A great article on the Camino Primitivo

There are so many “Ways” to Santiago de Compostela. From the South, you can walk from Seville on the Via de la Plata or from Lisbon on the Camino Portuguese. From the North, you can walk from Irun, Ferrol, Bilbao or Santander on the Camino del Norte. From the West, your feet can take you from Muxia or Finistere. Or from the East, your Camino can begin in many different points across Europe including St Jean Pied de Port on the Camino Frances. Although, it is a well known phrase that you can start your Camino from the moment you leave your front door!

However, one increasingly popular way is the Camino Primitivo…the Primitive or Original Way. Many pilgrims are veering away from the over-crowded Camino Frances to walk a shorter Camino and still gain a compostela. It is said to be the oldest route and pilgrims use that as a great reason to walk it. The Camino Primitivo starts in Oviedo and works it’s way across western Asturias and Galicia. It is 320 kilometres long and can be walked in two weeks. A caveat however….this Camino is much more challenging than it’s cousin that begins in the Pyrenees, so be prepared.

So why am I writing about this, you may ask yourself? Well, I just want to share with you an article I stumbled on, written by Peter Murtagh in the Irish Times. Peter and his daughter, Natasha, wrote Buen Camino!, and if you are serious about the Camino, you should give it a read. More recently Peter and his son walked the Camino Primitivo and this article is a journal telling us all how they both got on. Give it a read…maybe you will consider it in the future. I know I will.