Our Walk Along the Camino Primitivo

  “The Way is Made by Walking”   Pilgrimage from Oviedo to Lugo to Santiago The Camino Primitivo is often called the "Original Way" as it is the first recorded pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela. But while it may be the oldest, for us, it felt like one of the most alive.   In many ways, it is certainly the most elemental, placing pilgrims in the northern mountains of Spain.  It climbs higher, seems quieter, and demands more of the body and the spirit than many of the better-known Caminos. But in return, it offers something few trails can: a deep and unfiltered immersion into the land, the weather, and perhaps (if one is lucky) ourselves.   In just under two weeks, we experienced fog-wrapped forests and sun-drenched ridgelines, blistering descents and soul-lifting vistas, crowded cafés and wide-open wilderness. We shared laughter and wine with strangers who became friends, and learned to navigate not just the trail, but the emotional challenges of walkin...

Walking the Many Ways to Santiago Beyond comparing the Camino Primitivo to the Camino de San Salvador, the other obvious comparison is the popular Camino Francés. With that said, as we all know, e very Camino route carries its own character, shaped by the moment, landscape, history, culture, and the pilgrims who choose to walk it. Among the many paths that lead to Santiago de Compostela , two stand out for the sheer contrast they create when placed beside each other: the Camino Francés , the most travelled pilgrimage route in Spain, and the Camino Primitivo , the rugged northern path that traces the footsteps of the earliest recorded pilgrimage.   Walking these routes reveals two very different experiences of the Camino. One follows a broad historical corridor across northern Spain, lined with towns, albergues, hostels, and centuries of pilgrim infrastructure. The other climbs through mountains and forests, crossing some of the most remote landscapes in Asturias and Galicia. Both ...

  “The geographical pilgrimage is the symbolic acting out of an inner journey.”   Thomas Merton, Mystics and Zen Masters   Comparing the Camino de San Salvador and the Camino Primitivo   Among the many pilgrimage routes that lead to Santiago de Compostela , some stand apart not because they attract large numbers of walkers, but because they preserve an older style of pilgrimage. The Camino de San Salvador and the Camino Primitivo belong to this quieter tradition of northern routes. Both cross the rugged landscapes of Asturias and northern Spain, climbing through mountains and remote valleys before eventually guiding pilgrims west toward Santiago. Walking these routes reveals a Camino experience shaped less by crowds and infrastructure   than by terrain, history, and the steady discipline of walking through demanding landscapes.   The Camino de San Salvador   The Camino de San Salvador begins in León, a historic city already familiar to pilgrims wal...

Linking the Camino de Madrid, San Salvador, and Primitivo “For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake.  The great affair is to move.” Robert Louis Stevenson, Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes Now that our long trek has come to a conclusion, we have begun to reflect on our long, woven and indirect pilgrimage from Madrid to Santiago de Compostela.  The Camino de Santiago is often described as a network of routes, but it can be difficult to imagine how those individual paths connect until a journey is built from several of them.  This year we set out from Madrid on a continuous pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela that linked the Camino de Madrid, a short section of the Camino Francés, the Camino de San Salvador, and the Camino Primitivo. Near Melide, the Primitivo joined the Francés for the final walk into Santiago. Madrid  →  Sahagún  →  León  →  Oviedo  →  Melide  →  Santi...