Camino Primitivo: Grado: First Day Walking

My first day on the Primitivo! I left the albergue at 7:00, and Camino shells embedded into the sidewalks helped guide me. At the cathedral a sign referenced 2 routes from the city -- it said turn left for the Primitivo. I also received help from pilgrims Rasa and Joe, a couple from New York whom I met while looking for arrows in the cathedral plaza. They pointed me in the correct direction, and I walked part way through town with them.

July 8 marked 6 years since the passing of Aunt Ginny. She was the last of the "Charn girls" to pass away in 2010. On my way out of the city I stopped at a church that was open to light a candle in remembrance of her, Mom, and Aunt Arlene.

At the edge of Oviedo, the trail led to a park area where the familiar Camino stone markers with shells and arrows began to appear. On markers in Asturias, the shell's ribs face east away from Santiago; in Galicia it's the opposite with the shell's ribs pointing west towards the city.

At Capilla del Carmen in Lampaxuga there was a "sello stamp aqui (here)" in a niche. 'Test' stamps were left on the wall

Camino routes typically wind past churches in every village, such as the 12th c. Santa Maria de Lloriana in Lloriana. Unfortunately, these buildings are often locked. Santa Maria had a water fountain on the side where I refilled my water bottle. Walkers could soak their feet there, too.

It was cloudy for most of the day with overcast skies making it ideal for walking, especially climbing to higher elevations. Later afternoon sunshine broke through, but by then I had almost reached my destination, Grado.

Community wash buildings for laundry can be found in many villages along Camino routes. This one looked like it may not have been used in a while.

Transporting hay on a bicycle powered vehicle

In Asturias, horreos, or granaries, look like tiny cottages with 'porches' that wrap around the elevated structures. Similar to horreos I've seen on Camino Frances, these buildings may have mushroom shaped supportive columns to keep rodents away.

The Capilla de Fatima in Valsera was constructed in the 1950s after a fire destroyed the original 11th c. Romanesque building on this site. Villagers are raising money to renovate the chapel after water damage.

The chapel's open door invited walkers to look inside. The interior was simple and lovely. The wood rafters brought to mind the book The Pillars of the Earth and how historical structures can easily burn or leak from rain.

La Ermita de Santa Ana in Premono was associated with what had been a nearby pilgrims' hospital. The church's origins have been given from 15th-17th c. Pots of daisies in the front made me smile -- they were Mom's favorite flower.

These hay rolls covered in plastic looked like big marshmallows.

I stopped & talked to farm animals, including these donkeys. After a few minutes of 'chatting,' one of them rolled around in the dirt & appeared to thoroughly enjoy scratching.

The Rio Nalon in Penaflor

For the first day I'd planned to only walk as far as Escamplero, but a missed turn outside Oviedo changed my destination. The original plan had been to spend time visiting Monte Naranco where the pre-Romanesque buildings of the Church of Santa Maria del Naranco & San Miguel de Lillo are located about 40 minutes off the Primitivo route. I asked a local who spoke no English which way to go to reach this site, and unfortunately he misdirected me no doubt thinking I was asking about the Camino path -- The Way out of Oviedo is known to be confusing. Thus, I never saw the buildings and arrived to Escamplero early. It was an obvious choice to walk farther to the next stop of Grado. I arrived there after 5:00 with the hope of getting a bed at the albergue.

The main street into Grado included an antique store. There's a market in town held on Mondays & Sundays with fresh fruit, vegetables, and dairy products -- markets in Grado have been happening since the Middle Ages. There's also an ethnographic museum there that focuses on bread production and "emmer wheat," a type of wheat grown until the 20th c.

The Villa de Grado albergue opened in May. The building, a historic market-house, was gutted and refurbished as a pilgrim hostel. The opening ceremonies featured performances by bagpipers and dancers.

Hospitalero Kevin from Scotland greeted me with the good news that a bed was available. As a hospitalero he'll manage the albergue for 2 weeks with another person. In order to be a volunteer one needs to have walked the Camino -- it's much easier to answer questions or understand concerns walkers may have.

Kevin & I talked about the albergue's opening, and I found out he knows Rebekah Scott, whose home "Peaceable Kingdom" in Morotinos Dad and I stayed at a couple times. Rebekah helped coordinate the Grado albergue's construction, and during the process she'd asked Camino forum members for donations to buy bunk beds, bedbug proof covers, etc. I contributed a little bit to to this fund, and so we joked that the chair he sat in for the photo might have been paid for by me.