Camino Primitivo

Oviedo - Dag 0

Everything went well today; traveling by public transport, plane, and then taxi went great. Oviedo is an incredibly beautiful city, and Niek and I thoroughly enjoyed making some crucial preparations there. Think walking around the Cathedral of San Salvador and eating at Tierra Astur (highly recommended).

I haven't had a drop since we found out we were going to walk the Camino, and I was planning to have one glass of wine every day here, no more, no less. Unfortunately, that went wrong right on day 0 when Niek ordered cider and I got a glass too (see pouring photo)... that turned into several...

Tomorrow we're off!!

Oviedo

May 31, 2026

Dag 0 in Oviedo

Day 1: Oviedo - Paladin

“Shall I ring the bell?” Niek asks.

“Go ahead, we’re here now anyway,” I say. He forgot his pilgrim passport at home and needs a new one, which is why we are now standing in front of a women’s convent where a bell hangs with a Spanish text (incomprehensible to us) attached to it.

A nun opens the door and rattles off an incomprehensible Spanish story. “Si, si, si,” we say, nodding. Then she goes to stand by the road and points to the cathedral; there we buy a passport for Niek.

After some food and drink and stocking up in Oviedo, we walk 26 km to Paladín, partly thanks to a small loop on and around a hill. There we stay in a super nice hostel where there are all kinds of other people from all over the world.

Feet are doing well, fitness too. Breaks every now and then, drink lots of water, and keep going!

Oviedo - Paladin

June 2, 2026

Dag 2: Paladin - Casazorrina

We call him ‘the little Chinese guy’. He was, just like us, a guest at the hostel in Paladín, and what a colorful character he is. We learn that he arrived here in a single outfit with a knapsack containing a laptop and a pair of brightly colored sneakers on his feet. He walks over 15 km through the hills here in Asturias; it’s not surprising when his feet start to hurt.
It’s funny to see that we’ve formed a sort of wave of people who all stayed in Paladín. We still run into them regularly and are having lunch with them today; we run into people from that group again at our current place. The eight of us form the Camino Desperados (naturally equipped with our own WhatsApp group) and we intend to stick together somewhat. Furthermore, we feasted our eyes on the rolling hills of Cantabria and enjoyed beautiful walking weather with room for sun, clouds, and a refreshing breeze. It was a fairly tough day; we’ll assess the damage tomorrow.

Dag 3: Casazorrina - Tineo

It is unbelievable, but we have already walked almost 80km!

Then you might be curious about some more practical matters.
Neither of us has blisters or anything yet, although our legs were quite stiff this morning. So probably again tomorrow, but walking helps best.
We slept in a dormitory (terrible because of snoring Spaniard), a private room (lovely but expensive), and tonight in a small room (fine and affordable).

We eat at supermarkets in the morning, stocking up for the rest of the day at the same time (1.5 liters of water is really a must). In the afternoon and evening, we go to a bar/hostel with others.

Dag 4: Tineo - Campiello

Just a short day of walking today, but it rained for the first time, so I could test my poncho and bag cover; they worked really well. We ran into Mariana (the Brazilian Camino expert who is helping us out so well) this morning just as we were about to leave, and we walked quite a long way together with her.

We ate in Campiello and here we are sleeping in a dormitory with four real heavy drinkers; very curious to see how that is going to turn out 🙈🙉
Our feet are really starting to get used to this kind of walking, and everything that is bothering you gets better just by walking. Tomorrow is a tough day up the mountain, the hardest part!

Day 5: Campiello -A Mesa

No signal yesterday, so typing a day later:

This was the longest night followed by the longest day of my life. The drunken Brits snored so loudly that the frame of my bed vibrated, so I slept absolutely terrible. Then we left the house at 7:15 with the idea of having breakfast on the way, but everything was closed. We took a detour because someone said something was open somewhere, but that wasn't where either…

So then we started the mountain climb without food. I lived on milk cake and peanuts 😂
In the end, I walked about 37km to arrive in A Mesa around 19:00. People applauded for us!

Dag 6: A Mesa - Castro

After having been in a coma, it was an easy day to Castro. I did learn from skipping breakfast, though; I had a big meal this morning.

After that, I teamed up with Jop (NL), his mother Chris, Elicia (UK), Alison (UK), our new uncle Marco (IT), Mariana (BR), and Michael (DE). We are sharing a room with the latter three tonight and having a nice dinner at the Albergue. While walking, I talked a lot with Jop, Alison, and Elicia; Niek likes walking with Marco or with earphones in.

Decided to continue to Finestère (+100 km), which also works out better with my parents' travel options.

Day 7: Castro - Fonsagrada

“Ah, Frisoni!!” an Italian man on the Camino calls out to us when we tell him we are from Friesland. We’ll keep that one in mind!
Today we had a great breakfast; Michael always walks by himself and far ahead. We suspect he takes a limo to the destination, as he is the CEO of Allianz, as we learned today. That is why we walked with Mariana and Marco, which was very enjoyable. It was a hot walking day with a tough climb at the end. I also got my first blister today, even though the distance wasn't that great. We also booked a hotel today for 2 nights in Lugo.

Dag 9: Cadábo - Lugo

I wake up three minutes before my alarm goes off; it is 6:57. I get up and am walking within fifteen minutes. After a short pit stop at a bar, I stride towards Lugo. That is 31 km away, so I want to set off early to beat the heat. That works out well; after a short time, I reach a bar and have a hearty breakfast there. I also run into Juan and Hermán here. Later, Pawel and Jolanta from Poland arrive. I spend the rest of the day with them; I’m going to learn Polish better than Spanish this way! In the evening, we go to the cathedral and eat together. Unfortunately, Pawel and Jolanta are moving on tomorrow.

Day 10 - resting in Lugo

We were both really ready for a rest. That worked out well here; today we teamed up with Michael (DE) and Elicia (UK). We had delicious octopus for lunch, walked on the completely intact Roman wall, and had a drink on the terrace. We also ran into Carlene and her cousin Charlie (US), who are going to Barcelona tomorrow for F1. Finally, the little Chinese guy even showed up again, and we were so happy about that!
After tomorrow, it will get incredibly hot here in the afternoon. That is why I will leave early in the morning (6:00). Niek is doing 45km tomorrow; that is too much for me, so we are going separately.

Day 11: Lugo - Casacamino

Today Niek and I really went our separate ways; it's a shame, but I can't manage walking 50km in one day.

It is nice, though, that thanks to our accelerated stages, we are both on time to arrive in Santiago with the rest of the group (June 13).
So, today I walked 33km in about 6 hours and 45 minutes. Tomorrow a bit more. It was quite a coincidence that I heard Mariana's voice today while I was walking, and I saw Marco sitting there too when I looked. “Dios mio!” I shouted, and I sat down next to him for a moment.

Today I am staying in a sort of guesthouse with some people; they are very friendly and have a great dinner. See you tomorrow!

Dag 12: Casacamino - Salceda

Getting up at five in the morning isn't something you do very often, especially not on vacation. It was nice to have done it once, though, and to walk through the landscape at night with the sunrise behind me. It was a really tough day; my feet are pretty much done for it, and my shoes are starting to fall apart too. Luckily, I happened to run into Jolanta, who had brought tape for my feet, and that got me through the day. Later, we also ran into Jop, Allison, and Chris again.
My current accommodation is a nice place for a great price, with good food too.
Off to Santiago tomorrow!!!

Dag 13: Salceda - Santiago (D.C.)

WE ZIJN KLAAR!!! 🎉🥳🎉🥳🎉
Na 320+ km kwamen Pawel en ik vanmiddag als eersten van de groep Santiago binnen en ontvingen we onze Compostela. Daarna een welverdiende halve liter bier achterover geslagen.
Het was een zware dag van 28km met kapotte voeten, hoge temperatuur (36 graden) en hoge luchtvochtigheid.
Onderweg heb ik Juan uit Colombia leren kennen. Die was niet zo best voorbereid dus heb ik hem de helft van mijn water gegeven, een koekje en een blarenpleister. Helaas lukte het hem alsnog niet.
Morgen sluiten we de Camino af als groep, dan maak ik ook het laatste hoofdstukje hierin!

Day 14: Farewell in Santiago

Yesterday I slept in a sort of mental health facility, so I quickly booked something else for today. It is a nice, small-scale hostel.

The day was all about saying goodbye. The last of the group arrived in Santiago around four o'clock in the afternoon and collected their Compostela. After that, there was a pilgrim service at 7:30 PM (my first mass attended). Then we had dinner together and had a beer. For about half of them, it is really over now, but some are going to Fisterra and I will see them again there.
Thanks for reading along, hope you enjoyed it, and who knows, maybe until the next time!