What is the Camino? Here’s a summary that I got from AI:
“The Camino de Santiago, or the Way of Saint James, is a network of historic pilgrimage routes leading to the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain, where tradition says the remains of Apostle Saint James the Great are buried.”
People started making the pilgrimage from parts of Spain, and later other countries in Europe back in the middle ages. The most popular route is the Camino Frances, but the original pilgrimage is what today is called the Primitivo, which is the route we took. It starts in the town of Oviedo and crosses the Hospitales Mountains and continues between and around mountains, down into river valleys, eventually winding and twisting its way into Santiago de Compostela. The path from Oviedo to Santiago is about 320 kilometers (just shy of 200 miles).
We didn’t really consider all of our options for doing the Camino. Never having done anything like this, we were attracted to the fact that this route sounded the most like the remote type of hiking that we like in the US. We figured that it would be the one that spent the most time in nature. We probably didn’t factor in the fact that it is also one of the most challenging since some of the towns are quite far apart and lack any kind of services along the way.
My goal for this blog post is to collect the day to day experience that we had along our pilgrimage, including the towns that we walked between, how long the walks were, and what it was like.
Day 1: Oviedo – Grado (25km)
The beginning. Our walk started around 9 am on September 2nd from our hotel in Oviedo. The walk was about 25km (16 mi). The first 2 or 3 miles is just getting out of Oviedo. Oviedo is a fair-sized city with over 200,000 inhabitants, so walking out of it took a bit of time. Before long, though, we were starting our first of many uphill climbs. The trail had a lot of nature, a lot of farms and a few small towns along the way.
Our first pit stop was at a little bar which had an excellent cafe con leche (coffee with steamed milk). Later we had lunch at a restaurant serving pre-made sandwiches, which were quite a common experience on the trail.
The hotel that we stayed at in Grado was not actually on the trail at all. We contacted the hotel as instructed when we arrived in Grado and they had someone come to pick us up. We met them at the train station, and the next morning after breakfast they brought us back to where we’d stopped the day before to continue our walk.
Side note. I’ve done a fair bit of hiking, but usually not more than 10 miles in a day. This hike of 16 miles was a first for us. I made quite a risky decision before starting the Camino and purchased a new pair of Keen boots just a couple of weeks before the Camino. I was familiar with the model of boot, but they weren’t fully broken in. On this first leg of the trail I got my first blister ever. But thankfully, my one blister was the only one that either of us got for the full 200 miles. I mainly credit our excellent wool socks (I had Smartwool brand, Chrissy had Darn Tough) and also our synthetic toe-sock liners by Injini.
Day 2: Grado – Salas (22km)
Today we hiked from Grado to Salas. Another 16 or so miles hiked. Today got a little bit warmer than the previous — maybe 25c. We had a good hike with a mix of wooded areas, small towns, and hiking along roads. Still in good spirits, but our muscles were very sore.
Grado to Salas
Day 3: Salas – Tineo (20km)
We’re at the 45 mile mark. 13-ish miles today. It was a bit shorter but the scenery was the most beautiful yet. We arrived in Tineo, Spain for the night. It’s a lovely town nestled in the mountains. The hills in town are very steep, but the scenery is wonderful.
Salas to Tineo
Day 4 & 5: Tineo – Pola de Allande (25km)
Camino de Santiago day 4. This was a challenging hike. We hiked from Tineo to Pola de Allande — 16 miles of hiking with 2700 feet of elevation gain. Incredible views, though. There was great hiking weather in the morning (cool and overcast), then it was sunny at 72 in the afternoon.
The views when leaving Tineo early in the morning with the overcast skies and rising sun were amazing. We spent a lot of time on wooded and forested trails, which was wonderful. I was feeling great early on but the last two miles were brutal. Already having hiked 14 miles, then dropping a thousand feet over the last two miles was not fun. But the views before the descent were awesome.
On the 5th day, we did a whole lot of nothing. We took a planned break day and spent two nights in the town of Pola de Allande and successfully did nothing.
Tineo - Pola de Allande
Day 6: Pola de Allande – Berducedo (18km)
Today we walked again. The hike had a rough start since it went from like 500 meters to over 1100 down to about 900m. We ended the day in the town of Berducedo which is home to about 170 people. Our hotel is quite nice and we’re right on the trail for when we get going again tomorrow.
Some photos from today’s walk…
Pola de Allande - Berducedo
Day 7: Berducedo – Grandas de Salime (20km)
12 miles-ish today. A brutal bit of up and a long, long, long unpleasant bit of down but some incredible views that started right at sunrise as we were heading out of Berducedo.
Today’s hike was from Berducedo to Grandas de Salime. Our hotel is actually outside of town, but on the trail next to a large man-made lake. We ate lunch at the hotel and then continued to Grandes and had a ride arranged to bring us back.
Some photos. This morning made my “real camera” worth having.
Berducedo - Grandas de Salime
Day 8: Grandas de Salime – A Fonsagrada (30km)
Today was a long hike. 30km. (19 miles). There were long easy stretches and a couple of really hard sections. We hiked from Grandes de Salime through A Fonsagrada but didn’t stay there. Our hotel was about 3km past the town, but still on the trail. We could have stopped at A Fonsagrada and got a ride back and forth, we opted to just make it a longer day and hiked to the hotel.
The best scenery was early on as we were hiking out of Grandas de Salime. The mountains poking their peaks above the low hanging clouds on the horizon were a fantastic sight.
Today is the farthest we’ve ever hiked in one day.
Grandas de Salime - A Fonsagrada
Day 9: A Fonsagrada – O Cadavo (25km)
Today started with rain, so we finally got to (had to) use our rain gear. It’s absolutely less fun hiking these long challenging trails when you’re wet. But having places to stop for food and coffee in the small towns is very nice.
Today we walked from A Fonsagrada to O Cadabo. Since our hotel last night was a bit outside of town we started the day about 2 miles into today’s hike with about 13 more to go. Most of the day was foggy, overcast and raining but the last 3 miles into O Cadabo the sun finally came out. We did some laundry in the sink and sat out back of our hotel having some adult beverages while they dried on the line.
A Fonsagrada - O Cadavo
Day 10&11: O Cadavo – Lugo (30km)
Another rainy day. Today was the longest stretch in our plans (but we probably topped it on day 9 by not stopping in A Fonsagrada). We hiked from O Cadavo to Lugo, Spain, just about 19 miles from hotel to hotel.
Mercifully it was a much easier topography than the days before. We’re pretty much out of the mountains now so just rolling hills. There was really only one town with a bar/restaurant on the way and it was kind of close to O Cadavo. Instead of eating early we just picked up some stuff from a market and ate later in the day. We got very lucky and right around the time we wanted to eat there was a Camino rest stop where they were giving out fresh fruit (Santa Claus melon and watermelon) and water and had a covered picnic area.
The last five miles into Lugo was a grind but it wasn’t terribly difficult. Oh, and Lugo marks the 100km point! So we’re about two thirds of the way to Santiago de Compostela.
We’ve planned to spend two nights here in Lugo to enjoy a well earned rest day.
We spent the day being uber-lazy and doing next to nothing physical. But since Lugo is kind of a tourist destination known for its ancient Roman Walls which are nearly 1700 years old (built in the 3rd century), we had to at least put some energy into paying a visit to that.
The city is the largest we’ve visited so far on our pilgrimage. There’s more going on here than just pilgrims. Since we’re trying to keep today as a low output day, all we’ve done is take a walk on the wall and then relax in a small park in the old walled part of the city. There’s lots of shops and a large cathedral in the old town. There are also many cafes and eateries.
Oh, but last night we were exhausted from our long walk here and were looking for a nearby place to eat. Chrissy found a taqueria that was a one minute walk from our hotel. I was so curious to see what a taco would be like in Spain that I had to find out.
We had nachos and tacos al pastor. We also had a couple of margaritas. Chrissy had the original and I went with the spicy. The margaritas were fantastic. The nachos were good. The tacos al pastor, Chrissy described as tasting “healthy”. I was hungry and I enjoyed them but after spending a month in Mexico just a couple of months ago the fact that they didn’t spend all day slow roasting on a spit was obvious.
They had a wide range of sauces to go with the food but they didn’t leave the bottles at the table with you. Instead they give these tiny cups of sauce. They were very careful to warn about the spice level of each of them — another sign they were far from Mexico. But the spicy ones that we had were quite good and creative. The biggest downside was the price. I’m pretty sure that I could get an epic taco on any street in Mexico for about 20 pesos (1 dollar US) 5 tacos here cost 17 euro! (about 20 usd)
O Cadavo - Lugo
Day 12: Lugo – Ferreira (27km)
We hiked from Lugo to Ferreira, Spain today. Most of the almost 17 miles was along the road which makes for fast walking but it’s not at all my favorite. The last 4 miles or so was scenic though and we came across a spot where you could get fruit smoothies which was perfect.
Lugo to Ferreria
Day 13&14 Ferreira – Melide (20km)
Light rain pretty much the whole way but the trails are much less challenging now since we’re out of the mountains. 13.9 miles from door to door. We hiked from Ferreira to Melide. The rain was never heavy enough that we used any rain gear. We just walked through the mist and enjoyed the shorter walk.
When we arrived in Melide there were … fireworks and a parade. Turns out it’s some kind of holiday. Chrissy asked about it and we were told that it’s a day to celebrate getting drunk!
“On the second Sunday of September, the festival of San Caralampio, traditionally known as the Festivity of the Drunkards, is celebrated in Melide.”
This is our last rest day before we get to the end. Three more days of hiking until the end. Our hotel in Melide, Spain, is on the edge of town and a bit off of the trail but our hotel room is great with a nice balcony. And the food has been great. Tomorrow we have the shortest hike so far. But the temps are climbing which will make it less nice.
Ferreira - Melide
Day 15: Melide – Aruza (14km)
Shortest hike yet. We walked from Melide to Arzua, about 9 miles. We were in Arzua in time for lunch.
The Primitivo route and the Frances meet in Melide so the trail this morning was more crowded than we’ve seen. There were long wooded stretches early on but the last three miles into Arzua was along paved roads and had some incline.
We’re about 40 kilometers from Santiago de Compostela, the ultimate destination for all Camino routes.
Since we had lunch in town we chose not to get sandwiches today. We had pizza with chorizo and pulpo (octopus).
Melide - Aruza
Day 16: Arzua – O Amenal (19km)
Today we hiked from Arzúa to O Amenal, then got a ride to our hotel on the other side of the freeway in O Pedrouzo. It was about 14 miles but much, much less challenging than days before. We were moving at a blazing (for us) 3 miles per hour. I know that the terrain is getting less challenging but I’m feeling better and stronger the farther we go. Since arriving in Lugo at the end of our hikes I’ve felt pretty good after getting to our hotels. Not completely dead like the first few days.
Tomorrow is the big day. Our last planned hike before arriving at Santiago de Compostela. It’s probably 17km from where we are now so we should probably be there by early afternoon. The weather has warmed considerably from our coldest morning at Grandes de Salime which was probably 50 degrees (11c) to right now in O Amenal where it’s a nice shade 80F (27c). It’s supposed to be 28 tomorrow.
Tomorrow could be a bit hectic. We have to pick up the rest of our luggage, which should be waiting for us at the post office, and get our well earned selfie with the Cathedral which marks the end of our pilgrimage. We are planning to spend the night in Santiago, but just one night. We’ve got a rendezvous planned in Madrid to meet with some traveling friends the next day that we are super excited about.
Here are some pictures from today…
Day 17: O Pedrouzo – Santiago (14km)
Exito! Success! We completed the Camino de Santiago! We cruised into Santiago de Compostela after a fast 9.1 mile walk from our hotel in O Pedrouzo to arrive at the Cathedral in Santiago.
Gorgeous mist lingered in the valleys for the first few hours. After the brutally challenging hikes from earlier weeks I felt like I was floating on this last leg.
We started in Oviedo, Spain on September 1st and with 3 rest days, 17 days later we arrived at Santiago de Compostela, nearly 200 miles of walking. There were some tough days but the scenery in those first, mountainous walks made up for it.
We’re enjoying an evening here in Santiago, having dinner in the old part of town before heading south by train in the morning.
The bucket list has one fewer item in it.
Buen Camino!
