breakfast to take away.
Just before Salas - La Figal de Zugabolog - this is a hostel with private rooms too. It's a beautiful space with really kind owners. It feels like being in someone's home. I ate there and the food was delicious (vegetarian too!)
Campiello - Casa Herminia - i had a private room which was simple and clean. And doubly lovely because lots of pilgrims from the Albergues were eating in the restaurant.
Berducedo - Aracelli - gorgeous room and lovely spot a little bit out of the way with a really kind owner. The food was amazing and although I don't speak any Spanish, google translate worked wonders!
A Fonsgrada - Hotel Portiico - a beautiful building that has been converted very sympathetically and with a free coffee machine! I ate in my favourite restaurant here, Restaurant Cantabrico, twice. Lunch and dinner! It was excellent.
O Cadavo - Pension A Marronda - recently converted to a hotel I think. Really nice clean, comfy room. The pizzas are yummy!
As others have mentioned, where the Primitivo joins the Frances you really notice a difference. I have to say that, for me, I missed the peace and tranquility of my earlier days but it was nice to see so many people enjoying it.
On a peaceful note, I queued to get into the pilgrim mass in Santiago at 12.30 and 7.30pm but both were full. Instead I went to the 7.30am. Which was, again, a beautiful experience. A slightly shorter service but very few people and time to walk round the stunning cathedral in the quiet of an early morning. If you are an English speaker, then I recommend the English mass which is held in a little chapel in the Pilgrim Office at 10.30am every day. It's on the left as you go into the Pilgrim Office. I am not religious but it was lovely to be part of the ceremony and be blessed as a pilgrim.
I think whichever way you choose to do your Camino, the Primitivo really won't disappoint. It lifts the soul and calms the spirit in a way I have never encountered. And in a world, that for me, is often chaotic and too busy, it so made me appreciate such simple things. A glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. The breeze on my feet when I've taken my sock and shoes off to rest. A Buen Camino and a smile from a local. The sight and sounds of friends welcoming you at a coffee or beer stop. A stunning sunrise at the start of a new day. When I close my eyes now it takes me back to somewhere very special. For all of you who take this route or any other, Buen Camino.
Firstly, I cannot recommend this route highly enough. As my first, I can't compare it to the others, but I do know that it was magical. It is hilly, for sure, but with all day to do it, I found it very manageable. I had a mix of stage lengths from 12 miles (20k) to almost 22 miles (34k). I was really worried about the longer days but I broke them up with a mid-morning snack and coffee, a lunch break and a stop in the afternoon. In fact, as my enjoyment grew, on the short days I longed for the longer days.
I used the Wise Camino app and the Buen Camino app. The Buen Camino was particularly useful as you could tell if you'd gone away from the route.
I had my luggage carried for me by TaxiCamino. (I'd thought I'd run some stages so had extra kit, but I soon realised that that would made it pass far too quickly so abandoned that plan!). Booking was super simple, you just email your details, they send you a link to a booking site where they have added your stops and you pay. I couldn't print the labels but they added their label to my bag on the first day which was fine.
I also stayed in hotels. Having recovered from Covid a few weeks before I still had a hacking cough and didn't think anyone in a hostel would appreciate that all night. I can thoroughly recommend these:
Grado - Hotel Areces - very clean, simple rooms. Breakfast is included but as I was leaving before it started they made me a little packed breakfast to take away.
Just before Salas - La Figal de Zugabolog - this is a hostel with private rooms too. It's a beautiful space with really kind owners. It feels like being in someone's home. I ate there and the food was delicious (vegetarian too!)
Campiello - Casa Herminia - i had a private room which was simple and clean. And doubly lovely because lots of pilgrims from the Albergues were eating in the restaurant.
Berducedo - Aracelli - gorgeous room and lovely spot a little bit out of the way with a really kind owner. The food was amazing and although I don't speak any Spanish, google translate worked wonders!
A Fonsgrada - Hotel Portiico - a beautiful building that has been converted very sympathetically and with a free coffee machine! I ate in my favourite restaurant here, Restaurant Cantabrico, twice. Lunch and dinner! It was excellent.
O Cadavo - Pension A Marronda - recently converted to a hotel I think. Really nice clean, comfy room. The pizzas are yummy!
As others have mentioned, where the Primitivo joins the Frances you really notice a difference. I have to say that, for me, I missed the peace and tranquility of my earlier days but it was nice to see so many people enjoying it.
On a peaceful note, I queued to get into the pilgrim mass in Santiago at 12.30 and 7.30pm but both were full. Instead I went to the 7.30am. Which was, again, a beautiful experience. A slightly shorter service but very few people and time to walk round the stunning cathedral in the quiet of an early morning. If you are an English speaker, then I recommend the English mass which is held in a little chapel in the Pilgrim Office at 10.30am every day. It's on the left as you go into the Pilgrim Office. I am not religious but it was lovely to be part of the ceremony and be blessed as a pilgrim.
I think whichever way you choose to do your Camino, the Primitivo really won't disappoint. It lifts the soul and calms the spirit in a way I have never encountered. And in a world, that for me, is often chaotic and too busy, it so made me appreciate such simple things. A glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. The breeze on my feet when I've taken my sock and shoes off to rest. A Buen Camino and a smile from a local. The sight and sounds of friends welcoming you at a coffee or beer stop. A stunning sunrise at the start of a new day. When I close my eyes now it takes me back to somewhere very special. For all of you who take this route or any other, Buen Camino.
Thanks so much for your post! 
