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...

“We do not grow absolutely, chronologically. We grow sometimes in one dimension,  and not in another, unevenly.” Anaïs Nin, The Diary of Anaïs Nin   Returning to Camino When You Already Know How to Be a Pilgrim   By the time we stepped out onto the Camino de Madrid in 2022, we were no longer learning how to be long-distance walkers or pilgrims for the first time. Six years earlier, when we left Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port on the Camino Francés , almost everything about pilgrimage had seemed new. We had worried about whether we could walk day after day, how far we should travel, where we would sleep, how albergues worked, whether we were carrying the right things and whether there would be a yellow arrow at the next intersection. Since then we had walked the Via Podiensis across France , returned to the Camino on the Portuguese Central route and continued beyond Santiago toward Muxía and Fisterra. Beyond pilgrimage, we had also walked the Bruce Trail and East Coast Trai...

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 ...