A 5am start, headlamps on, raincoats already damp — this is what the second day of the Camino Primitivo actually looks like. Two pilgrims setting out in the dark took a wrong turn along a cliff side and wandered off-trail for fifteen minutes before backtracking through the rain, dodging a pack of dogs and finding the route again. Not the postcard version of a pilgrimage, but a very honest one.
The day's stage ran through Asturias in northern Spain, heading toward the small town of Salas. For the first few hours it was all rain and darkness, with sunrise arriving late — well after eight — before things warmed up. Along the way the walkers found one of the painted stones that dot the Camino, this one reading "no te apresures, disfruta del Camino" — don't rush, enjoy the Camino. It's a fitting reminder on a route where the temptation is always to clock up kilometres.
A proper break came in Cornellana, where a café called Mesón Dani offered a dry seat, café con leche and a prosciutto and cheese sandwich during a couple of hours' lull in the weather. Just down the trail sits the town's monastery, which runs a brilliantly simple trick: drop a euro in and a light switches on to illuminate the interior. Worth every cent, apparently.
From there the path turns into an attractive stony track between Casasorrina and Salas, passing a vending machine stocked with bread for hungry pilgrims. Salas itself makes a good overnight stop: the pair bedded down at Albergue Valle del Nonaya, showered, then stocked up at the supermarket and pharmacy (bug bite cream earned its place in the pack). The town's centrepiece is a castle right in the middle of everything, open to wander inside and out — a genuinely unexpected bit of sightseeing on a walking holiday.
The evening followed the classic pilgrim rhythm: a radler at the bar next door, chatting with fellow walker Robin, then a hearty pilgrim dinner of steak, eggs, sausage and potatoes. Total spend for the day was modest — a night in an albergue, simple meals, a euro for the monastery light.
For anyone considering the Camino Primitivo, this stage captures what to expect: changeable, often wet weather; early starts; cheap pilgrim accommodation and set dinners; and small, memorable moments between the long stretches of mud and stone. It suits walkers who like a quieter, more rugged alternative to the busy French Way, and who don't mind getting a little lost before the sun comes up.
