All pilgrims who are contemplating of doing the Camino Primitivo (or already on their way) have one thing in their mind, and that is: the Hospitales route! Here we will dispel some myths but also give you some helpful tips and advice so that you don’t have to fear the Hospitales but at the same time treat it with respect so you can enjoy that nice caña of cold beer in Berducedo.
Firstly, make sure you are well stocked with food and water before starting today’s hike! If the previous days may have felt like a “walk” then today is definitely going to be a hike. If you are staying at the municipal albergue, the “kitchen” consists of a microwave and a few plates/utensils. There is no fridge or sink, but you can use the sink in the bathroom, or the laundry sink outdoor to wash your dishes 😀
This was one of those mornings where Mommy was grateful that she brought her lightweight coil immersion heater so she could brew coffee! Being Asian, she also could not start her day without breakfast, and guess what she had for breakfast? She had (microwaveable) paella which she bought in the shop in Campiello! For snacks and lunch today she had prepared some fruits, palmiers pastries, and pasta. Note: as you are leaving Borres, there is a vending machine as well.
Water supply is critical. Especially if it is a hot day. And as a very energetic dog, I also drink quite a lot of water, so Mommy had to carry double. The first fountain is in Lago, 21 km from Borres.
Route overview and statistics
| Distance 29.8 km | Average speed 4.0 kph |
| Maximum altitude 1221 m | Ascent 1023 m |
| Minimum altitude 627 m | Descent 820 m |
Yesterday’s downpour stopped around late afternoon and the evening was clear and the ground cooled down rapidly. In the morning we woke up with quite dense mist, common for this time of the year. It was a fairly windless day too so we relied on the sun to rise and “burn off” the mist/fog. It was a typical autumn day where if you looked up the sky was blue, but when you looked ahead, all you could see was fog. Oh, and my bright red coat!
It was a nice gentle climb leaving the village (don’t forget to stop at the vending machine to top up any supplies). Soon we arrived at the split: via Pola de Allande or Hospitales?
After much deliberation, I decided to go via Hospitales. This seemed to make Mommy and all the other pilgrims happy, and I always aimed to please.
Another kilometre after the split, we arrived at a little hamlet called La Mortera where there was a small chapel – Capilla de San Pascual (constructed in 16th-17th century). After this, there will be no signs of civilization until Montefurado.
The hospital ruins
So far it had been a very nice walk. The path was wide and clearly marked, the air was fresh, and I found other pilgrims to annoy beside Mommy!
Soon we arrived at the first of apparently four former pilgrim hospitals. There was hardly anything remaining of this first ruins and if it were not for the signpost, we may have missed it. Parar means to stop, and Paradiella means a small stop.
After a short “stop”, it was time to go again, and which way to go? Up of course!
The view from the top was really incredible! Mommy tried to explain that this was a phenomenon casually labelled as “cloud inversions” although the correct terminology should be “temperature inversions”. Now that we had climbed “above” the clouds, I wonder how long the view would remain clear this way?
The second hospital ruins of Fonfaraón (13th-15th century) was the most well preserved. Archaeological findings on this site showed evidence of a thousand-year-old settlement on this summit. Until about a century ago, pilgrims were still using this small enclosure to find shelter and received hospitality in the form of food, water, clothes, and medicines.
Unfortunately we didn’t have photos of the third and “fourth” hospital ruins because they were nothing more than a heap of stones (Valparaíso) or hardly even any stones (La Freita). Judging by other photos we had seen on the internet, the Valparaíso ruins can be found right after Mommy shared some snacks with her friend. After that, the track turned to the left and downhill and that’s where you can find the third ruins of hospital de Valparaíso. Because we started going downhill, we were again surrounded by fog and hence missed the sign, ehm.
At Puerto del Palo (1146 m), the route via Pola de Allande rejoined our route. There was a wide clearing next to the highway AS-14, and Mommy thought that it would be prime location for a food truck to park there. Cold drinks, ice cream, chocolate bars… they’d be so popular! Why was there nothing?
Montefurado
The descent from Puerto del Palo to Montefurado was very steep. The track was also quite narrow in places, only enough for 1 person, and the gravel stones can be quite sharp and loose in places. Not the best walking surface even in dry weather, be very careful in wet weather! Mommy was grateful she had her hiking poles here. And for my 4-legged peRRegrino friends, make sure your hoomans put lots of paw balm this morning, or you may even want some booties.
Here we had to give way to a few groups of bicigrinos (pilgrims on bicycles), they seemed to be having a lot of fun going downhill at great speed! As you can see from the picture above, the switchbacks on the AS-14 highway were in contrast to the direct descent of the footpath!
Mommy usually dislikes grafitti on the Camino. But we felt quite moved by this inscription which read “Camino Family”, we certainly felt it last night. We were super grateful to our new friends who let us both sleep downstairs in the comfort and warmth of 4-walls and closed windows. If we didn’t have a good night sleep, we didn’t think we would have enjoyed today’s hike very much!
As you enter the hamlet of Montefurado (915 m), you will come across a small chapel dedicated to St James – Capilla de Santiago de Montefurado. The door was closed and we could not see the interior but Mommy was told there is a colourful (yellow!) statue of St James by the altar. This chapel and the pilgrim hospital next to it were in operation until the end of the 19th century.
The hamlet is mostly abandoned now except for 1 grumpy elderly man, his mastiff dog, and a few chickens. It was midday and the sun was in full blast, Mommy stopped for lunch in the shade at the end of the hamlet. Soon we met 2 of our friends who told us that they had politely tried to ask the man for some water, as he had a tap outside his house, but was told off. From here, it was another 4 km to Lago, where there is a water fountain.
The name Montefurado literally means “pierced mountain” and it is a reference to the tunnels behind the rock used to transfer water for mining gold going as far back as Roman times. Nearby, there is a signpost for “Cova de Xuan Rata” (Cave of Xuan and Rat) where you can see an example of such tunnel. The name given for the cave originated in a local legend which tells the story of a “cuélebre” that lived inside the cave, an Asturian mythological creature akin to a dragon who apart from hoarding treasures, also liked to intimidate the locals and eat their food and livestock. One day, a local villager, Xuan, confronted the dragon. He heated a stone until red hot and offered it to the dragon as if it were a loaf of bread. Ingesting the hot stone, the dragon entered the cave like a rat and disappeared forever.
After another 4 km of walking, we finally arrived in Lago which felt like an oasis on the Camino Primitivo. There is a fountain in front of the church and the front patio of the church provides the necessary shade on a hot day. There are benches nearby for a picnic.
The Santa María Church in Lago itself was built in the 18th century and later renovated in 1997.
Berducedo
From Lago, the Camino initially continued on the AS-14 before veering off into a forest trail.
Feeling refreshed, the next 4 km to Berducedo passed by quickly.
Entering Berducedo, the first building we came across is the municipal albergue, which is another old school building looking very similar to the albergue in Borres, except with a fresher coat of paint. We waved to some of our friends who were hanging their laundry outdoor – what a stark difference to the previous day!
We decided to stop for beer with some friends at Bar Casa Marques. Look, I made a new friend! He was so fluffy.
Half of our friends stayed here. Apart from the municipal albergue, there are currently 3 private albergues and 2 apartment/casa rural.
Because of a pinch point in the previous stage (Campiello/Borres/Samblismo), more pilgrims had started to reserve accommodation ahead. The private albergue in La Mesa was fully booked and so the pressure was on for the younger fitter pilgrims to arrive early to grab the municipal beds in Berducedo.
After a brief stop, we continued to La Mesa.
La Mesa
It was another 4.5 km to La Mesa which was mostly walking on paved road.
While walking along this road, I was attacked by another labrador! He was a pet dog being walked by his 2 hoomans off leash. After a quick welcome sniff, he suddenly lunged at my neck. Luckily I managed to evade and didn’t suffer any serious injury. I lost my Seresto anti-tick collar though. There were marks on my harness and rain coat from the other dog. Remarkably, the owners didn’t have any lead with them, so they had to pinch at his fat neck to hold him down. Not the best moment for me!
Accommodation and cost
Albergue Miguelin is a very cool place in La Mesa. There is nothing else in this village. The municipal albergue has closed down and there was no shop or bar, nothing. Luckily, we had everything we need at Albergue Miguelin!
The main building contains 3 floors – with the large bar/restaurant on the ground floor. Upstairs they have a big lounge with pool table and other games. The communal bathroom felt like an upscale gym – in the women’s bathroom they even had a dressing area complete with hairdryer. The top floor contains private rooms. They also have an Asturian horreo (square and larger than Galician horreo) next to the main building. It contains a dog friendly dormitory with a shared toilet and sink. Unfortunately there was no hot water in the sink. The toilet would be handy in the middle of the night, but pilgrims who stay here will have to go to the main building for shower and food, and the steps to the horreo are small (chopped tree trunks) and can be dangerous in the dark. Next to the horreo is a “stable” with 2 dormitory/private rooms and shared bathrooms.
The albergue also has an outdoor pool, although this had not been maintained and the water was stagnant and green – Spanish people think mid October was winter already and nobody uses the pool!
We had dinner and breakfast here. Food was really good! I mean, it’s not like we had a choice.
Reflection on day 5
Most pilgrims dreaded the Hospitales route when talking about Camino Primitivo. But to Mommy, her most dreaded segment was the previous day, because if she could not get a bed in Borres then we would be very stuck.
Today’s route was tough because it was just so long and without any facilities. The ascent to Puerto del Palo was really not that bad, it was a long steady uphill, nothing too steep at any one point, and there were plateaus here and there. The path was clearly demarcated and wide. The scenery was breathtaking and there are many photo taking (re: break!) opportunities. Plus, you will do this first thing in the morning when your body is strong and fresh.
To Mommy, the descent to Montefurado was trickier because it was so steep, narrow, and slippery. Make sure you have your hiking poles (and use them)!
A good night’s sleep and a full tummy are essential for this stage, and we were so so grateful to all the kind pilgrims who let me stay with them in their warm dormitory. We had sufficient food, but Mommy had to start rationing our water so that we would still have a trickle by the time we reached Lago! And we had fairly cool misty morning. Definitely it would make the Camino experience better if someone installed a vending machine in Montefurado, or if there had been a food truck at Puerto del Palo!
Because of the earlier incident with the other dog, Mommy did a very thorough check up on my body and found a tick bite on my leg. I actually had already bitten off the head and removed most of it myself! But there was a piece of the leg that was still stuck on my skin, which Mommy surgically removed. She had all kinds of potions to make me feel better after. The lacerations on my paw were looking the same improved, I must be the cleanest dog in Asturias because Mommy keeps cleaning me everyday, sometimes twice a day!
Tomorrow Mommy said we will pass a “postcard picture” place of the Camino Primitivo, I’m excited! Until then, buen camino!
