The Camino de San Salvador is a 122-kilometer trail between Leon and Oviedo, Spain. It’s a bit of an oddity because it departs from the Camino Frances on what would be a more direct route to Santiago de Compostela, and heads north to connect to the Camino Primitivo. I had never heard of the Camino de San Salvador until I met a couple of pilgrims on this trip who had completed it. They both raved about the mountain views. And since I walked more distance per day than I expected these last few weeks, I’ve decided to try to fit it in before I start walking the Camino Primitivo back to Santiago.
The Camino de San Salvador is an important part of the full Santiago pilgrimage story. When the Moors swept northward through Spain in the Middle Ages, holy relics from the southern communities were moved north for safety. Many of them ended up in the Catedral del Salvador in Oviedo, which was the capital of Spain at the time. Outside of Rome, this cathedral was the most significant protector of holy relics in all of Europe.
When the Reconquista began, the capital city was moved to Leon. Over time the northern Camino routes were used less frequently as pilgrims preferred the Camino Frances, which travelled through Leon. But there were still some pilgrims, including a couple of kings, who wanted to include Oviedo in their itinerary because of the holy relics there, so a route was created to link Leon and Oviedo. And then once pilgrims were in Oviedo, they only needed to follow the Camino Primitivo toward Santiago instead of having to walk back to Leon.
The Camino de San Salvador isn’t used much today. The people I met who travelled on it said they only saw a handful of other pilgrims on the route. And I see from my research that the public albergues are quite small, hinting that there isn’t a large demand for beds. But it seems the trail is well-marked, so the trail volunteers are certainly interested in promoting this route.
I’m joined on this short hike by Birte from Germany, one of my new dear friends I met on the Camino del Norte. Since we said goodbye in Finisterre after walking together for a month, she’s been surfing on the Portuguese coast, freezing in a borrowed wet suit that doesn’t fit properly. She’s been wanting to do the Camino de San Salvador since she heard about it because of the promise of difficult mountain terrain and because of the views. When she heard I was heading to Leon, she jumped at the opportunity to walk this trail as well, although her schedule only allows us four days to complete it instead of the recommended five. Still, it will only be an average of about 30 kilometers per day. Birte is great company, so I’m looking forward to it.
We took the bus from Santiago to Leon, watching the rain splash against the windows, arriving mid-afternoon, which was too late to start walking for the day. We wandered around Leon and met a local woman, Alba, who invited us and her two American friends to a rooftop bar, where we enjoyed beer, wine, excellent conversation, and some terrific views. The sun even made an appearance for a couple of hours. What a great ambassador Alba is for her home city!
