October 11 Oviedo, Asturias, Spain
Las Flechas Amarilla. Day 23. A rest day spent wandering around the lovely city.
October 12 Valduno, Asturias, Spain (Peter)
Las Flechas Amarilla. Day 24. Oviedo – Escamplero – Vega de Anzo. 20 kms. After doing the traditional start at the cathedral, our first day on el Camino Primitivo was a saunter along country lanes and forest tracks. However, the mist didn’t lift till we reached our Hostel.
October 13 Grado (Kylie)
First day of the Camino Primitivo started off quite surreal. It doesn’t get light until 8am. As we were walking to the start point at 7.30am, the streets were deserted except for groups of young people leaving the clubs. It felt more like 3am not 8am. We set off and picked up some pastries on the way through and head out of Oviedo. It’s so nice to get away from the city & traffic and into the countryside. We took it easy and stopped at some little churches to collect stamps and take it in. So beautiful so far. It was quite foggy so couldn’t get to see the full picture most of the time. First cello/stamp stop at a little church out of Oviedo. There were begonias planted into the concrete steps and airplants dangling. So pretty.
October 14 Monasterio de San Salvador, Salas, Spain (Peter)
Las Flechas Amarilla. Day 25. Vega de Anzo – Grado – Cornellana. 22 kms. Another lovely day of walking the GR 101 through forests and along rivers. We left in the dark and had a quick walk to Grado where a traditional market supplied us with breakfast. Then it was a 360 metre climb to the Alto before dropping back down to the Rio Nalon again and a picnic lunch before making our way to the monastery. Our albergue tonight is an old monasterio that is a world heritage site. It’s clean, spacious and only 5 EU. 😀
October 14 Salas (Kylie)
What an absolutely stunning walk today. Beautiful scenery but not the most pleasant smell at times!
We stopped in a little town which had a market running so bought some biscuits from some school kids that had a stall. They found it funny practicing their English.
Now we’re staying in a monastery which is super cheap and very clean. A couple of Peregrino’s have arrived so it’s nice to have company.
October 15 Bodenaya, Asturias, Spain (Peter)
Las Flechas Amarilla. Day 26. Cornellana – Salas – Bodenaya. 19 kms. Another day of rambling along. We started with lovely tracks to Salas then the long climb up through eucalyptus & oak forests before they became beech. Then it was country lanes to what is possibly the best albergue on this Camino. A wonderful donativo with fantastic hosts. A very family albergue. There are Chechs, French, English, Japanese, Spanish and Australians tonight. Everyone helps with the meal preparation, cooking and cleaning with a combined peregrinos meal. For a donativo, you get a bed, dinner, breakfast and your clothes washed and dried. This is Camino living.
October 16 Campiello (Peter)
Las Flechas Amarilla. Day 27. Bodenaya – Tineo – Obona – Campiello. 27 kms. Last night, I shared a room with a guy from Newcastle, England, and we decided to leave the window open overnight, something that NEVER happens in an albergue. However, by 2 am I had to shut it as it got very cold. It wasn’t until it was light enough to see this morning that we realised why. There was snow on the mountains and we had an icy wind accompanying us most of the day. It was still another lovely day of rambling along mountain tracks and country lanes.
October 16 Campiello (Kylie)
Yesterday’s walk (Day 3) was going through some lovely forests which is my favourite type of walking. Being in autumn it was nice having leaves falling but not necessarily the conkers as they’re a bit sturdier. We made it to our Albergue before the rain hit. Everyone else arrived after us soaked through!
October 17 Berducedo (Peter)
Las Flechas Amarilla. Day 28. Campiello – Borres – Berducedo. 29 kms. Today we had a long hard climb up in to the alpine regions accompanied by strong, cold winds and icy showers. The recommended route through is the GR#65, el Camino de los Hospitales, which passes several centuries old ruins of albergues. By the time we reached our albergue though we were over climbing and rain.
October 17 Allande (Kylie)
Day 5. In a nutshell… I’m absolutely knackered! A lot of uphill climbing today which killed me. The wind was so strong I could barely stay upright at times. The views were amazing. Arrived at the Albergue feeling like a drowned rat. A hot shower was very welcome
October 18 Grandas de Salime (Peter)
Las Flechas Amarilla. Day 29. Berducedo – Embalse de Salime – Grandas de Salime. 22 kms. A cold, wet start for Kylie’s birthday with freezing winds and icy rain. It was a couple of steep climbs to the Alto where we could hear the deep throbbing of wind turbines but couldn’t see any of them. Then as we started to descend to the Embalse (reservoir) it started to clear. A Torte for lunch then a 380 metre climb over 6 kms mainly on a road. It was the first time on the Primitivo that I have put my music on.
October 18 Grandas de Salime (Kylie)
Day 6. Feliz Cumpleaños para mi! Started the day walking in the rain which made me think it was going to be a long and miserable day. Thankfully it started to clear up and turn into a fairly pleasant day. A lot of road walking and then on the ‘alternative route’ as the original was damaged by fire. The alternative was beautiful. A lot of up & down but much better than yesterday. My knees are feeling their age today more than me!
October 19 Fonsagrada, Galicia, Spain (Peter)
Las Flechas Amarilla. Day 30. Grandas de Salime – Castro – A Fonsagrada. 28 kms. We started off in an overcast but dry and still day. It was lovely rambling along forest paths but it got colder the higher we climbed. We were level with the wind turbines when we crossed the Alto at 1,140 metres and crossed from Asturias in to Galicia. A hot chocolate & Tarte Santiago fortified us for the cold and it started raining as we made our way to Fonsagrada
el Alto on the way to A Fonsagrada 
The old and the new 
Fonsagrada pilgrims’ meal
October 19 Fonsagrada (Kylie)
Day 7. Today we said goodbye to Asturias and hello to Galicia. It was pretty foggy & soggy for majority of the day as we’ve been up quite high. Had a very welcome hot chocolate when crossing into Galicia but that turned out very short lived as I’ve not been feeling too great since 😕
October 20 O’Cadavo, Baleira (Peter)
Las Flechas Amarilla. Day 31. A Fonsagrada – Paradavella – O Cadavo. 28 kms. Well, today is officially the International Day of the Drowned Peregrinos. An icy rain fell as we left Fonsagrada and continued all day. We were cold and wet when we were about half way and came out of a forest and found a bar. Te verde and tortellas boosted us no end. It was definitely not without its beauty though. We wandered through eucalyptus, oak and pine forests as well as country lanes. It’s pretty hard to beat a pilgrim’s meal. Trust me, there are no vampires here.
October 20 Albergue San Mateo, O’Cadavo (Kylie)
Day 8. In a nutshell. Soggy! More uphill climbs but no sweeping views today. Rain, rain & rain. Of course now we’ve arrived at the Albergue it has stopped raining and the sun is starting to shine! This morning I cracked the shits and was a bit over it (I really don’t like going up hills), but after a much needed break of Tortilla & Green Tea with our fellow soggy Peregrinos, mindset changed to embrace the rain and feeling like a drowned rat! After that it didn’t seem all that bad, I couldn’t get any wetter. Talking to a young German girl, Lisa, who’s just arrived, sounded I wasn’t alone with those thoughts. Sounded like her day & thoughts were same as mine. It’s not easy! So now I’m sat in the Albergue looking stylish in puffer jacket, shorts, socks & thongs feeling refreshed after a much needed hot shower
October 21 Lugo (Peter)
Las Flechas Amarilla. Day 32. O Cadavo – Castroverde – Lugo. 32 kms. Today was an absolutely drop dead georgeous ramble through pine forests in the morning to Castroverde then sauntering through chestnut forests in the afternoon. There were a few showers but nothing like yesterday. Our international team is coming together nicely.
October 21 Lugo (Kylie)
Day 9. What a difference a day makes. Today started off with a little drizzle and everyone was really dragging their heels in getting ready and heading out after yesterday’s drowning. After a couple of minutes the drizzle stopped and the weather was rather clear. Spirits were high as the terrain was flat and there was no rain. Every bar stop there was a flock of Peregrinos getting their coffee/cake/bocadillo/tortilla fix. It was such a happy atmosphere compared to yesterday. After lunch we had a few downpours of rain but nothing for too long and not enough to soak through to the bones. This morning we walked with Peter, a young lad from London and Chris from Austria. Chris has walked all the way from Austria, clocking up 3,000kms so far! Respect. This afternoon we walked with Nanja, a tall, slim, gorgeous Dutch girl that made me feel short. I was almost running to keep up with her walking pace. Now I know how my shorter friends feel. We checked into the same Albergue that Nanja was booked into which is super quiet. Nanja & I have a bunk room all to ourselves which is a blessing after countless nights of snoring, farting, stinking, noisy men! Our Albergue is right near the 100km marker to Santiago. We’re on the homestretch now!
October 22 Albergue a Nave de Ferreira, Palas de Rev (Peter)
Las Flechas Amarilla. Day 33. Lugo – San Pedro de Baixo – Ferreira. 27 kms. We spent the morning exploring the ancient Roman town of Lugo. We were standing outside the cathedral and saw a souvenir shop across the plaza with a large witch doll outside so we wandered over for a better look. When we got there we could here Gregorian chanting coming from the shop which I thought was appropriate. After a while I recognised the song. It was REM’s “Losing my Religion”. Kylie turned on one of her apps and we found out that it was a German band called, appropriately, “Gregorian”. We climbed up the Roman wall and had a look around then decided that we might as well keep going as it was only 26kms and we could catch up with everyone. We had drops of rain and drops of sunshine and it was a lovely stroll along country roads.
October 22 (Kylie)
Day 10. We’re on the home stretch now… Today we crossed the 100km marker shortly after our departure from our Albergue. We were originally planning to stay in Lugo for the day to explore but decided after a short while of wandering that we would like to stick with our little band of friends we have made. So a late departure but we still managed to get in at an okay time. It was nearly all road walking and rather flat so can clock up the kms quickly but very tiring on the legs and feet. I was hurting by the time I got there.
A great Peregrino meal and some wine with new friends set everything to rights. A fun evening.
Onwards to Santiago!
October 23 Boente, Galicia (Peter)
Las Flechas Amarilla. Day 34. Ferreira – Melide – Boente. 27 kms. A cold morning start to a beautiful day ambling through forests and hamlets. We hit el Camino Frances at Melide and there wasn’t as much deja vu as I thought. Bits and pieces triggered a few things though. We have less than 50 kms to go now.
October 23 Boente (Kylie)
Day 11. Oh what a beautiful morning! This morning started of quite chilly but absolutely gorgeous. Everyone was in really high spirits because the sky was clear & we know the rain has gone. It turned out to be quite a social day as our little band of Peregrino’s made our way towards Melide and the craziness of the Camino Francés which is the main Camino Trail. I knew it was going to be busy but nothing could prepare me for the manic, loud restaurant I went to with an English girl I met today. Oh. My. God! Had a little bit of octopus which it was famous for but had a soup and got out of there. We decided against staying in Melide and are staying in the next village, Boente. The paths for those 5kms was so much busier. Had a great chat with the English girl, Helen, who has been walking for 2 months now. She hasn’t been around many people during this time & struggled with the ‘culture shock’! Lucky we only have this madness for a few days.
October 24 Pedrouzo (Peter)
Las Flechas Amarilla. Day 35. Boente – Arzua – O Pedrouzo. 28 kms. Another wonderful day of sauntering through chestnut & eucalypt forests and along country lanes. There were gentle undulations at times but we had sunshine. 😀 Arzua was exactly how I remembered it. I’d forgotten how many are on el Frances. It really was straight out of “The Walking Dead” at times.
October 24 Pedrouzo (Kylie)
Day 12. One day to go. Today was another chilly start but not as icy as yesterday. It felt different today as the energy was different because there were so many more people walking. Groups of school kids and travellers were everywhere but you could time it enough that you don’t get caught up in it as much. Much easier walking today as it was rather flat and on tracks away from the road. Tomorrow we complete the Camino and I’m kind of sad about that. It’s such a beautiful way to spend the day, despite the aches and pains. Also we’ve met a wonderful bunch of people it will be sad to say goodbye to.
October 24 el Catedral de Santiago y Compostela (Peter)
Las Flechas Amarilla. Day 36. O Pedrouzo – Santiago de Compostela. 20 kms. A very wet final day walk to the Catedral but nothing could dampen our spirits. Buen Camino. 😀
October 25 el Catedral de Santiago y Compostela (Kylie)
Day 13.
We made it!
What a miserable day weather wise for our last day of walking. Nothing like a bit of suffering to finish off a pilgrim trail! All in all though, despite the squelching feet and aches & pains, it was well worth it. I now have my certificate to say I have completed 315kms. I’m pretty proud of that. It wasn’t always easy. Highly recommend the Camino Primitivo to anyone looking at doing one of the Caminos.
So now to catch up with some other pilgrims for dinner, drink plenty of vino tinto and relax. I’ve got a few days up my sleeve before heading off home, so might go on a mini day adventure before going to Madrid.
But maybe I’ll get a massage first 💆🏻♀️
Las Flechas Amarilla. Day 37. We spent the day exploring the old town and had a brief foray in to the city. You forget that there’s an actual modern city outside the catedral precinct. SdC is actually the capital of Galacia. I also checked out the bus timetables for tomorrow.
Lighten The Trip Fantastic 