10 Days on the Camino Primitivo: Route and Lodging Highlights
10 Days on the Primitivo
Day 1
Began in: Villaviciosa
Ended in: Villaviciosa
Distance Walked: 0km
Slept at Hostel/Hotel: Alberque Hostel Villaviciosa
Recommendations: Do stay at the Alberque Hostel Villaviciosa. Do begin your Camino in Villaviciosa, even though it is 1-2 days before the official start of the Camino Primitivo
Special Notes: Beginning in Villaviciosa allows you the opportunity to walk the “enlace”, a beautiful path connecting the Camino de Norte to the beginning of the Camino Primitivo.
Day 2
Began in: Villaviciosa
Ended in: Polo de Siero
Approximate Distance Walked: 25km
Slept at Hostel/Hotel: Hotel de Norah on Av. Langreo in Polo de Siero
Recommendations: Do not stay at the government run hostel in Polo de Siero on Calle Celleruelo. It has a beautiful exterior, but the interior was not properly maintained against bed bugs. Do stay at the Hotel de Norah but know that it is about .25 miles from where Google Map thinks it is.
Special Notes: If you are not in tourist season you will have little to no opportunity to buy food/water until Peña de Casuca. Peña de Casuca is approximately midway on this journey. You will pass one prominent restaurant as you walk through the town. This business holds the keys to the town’s alberque. I had a very good menu of the day here at a good price.
Day 3
Began in: Polo de Siero
Ended in: Oviedo
Approximate Distance Walked: 13km
Slept in Hostel/Hotel: Iberik Santo Domingo Plaza Hotel in Oviedo
Recommendations: If you are traveling on a peak day, do not stay at the IBERIk. Stay instead at the Pension Romero (Calle Uria 38) if you are willing to sacrifice luxury for affordability.
Special Notes: Oviedo is definitely worth a two night stay. It was the only major city I entered on my ten day journey. Make sure you take advantage of both the opportunity for fabulous city life and the opportunity to purchase any supplies you may now realize you left at home.
Day 4
Began in: Oviedo
Ended in: Oviedo
Approximate Distance Walked: 0 Km of Camino. City walks and a Mountain Hike.
Slept in Hostel/Hotel: Pension Romero
Recommendations: Do take a zero day in Oviedo. Do visit the Sagrado Corazon de Jesus statue at the top of Mount Naranco. Do not walk on the highway to approach the statue. Do not lose your camino legs by taking excessive zero days.
Special Notes:
I have strange taste, but I had what I consider the most delicious food of my life in Oviedo - Ensalada de Cecina y Queso de Cabra y Cebolla Caramelizada. I ate this at La Doble Vida on Av de Galicia 16 in Oviedo. It was the first portion of the menu of the day. And it put the second portion to shame.
I had another unique experience in Oviedo this same day - buying cookies from Nuns. You only live once right? You can ring the doorbell at "Monasterio de la Visitación de Sta. María Monjas Salesas" in Oviedo during vendor hours if this piece of your life has been missing. The cookies aren’t that good, but the bragging rights last a lifetime.
Oviedo was the city where I ditched my bulky Walmart sleeping bag and traded it for a simple throw blanket. I did not regret it, but I would have been hurting if the seasons had turned any earlier.
Day 5
Began in: Oviedo
Ended in: Grado
Approximate Distance Walked: 23km
Slept at Hostel/Hotel: Alberque la Quintana c Eulogia Díaz Miranda 30 Grado
Recommendations: Do stay at the Alberque la Quintana. Do not be offended if the owner is brusque like the reviews note. Do use the laundromat ½ mile from this alberque if you need it.
Special Notes: I had trouble finding many options for eating in Grado. It is a small town and not too focused on tourism/hospitality for foreigners beyond the alberques.
Day 6
Began in: Grado
Ended in: Salas
Approximate Distance Walked: 21km
Slept at Hostel/Hotel: Alberque de la Campa, Salas.
Recommendations: Definitely opt in for the vegetarian meal that is the alberque’s specialty.
Special Notes: This town is one of the larger (still tiny) towns in the 10 day stretch. Multiple options for cafes for hot lunches or dinners. Some attractive cobblestone style streets.
Day 7
Began in: Salas
Ended in: Tineo
Approximate Distance Walked: 23km
Slept at Hostel/Hotel: Pension La Posada
Recommendations: Pension La Posada was not as carefully maintained as I prefer. This is an important factor on the Camino due to bed bug infestations. The hotel was comfortable and it had an opening on a night that many places were filling up.
Special Notes: In my experience, the Camino community was stronger from this day onward. It might have been partially my increased comfort and openness. But part of it was definitely just an increase in numbers of pilgrims. My heart made so many happy connections from the hostel in Grado the night before to the end of my hiking days.
Day 8
Began in: Tineo
Ended in: Pola de Allande
Approximate Distance Walked: 26km
Slept at Hostel/Hotel: La Nueva Allendesa in Pola de Allande
Recommendations: The Nueva Allendesa Pension was beautiful and tasteful but its location and structure left me feeling frighteningly cold all night after a hard day’s hike.
Special Notes: Consider deviating from my trail distance described above, even though that will require altering the next day too. This 28km route was a painful undertaking this day. Hard routes and sparse opportunities to eat/resupply.
Day 9
Began in: Pola de Allande
Ended in: Berducedo
Approximate Distance Walked: 20km
Slept at Hostel/Hotel: Alberque Bar Restaurante Camino Primitivo. Berducedo is a shockingly small town. The pilgrims appear to double the population when they roll in.
Recommendations: If you overnight in Berducedo I highly recommend the alberque I stayed at, noted above. Be aware that it has almost the exact name as another alberque listed online. Be aware that this day is your opportunity to view the infamous Hospitales portion of the Camino Primitivo if you choose to travel this extra challenging route.
Special Notes: Berducedo is a shockingly small town. It has the disadvantage of some lack of cleanliness and comfort, but the advantage of being a unique and inspiring place to experience.
Day 10
Began in: Berducedo
Ended in: Vistalegre
Approximate Distance Walked: 15km
Slept at Hostel/Hotel: Hotel Las Grandas
Recommendations: Do not stay overnight at Hotel Las Grandas. There is no cell reception in this area and the hotel wifi is only shared in the bar/lobby. It is not conducive to planning or restructuring hiking plans. Continue hiking until you reach Grandas de Salime proper.
Special Notes: The views on this day’s path competed for my favorites of the entire journey. But there were so many fantastic views over the 10 days that I never tried to rank them.
Trip-Long Insights
Gronze.com is a lifesaver for finding alberques, alberque reviews, path details, and distances between towns. With this free service and google maps you have everything you need for navigation and lodging info.
Caminoways.com is geared towards trapping tourists, but it has some decent info to peruse before you start the Camino.
A ballpark figure for a pleasant full day’s hike is 25km. I adopted this measure from a fit 60 year old Frenchman. It fit me well as a 30 year old occasional backpacker. At this rate you can reach your sleeping locations by approximately 4pm on a given day, even with a peaceful lunch at a mid-point restaurant.
Many of the towns on the Primitivo are too small to have a self-service laundromat. You can often do wash in an alberque machine, but that was a step too far into community living for me.
Everyone is different but I’d recommend a 3 pants, 4 shirts, 5 socks, 5 underwear setup. That’s my high estimate with an emphasis on comfort over weight control.
In 2021 non-peak season a lush albuquerque (clean and comfortable) was 12-16 Euros a night. A hotel was 35-65 Euros a night. If you are willing to brave the government run alberques you can hit 7 Euros a night.
My preferred eating schedule was the following: Bread or nothing for breakfast so that I did not need to make a sit-down bathroom stop before lunch.. Lots of water in the AM. A huge lunch and a comfortable indoor bathroom visit. Lots of water in the PM. Chocolate, peanuts, bakery items for dinner. Maybe a hot dinner/second lunch at the alberque if it was offered.
In the off season, you can quite often book a room in the morning for that same night. This is nice because it allows flexibility and adventure. After Oviedo the number of pilgrims increased and the existing hotels/hostels were limited in number. I started to make a habit of booking at least 30 hours in advance. Even with that habit I felt like I was almost stranded a couple times.
Want an in-person guide for a tailored adventure?
I can guide you through Philly, NYC, parts of the AT, Spain, and Honduras. I have a knack for well-planned adventures and first hand experience in each location.
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Oviedo, Spain Day 2
Day 4 was intended as a zero day, as in zero miles. A day to recover and enjoy the sights of the city. The thing is, I live my life like a kitten chasing their favorite yarn ball. I rarely convince myself to rest and do nothing. So instead of taking a zero day in the city and lounging in the local haunts, I decided to hike up a mountain.
The call to climb hit me while I was washing laundry in the city laundromat. There was a giant statue of Jesus staring down at me from a mountain. In my opinion, Jesus is the coolest of all time. (Or am I supposed to say the coolest beyond time?) And here was a giant statue of Him right next door to my city. Probably close enough to walk to - if I wasn’t on a zero day. Then again, I wasn’t confident of returning to Oviedo EVER IN MY LIFE, and technically I was on a pilgrimage, and wasn’t visiting a Jesus statue so much more valuable than seeing the empty church buildings on my official route? My thoughts did circles with my hiking clothes in the dryer.
And so I found myself a couple hours later, “ONLY” walking toward the base of the mountain. And then not stopping when I had to cross a city mile and a giant park to finish getting to the base of the mountain. And then asking an elderly lady who looked upset with the world how long it would take to get to the top of the mountain. And then skittering up the trail hoping that the nasty brewing storm that was blowing toward the peak would skip over me - maybe in the name of a miracle for someone trying to go see a Jesus statue. I went to the very top on my non-zero day. Past a couple of tourist bars strategically placed where you might want water or a spectacular view from the cliff-side. Past a lot of cars on a windy mountain road I probably didn’t need to use. I am convinced there was a dirt trail somewhere for the people who knew two bits about the area. Up and around and up and around. And I made it to the top.
It was a super cool sight to see the statue up close. I think it was about 40 feet tall. The mountain is called Mount Naranco and I highly recommend you check it out if you are in Oviedo. I was feeling stubborn about not using a car during my portion of the camino, but you can drive all but the last 5 minutes to the statue if you are short on time.
To make a surprise hike even more memorable, I found nun cookies on my way home from the mountain. My friends back home had explained that some of the nuns in Spain sell cookies to the general public and you can buy them if you stumble upon a church with this practice. I was tickled pink when I realized the banner I was looking at was a sign for nun cookies and I purchased a box of the snacks from the cathedral.
I ended the day in a very simple but splendidly clean pension. The Pension Romero, Calle Uria 38 in Oviedo. After sampling the cookies I laid down in bed exhausted and had a beautiful night’s sleep. I ate a few more cookies the next morning before tossing them out in a nearby trashcan. When all of your possessions are in your hiking bag, you’ve got to pack simply.
Want an in-person guide for a tailored adventure?
I can guide you through Philly, NYC, parts of the AT, Spain, and Honduras. I have a knack for well-planned adventures and first hand experience in each location.
robertctimlin@gmail.com +34 691 78 46 35
Oviedo, Spain Day 1
This Fall I hiked into Oviedo and decided to stay an extra night in the center. I was a few days into a personal portion of the Camino de Santiago. The morning we spent walking into the city, my companions kept talking it up. “It has everything you could need for the rest of your hike” “If you are missing supplies, this is the place to get them” These sentiments meshed with the other praise I had heard about Oviedo and my image of our destination took on a rosy and holy glow. Surely it would be beautiful, an amazing distraction from the pain of the hike with balms to cure all woes.
Reality is a buzz-kill. My first impression of the city outskirts was an ugly highway and miles of unpleasant hiking sights. We entered the city center with the assumption that it would be easy to find a tourist office to orient ourselves to our temporary home. Our lack of preparation left us wandering up and down steep confusing sidewalks that seemed to spawn without logic from a non-existant center. But after a gruff introduction, Oviedo would win me over. As I started to feel the pulse of the city, I saw the life in its streets and its clever charm.
I said my goodbyes to my days’ companions and went off in search of a hotel. When I enter a city on the Camino, it’s a big win if I can drop my bag at my hostel or hotel early in the afternoon. That leaves time to enjoy the sights and eat in peace before the preparation for the morning departure. And this time I had the double luxury of planning to stay two nights. The world was my oyster.
There was a cute tourist train near the place I left my companions and I was a bit shocked to find out it was free and ready for passengers. I hopped on sweaty and smelly, happy to rest my legs while a machine showed me the sights of center city. I saw a park, some shops, and some restaurants before we pulled back into the open square in the shadow of the cathedral. I called a couple of hotels to find a safe place for the night and used google maps to locate one that seemed like a win.
I checked into one of the fancier hotels of my hike before dinner - The IBERIK Santo Domingo Plaza Hotel. I felt out of place at the checkout desk and feared they would change their mind when they saw my sweaty stubble and sniffed my sweaty torso. It seems though, that the tourist industry in Spain is happy to cater to smelly pilgrims. A room rental is a room rental. I dropped my bag in my room in a bit of a weary daze, but quickly took off for the streets to explore my 2 day home.
One of the first things that swayed my perception of the city was a parir of knock-off crocs. I had been hoping and hoping to find shower shoes - more or less an essential for this type of journey - and I found the perfect pair in a dollar store. Heart smiling, I devoured a couple of 2 Euro sandwiches under the awning of a grocery store to avoid a brief deluge of rain. I popped open my umbrella and stumbled upon the Museo de Bellas Artes de Asturias. With a mind to avoid the rain, I asked the price of entry and found out it was free. On a non-stop win streak I explored the abundant, impressive works of art in the center of Oviedo. When the rain died down I walked back to my luscious hotel room, feeling like a spoiled guest in a home he had never known.
Want an in-person guide for a tailored adventure?
I can guide you through Philly, NYC, parts of the AT, Spain, and Honduras. I have a knack for well-planned adventures and first hand experience in each location.
robertctimlin@gmail.com +34 691 78 46 35
Villaviciosa, Spain
I woke up before my alarm and, too excited to go back to sleep, took my first rested steps in Villaviciosa. My friends had dropped me at the Air B+B the night before, and I had muddled exhaustedly through the introductions to the hosts. Now I descended curiously to the entry level of the building and stepped into a quiet street.
Villaviciosa is the perfect place for a restful adventure. You are an easy commute from surfing lessons and all kinds of fishing, and the Camino de Santiago runs right through “town-center”. The villa is microscopic. The business sector is one street and you can walk it North to South in 15 minutes. The culture and beauty of the town settled deep in my heart.
Villaviciosa City Council building is a great point of reference for directions. I gathered here with 100 townsfolk for the local holiday in the Villa’s 751st year of existence! I listened to amazing music performed by Banda Gaites Villaviciosa - El Gaitero. Check it out and see a glimpse of the villa while you listen.
From City Council there is beauty in every direction. Walk the steep Plaza de Ayuntamiento Eastward to view cows and rustic farm buildings. If you walk 20 minutes you will ascend to even tinier towns nestled on the hill. Walk North from City Hall and you can find horses grazing and open marshes that change with every ocean tide. To the West of City Hall you will find cafes on the main street ready for guests. South of center you can enter the Camino and travel by foot towards Oviedo.
It is easy to find the essentials while you are staying in the villa. Minymas and Día are central and will not require any vehicle if you shop here for your groceries. To save some money you can take a 15 minute walk to Mercadona and find a wider selection of food and treats. Mercadona will also supply any hygiene or essential home living items you are searching for during your trip.
If you tire of provincial life, you can travel to the beach or a nearby city. Rodillas is a beautiful ocean bay and you can easily arrive there with the buses from Villaviciosa. Llanes is a 45 minute drive and the town is marvelous and full of ocean views. There is some delicious ice cream in town center and I am sure the other food is splendid. Finally, you are only 40 minutes by car from the famous Oviedo, Spain!