May 20th, 2017
Villaviciosa to Camping Deva
Km hiked: 23
Km total: 457
Today we had to make a decision, keep going along the coast on the Camino del Norte, or drop into mainland Austurias on the Camino Primitivo. Both go to the same place and are about the same distance, so we didn’t really know what to do. The Primitivo is the Camino that started it all. The first pilgrimage started in Oviedo and went to Santiago, traversing 350 km. From the reading we did, it is supposed to be a little more remote and rugged and goes higher into the mountains. Apparently there is a lot of mud and a lot of ticks and less larger towns.
The rest of the Norte offers much of the same coastal views as we have seen so far for another 140 km before heading inland towards Santiago. It is flatter with less climbing and goes through a nice industrial park after Gijon, smoke stacks and all. It also appeared to have more campgrounds.
We eventually decided on the Norte route, primarily because this is what we had planned to do, and the easier hiking combined with campgrounds along the route would allow us to finish sooner and spend less nights in Alburgues. I also only have the GPS tracks for the Norte and not the Primitivo, which has made a big difference in finding campgrounds near the route so far.
After the split we climbed a large hill and then descended down into a valley. There was a vending machine at the bottom in a small town and we got some lemonade. We then climbed again out of the valley and over the next hill, and saw Gijon in the distance near the coast.
We are at Camping Deva tonight about 3 miles from the center of Gijon. It’s a large campground with over 300 spaces, but only a few are occupied.
