For the past week on the Camino Primitivo, I have been immersed in green! Even Ireland would envy these hills.
The Camino Primitivo is the original Santiago pilgrimage route, established by King Alfonso II of Asturias in 824. It was Alfonso who ordered that a church be erected in what eventually became Santiago de Compostela, where the newly-discovered remains of the apostle James had been found. Alfonso also decreed that pilgrims should walk from Oviedos, then the capital of Asturias, to Santiago to honour St. James. Legend has it that Alfonso himself was the first pilgrim,
Alfonso wasn’t the only monarch to walk to Santiago de Compostela. Queen Isabel of Portugal made two Camino pilgrimages— in 1325 and 1335. Isabel was a devout Christian, but I wonder if she may have also undertaken the journey for the same reason that many of my fellow female solo trekkers tell me they are walking — to escape the pressures of family life and take time purely for themselves.
But back to those green hills.
The Primitivo is a much more rural and physically demanding route than the Camino Portuguese. The landscapes are stunning. There are fewer pilgrims. And my knees and thighs are getting more of a workout!
Though the history of this route is just as rich, it’s harder to see. Much of it has been worn down by the elements, reduced to walls of stone where pilgrim’s shelters once stood.
I am in my element here, despite the long days and steep inclines. The birding has been spectacular — I scooped 3.5 new-to-me species while eating lunch yesterday — a dunnock, a rock bunting, my first skylark — and the .5 — a European golden eagle (a subspecies relative of ‘our’ golden eagle.)
Today I passed the halfway mark on the Primitivo — 200 kilometres behind me, and 155 kilometres to go. Onward!