Walking 121 km from Leon to Oviedo in six days

For my first Camino, I chose the obscure and difficult Camino San Salvador that goes north from Leon to Overdo. It Is fairly short but passes through a remote and hilly area. None of my usual hiking buddies were available, so I started off by myself.

On September 9th 2024, I flew overnight from Toronto to Madrid. I had pre-booked a bus from the airport to Leon for about three hours after my arrival. This worked out well, as I had plenty of time to get to the airport bus station and have a coffee and sandwich. My plan was to stay two nights in Leon to sightsee and get over my jet lag before starting my Camino.

Day 0 Bus from Madrid Airport to Leon, night in Leon (click on any image to enlarge it)

LEON Hostal  Bayon. One-star hotel in the main shopping area of Leon. It is very pleasant and convenient, and I recommend it.

Leon is a beautiful city with many amenities. It is the sort of place you could imagine moving to and living happily ever after. But, because of a glitch, I arrived at about 5 pm and left at 8:15 a.m. the next day.

The glitch

On the third day, there is a long hike from Poladura de La Tercia to Pajares, with no facilities: no shops, no bars, and nowhere to sleep along the way. So most people want to stop in Poladura the night before. The Albergue there does not serve food, so most people book their meals in the only hotel in town. I decided to stay at the hotel, but they told me the night I planned to be there was the day of the town’s St Cyprian festival. They were closing the hotel entirely for that night, with no food and no accommodation. I could work around this, perhaps by arriving a day later. Or I could show up at the albergue, hope they have room, and bring some food with me, or eat at the festival, which might be fun. But as I was feeling well, I decided the best cure for jet lag was a 27.2 km hike. I cancelled my rest day and started walking to La Robla. I was excited to finally start my first Camino, and the weather was great for a long walk.

DAY 1 OVIEDO to LA ROBLA 27.2 km

Left 8:15. Got lost in town so stopped for coffee. Found river path. Joined the road to go to Bar Central. Nice. walk thru woods on  dirt road. Some views to L and ahead. Sunny. Long paved industrial section near La Robla. Stayed in alburgue. Trout for dinner.

LA ROBLA Municipal Albergue. Adequate. Bar next door. Good supermarket in town. Other pilgrims cooked me dinner! Stop in Bar Central in the outskirts of Leon for a nice “second breakfast” as the only other café en route is in La Seca, a small detour to an unfriendly place!

DAY 2 LA ROBLA to POLADURA 23.2 km

Up at 7:30, out at 8. Nice road walk in town became long trudge  Nice cafe in Pola de Gordon with Dutch Peter. After Buiza, nice hike in mountains and woods but damp and cloudy. Long trudge on minor roads to Poladura. Small place in scenic location. Very nice old hotel. Pork in mustard with tomatoes for dinner.

POLADURA Posada el Embrujo. The only facilities in town are a rather poor municipal alburgue that does not provide meals and this excellent small hotel, which I highly recommend. Lovely bedroom, good dinner, very basic breakfast buffet. If you do not book dinner at the hotel you must bring your own food,

DAY 3 POLADURA DE LA TERCIA TO LLANOS DE SAMURON 17.1 km

Walked with Thomas and his wife up to the Cross in great weather as the clouds cleared. Later walked about 4 hrs by myself, ending in Alb Cosciuxo. Dinner with 3 Spanish people – chorizo and beans.

The usual stop is at Pajares, but I was recommended to hike a bit further to Llanos and stay at the Cascoxu Hostel.

This was the most spectacular day of the Camino. The day began with a hike over wild rocky moorland. After passing the cross it eventually came to quite a busy road. At this stage I got a bit lost and missed the first turning to the right of the road. I found a marked alternate route but it seemed sketchy, hiking alone in misty weather on a bleak moor. I eventually returned to the road and followed it intil the Camino re-crosses the road and goes into a pleasant wooded valley on the left side.

I am halfway through the Camino del Salvador. About 75 km done over three days. It’s been everything I hoped it would be so far. The weather has been everything from hot sun to light rain to wind and mist. The route has been everything from the side of a highway to a cart track to cow path. The people have been everything from Canadians who know people I know from the Toronto Camino Community Group to a Danish undertaker to the CEO of a chain of hospitals near Houston, to nobody. Today I did not see a single person during 4 hours of beautiful and quiet walking. Last night I was in an excellent country hotel. Tonight I am sharing a dormitory in a private alburgue near Pajares with half a dozen Spaniards. They will serve a meal at 7:30. I am sure I will enjoy it. I better, as the nearest other place to buy food is a 3 hour walk from here! Tomorrow I am only hiking 10 kms, which should give me time to do my laundry!

LLANOS DE SUMERON, Casa osciuxo. I went an extra 5 km beyond Poladura to Llanos de Sumeron. This is a very pretty, old , very small village with no shops or cafes. The small alburgue served a nice bean stew for dinner. All the other dinner guests were Spanish-speaking, making for a very limited conversation.

BDAY 4 LLANOS TO BENDUENOS, 13 km

Short walk to Benduenos. Took the hard route and walked on level with great views before finally descending then turning off to Benduenos at Erias. It took a while to confirm I had a reservation. Stunning Donativo with great views. Dominoes w Rual and Ricardo (a Spanish father and son).

Leaving Llanos there are two options: an easier route walking along the road and heading down into the valley, or a harder route that stays high for a long time before descending. I took the hard route, of course. The views were fantastic, but the trail was not on any of the maps or apps I had, and I was not sure how the trail would ever get down into the valley. In fact, at one point there is an upward scramble. This was well marked otherwise I thought I was lost. Eventually some cart tracks lead into the valley and the two trails merge. The Camino provides….

BENDUENOS Parish Hostel. This is 1.6km off the route, but worth it. Fantastic mountain views. Great stew for dinner. Comfortable beds in an old building. Fantastic place to stay. The hospitalero loaned us the keys so we could explore the church next door. It’s a donativo so you donate an appropriate amount on the way out. A true Camino experience.

DAY 5 BENDUENOS to EL ROLLU (north of MIERES) 28kms

Set off by myself but Larry (from N Carolina) quickly caught up with me and we walked together to Mieres. Met up with the Spanish father and son, and they booked me into the same alburgue as them. It’s Casa Alba, a small house on a terrace above. Mieres. About 28 km almost all on pavement, but a quick hike!

This was a long but fast walk, often near a main road. It was pleasant enough as I had company, and it was easy to eat up the miles. I recommend a small detour into downtown Ujo, where there is a nice square with a great pastry shop. Sadly I lost one of the flip flops I wore inside the albergues somewhere along this section.

EL ROLLU Casa Alba. I had dinner in Mieres then walked 4km up the hill to Casa Alba, a yellow house on the right side of the road as you leave El Rollu with no sign I could see There are six beds in two three rooms in an ordinary house. You can use the kitchen. They serve breakfast but not dinner. The host gathers the pilgrims for a chat and cider on the terrace in the evening. It is another donativo so you leave an appropriate amount in the box as you leave. The hospitalero speaks English but the other guests were all speaking Spanish.

DAY 6 EL ROLLU (north of MIERES) to OvIEDO 14.2 km

The last day was mostly walking on minor roads past farms and places that looked like holiday cottages. Eventually, the city of Oviedo came into view, and I exchanged text messages with the accommodation I had booked. It was strange to be back in a city after six days in a fairly remote area.

I took a rest day, toured the Cathedral, and got my certificate. I wandered around the tourist sites, then packed up my backpack for the next challenge, the Camino Primitivo.

OVIEDO Hostal Fidalgo Comfortable room on 3^rd floor of hotel that has no lobby, bar or restaurant area. Convenient location but hard to find street entrance.

I really enjoyed everything about the San Salvador. It totally lived up to my expectations. I liked the people I met on the way, and I also enjoyed walking by myself for long stretches. I found the hiking interesting and challenging but not overwhelming. The signposting was good enough that, in many stretches, I could walk for hours without referring to maps or apps. In the last few years, I have really gotten into multi-day through hikes, where you get up every morning and continue in the same direction as the previous day. Driving to a parking lot and hiking a few hours in a loop back to your car now seems less satisfying. The weather was great for the whole time. The accommodation was always adequate and comfortable and often fascinating. The “cafe con leche” was always excellent, and the food was good. The scenery was good, but this area is not genuinely mountainous like the Alps or Patagonia. It is more like the English Pennines or the outer parts of the Lake District.

If you want a different Camino experience, with fewer people, fewer bars and restaurants and more peace, hills and natural beauty, I strongly recommend the San Salvador.