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Camino del Norte & PrimitivoCamino del Norte & Primitivo
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Camino del Norte & Primitivo

September - October 2019
Walk through Northern Spain. Read more
  • 42footprints
  • 3countries
  • 32days
  • 237photos
  • 5videos
  • 35.1kkilometers
  • 33.3kkilometers
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  • TravelerCamino del Norte & Primitivo
    1
    Day 16

    Slightly charred

    September 20, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Today's KMs - 26.4 kms
    Total KMs - 308.9 kms
    Total blisters - 7 (all popped or healed 😊) + bung ankle (still)

    It was a hot walking day today. One difference between the Camino del Norte and Primitivo seems to be the amount of open walking you do which is great in the morning but is really hot in the afternoon. The Norte had more forest and sheltered walking. So, I'm beyond tanned - I'm slightly charred 🥵... I think I would even say that Simon has tanned legs!

    The walk out of Grado was uphill but everyone from the albergue started early so we were on the road by 7am. Most of the valleys below us was full of fog so it was a bit spooky walking with just our head torches.

    We arrived at Sala by lunch time which was meant to be our final destination so we couldn't resist walking further on to the next large town, La Espina, where we'll stay for the night. More uphill awaits us tomorrow plus it’s forecast to rain 😏 .... on a more positive note though, we are over the 300km mark!    Read more

  • TravelerCamino del Norte & Primitivo
    Day 17

    Mud and Mountains

    September 21, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Today's KMs - 23.9kms
    Total KMs - 332.8kms
    Total blisters - 7 + the usual

    Was hard to leave the albergue this morning, as we had it all to ourselves, including a seperate kitchen with a little dining table. Small luxuries, but so nice to have our own space.

    Today's walk was muddy at first, the tourist map even had a mud warning symbol for the first section because the mud was so bad. Later, though it turned into one of the most beautiful sections we had walked. The fog cleared to reveal Tineo a small town, and then later views across all the mountain ranges as far as we could see including the Hospitales route which we will climb tomorrow, a little daunting to see how tall it is, but should be a good challenge.    Read more

  • TravelerCamino del Norte & Primitivo
    Day 17

    Ruta de los Hospitales

    September 21, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    The day of all climbs, the most anticipated & most talked about, is only one more sleep away. It is where the route on the Camino Primitivo splits and the brave choose the Ruta se los Hospitales. The elevations speak for themselves but both routes meet at Alto de Palo, approx 1145m high, so neither will be a walk in the park!

    On a clear day the views are said to be spectacular but on a wet day it can be plain dangerous with the downhill just as hairy as the uphill (the host at the last albergue said she lost toe nails coming down on that route 😳). I'm starting to wonder whether there's more to the "Hospitales" in the name.

    We have about 7kms to walk in the morning before the route splits... I can't wait to see what we end up doing. I just hope the weather or my ankle doesn't decide for us.    Read more

  • TravelerCamino del Norte & Primitivo
    Day 18

    The high road

    September 22, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    So after all the hype, today was a bit like going to get your flu vac. You brace yourself for the pain and before you realise it the nurse is already putting on the band-aid.

    We started walking so early this morning to make sure we would make it to the top and to be honest we didn't even realise we had made it to the highest peak until we started descending. We kept thinking it was the next peak.

    It wasn't a comfortable walk though as we were so exposed to the elements up there but it wasn't the uphill slog we had thought. It was more a fight against the strong head/ cross winds, avoiding livestock and their deposits 😜... Maybe it's just that I took ibuprofena, the Spanish equivalent to ibuprofen except with 400gm (double the Australian equivalent). I'll see how we fair tomorrow morning.    Read more

  • TravelerCamino del Norte & Primitivo
    Day 18

    Mountain views and stubborn cows

    September 22, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    Today's KM's - 33.6kms
    Total KM's - 367.4kms
    Total blisters - 7 + the usual

    Not a bad day today, even though it included the climb over the hospitale. Weather was clear, when we reached the top. Most of the day was spent above the treeline, which meant that while it was clear a strong, cold wind was blowing all day keeping us cold. Needed all our layers, including fleece and spray jackets to stay warm. We came across a very stubborn bull, that would not move off the track and kept staring straight at us, as we approached. So we had to detour around to avoid it. Otherwise the views where amazing and a really enjoyable walk that felt easier then we expected.Read more

  • TravelerCamino del Norte & Primitivo
    Day 19

    What goes up must come down

    September 23, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    Today's KMs - 41.3 kms
    Total KMs - 408.7 kms
    Total blisters - nothing new

    After yesterday's effort to reach the peaks of the Hospitales today's walk started with 7+ kms of sheer descent (elevations to prove it). The downhill was beautiful albeit painful on the knees as it was through a pine forest with beautiful views of the Embalse de Salime Dam. I could just imagine Josh W downhill riding all the way and loving it. It was a bit sad to walk through the trees as the 2017 fires swept through this region and all the trees were blackened with little signs of regrowth.

    As seems to be tradition we reached our final destination, Castro, too early so we decided to push on, despite the rain. The only thing being that the next town with an albergue was another 25 kms away which resulted in our longest walk so far at over 40kms for the day.

    The afternoons walk was much more forgiving with only smaller ups and downs except for the last 1km approaching A Fonsagrada where we are spending the night. Another town on a hill that we've managed to make our final stop 😩

    Long day so I think it'll be an early night tonight. More rain and muddy paths are on the cards tomorrow!    Read more

  • TravelerCamino del Norte & Primitivo
    Day 20

    Leg wrecker

    September 24, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    Today’s KM’s - 24.2 kms
    Total KM’s - 432.9 kms
    Total Blisters - A couple more, from wet feet

    Today’s walk is known as the ‘leg wrecker’, which seemed an exaggeration considering how much climbing occurred the last 2 days. But that title was correct, due to the number and difficulty of climbs and descents all day. Making it worse was going in circles trying to find our way out of town. Compounded by heavy rain as we stepped outside the albergue. That heavy rain, turned into 3 hours of constant drizzle.
    So we where drenched, tired and had wrecked legs by the end of the day.

    The only positive being tonight in O Cadavo Baleira is we are staying in a really new, nice hostel. With, good wifi, partition between beds for a bit of privacy, good quality bunks that don’t squeak and sway as you climb up or turn at night and a good washer and dryer set up so we could wash all our clothes.    Read more

  • TravelerCamino del Norte & Primitivo
    Day 21

    Past the wall

    September 25, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    Today's KM's - 29.9kms
    Total KM's - 462.8kms
    Total blisters - 8

    A leisurely stroll today to Lugo. Mostly walking through gently rolling hills and forests. The day started in the dark and with thick fog until about 9:00. Only a little bit of road walking, to keep us on our toes, as logging trucks thundered by. The main achievement today occurred as we passed under the walls of Lugo and now have less than 100kms to go to Santiago.

    Lugo seems to be a relaxed place, with lots of bars and restaurants. The most impressive feature though is the Roman wall which circles the whole part of the old centre. The wall is 7m's wide, had 85 towers and 10 gates. With the way in and out of Lugo for pilgrims through 2 of those gates.

    We have some time to explore Lugo as we wait for the crazy Spanish dinner time of at least 7:30 (most don't open till 9pm). This doesn't really suit pilgrims who have been walking since 7am and are sleep deprived due to sleeping with snoring strangers. Special treat tonight though, our bunk beds are deluxe and include a privacy blind. Too bad they won't block out the snorers 😴    Read more

  • TravelerCamino del Norte & Primitivo
    Day 22

    Good decision, bad data

    September 26, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    Today’s KMs - 46.5kms
    Total KMs - 509.3kms
    Total blisters - 9 (one extra big one today 😑)

    We left Lugo this morning about an hour later than usual after having a chat with the boys & Sue with a fairly easy day planned. There was a big chain of walkers out of Lugo. We suspect it’s because we are now around the 100km mark left to Santiago so it’s a popular starting point for those who want the compostela. It was also a lovely day walking with the first day in a while that it wasn’t raining and the terrain was relatively flat to start with.

    The plan was to walk to Ferreira, about 28kms in total however once we arrived the town and albergues were really small and not too inviting. So with some “bad” data we made the good decision (in the end) to walk to Melide. The “bad” data was the amount of kms it really was to get to Melide which meant we accidentally ended up walking 46.5kms today instead of 28kms 😳 without any water left and no food.

    Anyway, that just made arriving in Melide even better. Melide is where the Camino Frances and Camino Primitivo meet. So we’ve gone from towns with albergues with as little as 8 beds to albergues of 145 beds (in Melide at least). I don’t know how we’re going to react tomorrow walking with hundreds of other walkers instead of our usual 10-20 walkers at most. Not looking forward to that. But with only 52kms left to Santiago it won’t last long. I can’t believe how close to Santiago we are now!    Read more

  • TravelerCamino del Norte & Primitivo
    Day 23

    Wet lemmings

    September 27, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    Today's KMs - 33.3kms
    Total KMs - 542.6kms
    Total blisters - 12 (3 new ones today on the same toe ☹️)

    We left Melide in the rain which didn't ease for the next 7 hours until our arrival into O Pedrouzo. There was a constant stream of coloured ponchos and rain jackets down each path as we all walked the Camino, sliding our way through like wet lemmings. The guide book wasn't kidding, foot traffic has definitely grown exponentially. It was hard walking through the crowds which included more bikes than we've seen since we arrived in Spain. Odd to see riders without helmets speeding pass us on foot. It must be a different experience doing the Camino by bike. We even saw kids walking the Camino today.

    There wasn't much to see today with the scenery blocked by the fog/ rain and photos made impossible without other walkers in the way. It was interesting to see everyone and wonder how different their journeys have been which brought them to the path today. We did notice that we were in the minority with our packs on. Most walkers must have sent their packs on with some walking in jeans and wearing thongs/ flats. We were doing it hard & they must have thought we were stupid.

    Aside from the crowds of lemmings there were so many bars, eateries and camino merchandise stalls along the way. Neither the Norte or the Primitivo had anything like this. The luxury of not having to carry your food and water each day!

    Now, only 19.4kms to Santiago!    Read more

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