The Camino Primitivo (original or first in Spanish) is the original way because it was the path taken by the first reported pilgrim, Alfonso II of Asturius, who made the journey to verify that the remains found were indeed those of St. James the Apostle. While not the easiest Camino, it is a beautiful route of 235 km with time and space for contemplation and great views.

The Primitivo joins the French Camino in Melide and the path becomes flatter with many more services. At Santiago de Compostela, you will present your credencial to receive your official certificate of completion, the Compostela .

Accommodations will be a mix of hostels (bunk beds in a dormitory-style multi-bed room) and modest hotels/pensions with two bed private rooms. Consequently, everyone will need to be matched to a roommate for this tour since the accommodations are not set up to handle single supplement travelers.

About 80% of the walking is on dirt footpaths along farmer roads or hard packed country lanes.  The scenery is wonderfully green and those from the Northwest know that means cool and damp. Some of this will involve hilly terrain with areas of few services through rural areas. Some days will be long through areas in which you will need to carry food and water. For everyone’s safety and peace of mind, participants will be required to carry a cellphone with data and have a familiarity with Google Maps and Google translate. Because everyone has a different pace, we will not be walking as a group.  However, for safety reasons, you will be expected to walk with at least one other person. Gronze.com https://www.gronze.com/ has all the information you could wish on all facets of this Camino and others.

• Lodging for 15 nights
• Meals where noted
• Tour Leader Fee
• Bus ticket from Oviedo to Tineo
• Credencial – pilgrim passport
• Credit card stripe fee (3%) of money paid through CCCTS website.

• Meals other than those noted above.
• Transportation to and from the starting and ending points of the tour
• Bus or taxis during the tour except for bus from Oviedo to Tineo
• Medical insurance
• Travel cancellation insurance

April 22, Oviedo, hotel, meet in Oviedo, group breakfast, Visit the Cathedral of Oviedo and admire the Roman architecture. Do last minute gear purchases

April 23, Tineo, 0 km, hotel, group breakfast at hotel, bus to Tineo in the afternoon.The views on the Camino out of Tineo are superb.

April 24 Borres, 20 km, no gain/loss, hostel, group dinner and breakfast. There is an abandoned monstery, Obona, 800 meters off the Camino about 8 km from Tineo. The Camino splits at Borres into two routes.  The Hospitales has no services, is steep and you will pass the ruins of the pilgrim hospitals.  If the weather is bad, we will take the lower route with is 4.5 km longer, flatter and has more services.

April 25, Mesa, 24 km, 300 m gain, hotel, café on site

April 26, Grandas de Salime, 15 km, 300 m loss, hostel, many options for eating.  Has a great museum of the area.  There is a big downhill to the Embalse (reservoir) and a small uphill afterwards.  Be sure to have a coffee and snack at the café overlooking the reservoir with great views.

April 27, Fonsagrada, 25 km, 500 m gain, hotel, snack machine on site. The Camino goes through more docile territory today, passing through small, rural parishes and crossing from the community of Asturius to Galicia.

April 28, O Cadavo, 24 km, 300 m loss, hotel, café in town.  There is a bus to Lugo that runs several times a day. The Galician dish of note is octopus (pulpo).

April 29, Lugo, 30 km, 250 m loss, hotel, Lugo is a walled city and has a great walkway around the perimeter.  Lovely Roman plaza for meals and sorbet. There are vending machines along the route for snacks.

April 30, Lugo 0 km, hotel, rest day

May 1, Ferreira, 26 km, 100 m gain, hostel, cafe in town.  Along the way, you will encounter a covered area with vending machines for the pilgrims.

May 2, Melide, 20 km, 100 m loss, hotel, mid-sized city with lots of options.  This is where the Primitivo joins the French Camino. Many more services and many more people. The Camino becomes less hilly.

May 3, As Quintas, 18 km, 200 m loss, hostel, group dinner at hostel, but no lactose intolerant options.

May 4, Lavacola, 23 km, no gain/loss, hostel, cafes in town.

May 5, Santiago de Compostela, 100 m loss, 10 km, hotel, receive the Compostela

May 6, Santiago de Compostela, 0 km, rest day, group lunch, great museum of the pilgrimages and Santiago. Wonderful place for people watching as the other pilgrims complete their Camino

May 7, end of tour

Registration will be on the CCCTS website on the date shown.  A computerized lottery system and wait list will be utilized in the event that the ride is oversubscribed.  A $100 USD payment is required at the time of registration.  The lottery signup will run for 7 days, after which the Tour Leader will review the results.

The selection process will consider the following criteria in evaluating candidates:

• Fitness, ability and experience required for the tour
• A history of safe practices
• Acceptable social behavior

The leader may interview riders or others who know them to verify their suitability for the tour.

The leader also has the option to prioritize 30% of the tour applicants or up to 2 people for this tour.

The leader will notify registrants of their selection status.  If the ride is not filled to capacity, registration will continue until the closing dates shown.

Tour member selection is done primarily by lottery results but the leader will have the final decision on who is accepted or not for the tour

After you have been notified you are selected for the tour, the tour fee of $705 USD is due on January 3, 2025.

The budget for this tour has been carefully prepared and per person costs are not expected to exceed the tour fee amount.  However, if costs are higher due to unforeseen reasons, each tour member is responsible for their share of the cost overrun.

In the event of cancellation- The registration fee is non-refundable when a member withdraws from a tour after they have already accepted a spot. With respect to the Tour Fee, if a replacement cannot be found, we will refund any fees for costs that could be avoided.  However, if there are costs that cannot be avoided, these will not be refunded. If you are on the wait list, you may decide to cancel off of it at any time and you will receive a refund of your $100 Registration Fee (less the 3% stripe charge).

Communicable Illness Information:

The CCCTS Communicable Illness Policy takes into consideration regulations and recommendations from Public Health Authority of Canada, BC Centre of Disease Control, and Public Health Ontario. In the case of illness while on tour, it is expected that all participants will follow the procedures outlined in this policy. Please refer to https://cccts.org/club-document/staying-safe-guidelines-2022-oct%0215th-2022-update/ for details on the club’s Communicable Illness Policy. CCCTS strongly encourages all participants to be up-to-date on their vaccinations for COVID and all other communicable diseases.  Everyone should bring 3 COVID test kits with them on the tour and take responsibility for self-testing if they feel ill.

Air Travel Emissions Statement: A one-way flight from Vancouver to Madrid and a return flight from Madrid is 17,000 km or more and will produce about 3 Tonnes of total emissions per person. For comparison, one year of driving a gasoline-powered car produces 2.0 tonnes of total emissions. For more information on the impact of those emissions on climate change and extreme weather events see. https://cccts.org/club-document/air-travel-emissions-from-cccts-tours/