Primitive Way – Winter 2022

I’m back. Although I’m not really sure if I’m still there. During this Holy Year extended by the pandemic, I wanted to walk the Camino Primitivo in winter. Yes, I knew it would be tough. Yes, I knew it would rain, snow, and I’d be eating mud. Yes, I knew many of the hostels would be closed. Of course I was aware of all the limitations, but I also know that doing it in winter is special, especially this Primitivo. For the harshness, but also for the people that El Camino puts on your path.

First, the data

A very brief summary:

• Start: Oviedo, 26/11/2022 (Saturday)
• Arrival: Santiago de Compostela, 08/12/2022 (Thursday), Feast of the Immaculate Conception
• Total km (according to track): 323.11 km
• Elevation: 8,150m of positive and negative elevation gain
• Total stages: 13
• Fellow pilgrims: Between 4 and 8 (4 of us reached Santiago)

Camino Primitivo winter track

I’m sharing the complete track of this year’s winter Camino Primitivo. You can follow it directly from Wikiloc or download the GPX track directly from there (about 20k points).

As you can see, there are two very different sections: the Asturian one including the first two stages in Galicia up to O Cádavo and the Galician one, especially from Lugo onwards and once it joins the French Way in Melide. Sorry to my Galician friends, but I prefer the Asturian section both for the landscapes and for the welcome at the hostels, whether public or private.

The 13 stages

Here are the details of the 13 stages with links to each individual track. Of course there are more alternatives always taking into account the availability of hostels, but these are mine. Main criterion: availability of public hostel. These hostels are what keep these less traveled Ways open compared to the French and Portuguese.

1. Day 1: Oviedo - San Juan de Villapañada (30.95 km)
2. Day 2: San Juan de Villapañada - Salas (21.72 km) - Legendary hostel, though you have to make a small detour
3. Day 3: Salas - Tineo (20.34 km)
4. Day 4: Tineo - Pola de Allande (26.46 km)
5. Day 5: Pola de Allande - La Mesa (23.20 km) - Passing through Puerto del Palo (1,176m)
6. Day 6: La Mesa - Castro (22.83 km) - Passing by the Grandas de Salime reservoir
7. Day 7: Castro - A Fonsagrada (21.33 km) - We enter Galicia
8. Day 8: A Fonsagrada - O Cádavo (25.49 km)
9. Day 9: O Cádavo - Lugo (31.01 km) - The last 100 km begin
10. Day 10: Lugo - San Román de Retorta (20.77 km)
11. Day 11: San Román de Retorta - Melide (28.57 km) - French Way pilgrims join
12. Day 12: Melide - O Pedrouzo (36.97 km) - Includes a small «detour» to reach the hostel 😉
13. Day 13: O Pedrouzo - Santiago de Compostela (20.89 km)

The best of the winter Camino Primitivo

This year I wanted it to be special: Holy Year and walking the original route of the first pilgrim, King Alfonso II El Casto. Added to this was the fact that I always do it in winter, so the question was how much water or snow I would get and what temperatures I would have, especially when passing through the Puerto del Palo area. In the end we were very lucky, barely three days of rain out of thirteen walking… although that didn’t prevent us from having to deal with accumulated mud.

The landscapes, the forests, the thousand streams… are wonderful. Seeing them in all their splendor from the morning frosts to those autumn/winter colors is a privilege. As I said before, there is a marked difference between the Asturian stages (including the first two up to O Cádavo in Galicia) and the Galician ones.

The people of the Camino

As you can imagine, in winter the number of pilgrims on the Camino drops significantly. And if this is true in general, extrapolate it to Ways less traveled than the French one. To give you an idea, this year I coincided with fewer than 10 people on the same day. And this year I was once again incredibly lucky with my fellow pilgrims with whom I had the pleasure (and honor) of walking. Each one more interesting: Alessandra, Jesús, Miguel Ángel, Alberto… and also Pilar and Pepe or Miriam.

And not just my fellow pilgrims. The welcome too. The hospitaleros of the public hostels but also of the private ones have been very attentive to us. Making the end of the stage easier for us, helping us with restaurants or the washer/dryer… or preparing dinners that were far from normal (kudos to Begoña).

Things change when you get closer to the last 100 km (Lugo) and especially to the French Way (in Melide). The number of pilgrims increases and the hostels, even the public ones, become more «professional», colder… and especially in Galicia.

Anyway, the result, what counts most is everything behind this photo. Those stories, those beers, those pains, that effort (that everyone has to make… nobody walks it for you), that reward of arrival…

Camino Gallery

This has truly been a special Camino. Here are some photos of the most memorable moments: