Barzana to Gijón
Distance covered: 23 mi / 37 km
This long day of hiking starts just outside Villaviciosa in a small, rural town and finishes in Gijón, the largest city in Asturias.
For being so close to a major metropolitan area, this hike had a few surprisingly rural sections. The hilly terrain in northern Spain keeps many of its cities from sprawling out like other urban centers in flatter regions. In hindsight, I wish I would have taken a full rest day in Gijón based on how beautiful the city is.
If this is the first post you’re reading and want to start from the beginning, check out my Camino del Norte page, which features all of my Camino posts in chronological order. If you want to learn more about the Camino de Santiago itself, check out my post breaking down the basics of the Camino de Santiago.
Breakfast at the albergue in Barzana
I was woken up at 6:30 in the morning by the soft sound of music that the owners had turned on to call us to breakfast. We all joined around a table for a pretty typical pilgrim’s breakfast of coffee, fruit and toast with marmalade, and chatted quietly as we waited for the caffeine to kick in.
As all the pilgrims got ready to head out the door, the owner brought out a hanging scale so we could weigh our backpacks before setting off on our hikes. My pack was one of the heavier ones at around 22 pounds (~10kg), which honestly is way more than necessary for the Camino. Most of my extra weight came from my camera equipment, along with a few pieces of gear and extra clothing that I had brought for the rest of my trip after the Camino.
After paying and thanking the host for the hospitality, I set off on what would be a very long day, getting to Gijón in one go. The morning was significantly cooler than the day before, which made for a pleasant start to the many miles of hiking.
Waiting for the café near Niévares to open
After walking for a few hours and stopping to take some pictures, I eventually came to a café with a few park benches outside of it. A group of pilgrims I had met the day before were waiting there, fuming because the owner of the café was late to open.
While I understood their frustration since I also wanted to go in to get a coffee, I couldn’t help but smirk a little. This is a quintessential Spanish experience. The rural café posts hours on their door, but it’s really more of a suggestion; a Spanish barista is never early, nor are they late, they arrive precisely when they mean to.
We eventually heard some rumblings and plates clanking together for a few minutes before the door was finally unlocked. Naturally, no apologies were made. I sat beneath an umbrella at a table outside with a large glass of café con leche and nodded politely as the German and American pilgrims cursed the Spanish bartender for taking so long. This was clearly a moment of cultural immersion for them, and a subtle form of entertainment for me. Así es la vida.
Hiking from Niévares to Deva
Once I had left the café, I tried to enjoy the time that I had in the forest, knowing that I would soon be in a sprawling city. I flew my drone a bit and took some pictures of the countryside between Villaviciosa and Gijón, and the views did not disappoint.
Stopping every so often helped me keep a nice balance between interesting conversations and quiet solitude. Plus, it helped me get to know significantly more people walking the trail at roughly the same time as me. The different rhythms that each pilgrim chose to walk the Camino at meant that every few days I would bump into someone I may not have seen in weeks, a bit like being reunited with a long-lost acquaintance.
Arriving in Gijón
After the long walk through the outskirts of the city, I arrived downtown and made my way to the waterfront. Gijón is beautiful in the summer, and it would have been wise to plan in a rest day here to do some proper sightseeing. The city features a famous beach right in the center of town, Roman ruins, and a vibrant nightlife scene particularly famous for its cider.
At this point in my hike, I still wasn’t totally sure if I was going to continue along the Camino del Norte or jump to the Camino Primitivo. I had initially planned to finish the coastal northern route, but from what I had heard the route from Gijón to Santiago featured a lot of paved surfaces. The Primitivo, a rural inland route, featured a lot more dirt and gravel and was less likely to have the massive crowds of tourists. Still a little apprehensive about which to take, I planned to hike on to Avilés and see how it went before finally committing to a plan.
Booking a hostel in downtown Gijón
Covering over 20 miles in this single day of walking, by the time I got to Gijón I was ready to take a shower and relax. I took a few photos around town and quickly found out that the albergues were all booked up for the night. Though it would cost me a little more money, I decided to stay in a hostel because I simply was not going to walk any further to search for cheap lodging.
Finding my way to a hostel right downtown, I got buzzed in, and the receptionist seemed very confused about the fact that I didn’t have a reservation. They did have available beds, though, so I paid for the night and immediately took a warm shower.
I enjoyed being back in a hostel for the first time in a while, and chatting with some European travelers. I took down an Irish girl’s number who had invited me to join a group later for some drinks, but I ended up falling asleep by 9 like an old man. After weeks of sleeping on simple cots, it was the most comfortable mattress I had been on in ages. I slept so deeply that night that I could hardly believe I hadn’t just blinked when I woke up the next morning.
Choosing the Camino del Norte or Camino Primitivo from Gijón
Most pilgrims make a decision between the Camino del Norte or the Camino Primitivo at the fork in the road in Casquita, just after Villaviciosa. While this is the easiest spot to branch off and walk this route, technically it is possible to walk to Gijón and then bus down to Oviedo.
I slept in Gijón and then continued on the Norte, but in hindsight I wish I would have taken my rest day in Gijón and spent a little more time at the beach. At this point I was planning on finishing the Camino del Norte route, but after talking with several other pilgrims the next day, I changed my mind at the last second.
Though I walked one more segment on the Norte route, I would highly recommend Gijón as a great stopping point for most pilgrims planning to combine the Norte and Primitivo routes.
Route details
For a detailed route description, take a look at the map on Gronze.com. On that website there is a route map and a comprehensive list of the places to stay along this section with rough price guides. The red and green bars signify the distance from the Camino route, each with a rough distance estimate.
The private albergues and hotels allow for booking ahead of time, while the donation-based albergues (marked with a D for donativo) are all first come, first served. The amenities are basic, but it’s by far the most affordable way to walk a Camino.
If you’re interested in reading the detailed route description, you’ll have to translate the page from Spanish to English, which you can do using the three vertical dots in the upper right of your browser.
Final thoughts
The long day of hiking was quite exhausting but ended up being surprisingly scenic for a city section. On higher mileage days, scenery can actually be quite helpful to boost overall morale.
Walking the Camino del Norte can at times require a bit more language knowledge than some of the other Camino routes, so you might want to take a look at my piece covering Spanish basics for the Camino if you haven’t already.
I was happy to have a chance to explore the city of Gijón a bit, and it left me wanting to go back. Have you hiked this section of the Camino del Norte? Share any tips down in the comments section. And as always, ¡Buen Camino!
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