Camino Primitivo Stage 11 – Ferreria to Boente

June 8, 2022

As I prepared to leave this morning, it was very overcast and wet outside. I had a quick breakfast in the dining room which has doors that lead out to the front of the Albergue. There is a lovely fountain with running water and I thought that was what I heard outside but no, it was raining. I had been very lucky up to this point with only getting rained on once so far but the forecast called for rain all day today. But, that’s what rain coats are for so here we go!

Today’s walk began by following a country road eventually joining a dirt path that carried us over some larger hills. The trail was quite exposed on the hills which made the rain and wind unavoidable. I was glad I had opted to get a rain coat instead of a poncho as I saw several pilgrims fighting to keep their billowing ponchos under control. I kept walking at a brisk pace as the trail turned into a logging road and headed downhill and into the trees. The only positive thing was that it wasn’t cold.

After a couple of hours of being wet, we passed through a small village that had an open bar. I think every pilgrim stopped there as it was quite crowded, the perfect place to get out of the rain for a while. Suzanne’s friend Mark was there so we sat and chatted while drinking some hot coffee before heading back out to the trail.

The rain had diminished to a heavy drizzle although it was still dreary and foggy. We would soon come to the city of Melide which is where the Camino Primitivo merges with the Camino Frances. From there, it’s about 2 more days to get to Santiago. The Camino Frances is the most popular, thus most crowded, of the Camino routes so my peaceful country walk was about to change.

Entering the outskirts of Melide was pretty non-descript. The street was lined with newer businesses until you got closer to downtown where the architecture changed to a more historical feel. We walked down one street turned into an alley then turned right and we were now on the Camino Frances. Looking back, there was no sign indicating that the Camino Primitivo was even there.

Melide is a popular place to stop for the night and can be quite crowded so I opted to continue for a few more kilometers to the village of Boente. The trail was certainly more crowded now but everyone seemed to be in good spirits since we were getting close to Santiago.

I stayed at the Albergue El Aleman which is owned by a German couple. After getting checked in and showered, I opted to pay to have them wash and dry my clothes for me. Best 7 euros I’ve spent since everything I had on was wet! It felt so good to be dry again! There is a bar that is part of the Albergue so I chose to have dinner there that night. I sat with an older German gentleman who had started his walk in Saint Jean Pied-a-Port, the beginning of the Camino Frances almost 500 miles away. He spoke very little English and I speak no German so our conversation was limited. He was sleeping in the bunk next to mine so the next morning we waved good bye to each other with a “Buen Camino”!