Walking the
Camino Primitivo

Pilgrims on group air depart Washington Dulles (IAD) on TAP Air Portugal flight TP 232 at 5:40pm, flying overnight to Lisbon. Pilgrims arranging their own air should plan to arrive in Porto the morning of June 7.

Early morning arrival in Lisbon and connection to TP 1922, arriving in Porto at 9:00am. Your ProRome Tour Manager meets the group and we transfer by private motorcoach north into Galicia to the ancient city of Lugo, which will be our base for the first four nights of the pilgrimage. Lugo is encircled by the finest surviving Roman walls in the world, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The afternoon is for settling in, resting after the long journey, and preparing for the days of walking ahead. We gather this evening for a welcome dinner and an orientation to the pilgrimage. Mass as the schedule allows.

After breakfast we transfer by private motorcoach to the rural village of Castroverde, our starting point on the Camino Primitivo. Our first full day of walking carries us back to Lugo, set on a hill above the Miño River and home to a beautiful cathedral with a long tradition of perpetual Eucharistic adoration. We celebrate Mass together and have time to walk the Roman ramparts and rest. Because we remain in the same hotel throughout these first nights, there is no packing up each morning: we walk with only a light daypack.

Setting out on foot from Lugo, we walk through rolling Galician farmland and quiet hamlets to San Romão da Retorta, passing a small Romanesque church and an ancient Roman milestone marking the old road. The pace today is gentle, the countryside green and unhurried, a day to settle into the rhythm of the Camino and the company of fellow pilgrims. Our motorcoach meets us at the end of the stage and returns us to Lugo. Mass and group meal in the evening.

We transfer to San Romão da Retorta to resume the Way where we left off. A shorter and especially scenic day brings us through eucalyptus forests and stone villages to As Seixas, near the point where the Camino Primitivo prepares to join the Camino Francés. The shorter distance leaves time for prayer, reflection, and rest in the Galician countryside. We return to Lugo for our final night there. Mass and group dinner.

We check out of Lugo this morning (from here on, your main bag travels ahead by van to each night’s accommodation) and transfer to As Seixas to rejoin the Way. Today we arrive in Melide, where the Camino Primitivo merges with the great Camino Francés for the final approach to Santiago. Melide is famous throughout Galicia for its pulpo a la gallega (Galician-style octopus). Here the trail grows livelier as pilgrims from many routes converge on the Way, all bound for the same tomb. Mass and group meal.

A pleasant walk through shaded woodland and small river valleys brings us to Arzúa, the last major town before Santiago and the heart of Galicia’s celebrated cheese country. With Santiago drawing near, the anticipation among pilgrims grows. Mass and group dinner this evening.

Our penultimate walking day takes us through fragrant eucalyptus groves and rolling farmland to O Pedrouzo, the final stop before Santiago de Compostela. Tonight we rest on the very threshold of our destination, with only the last stretch of the Camino standing between us and the tomb of the Apostle. Mass and group meal.

The great day arrives. We rise early and walk the final stretch to Santiago de Compostela, cresting Monte do Gozo, the “Mount of Joy,” where pilgrims for a thousand years have caught their first sight of the Cathedral’s spires. We process into the city and enter the Cathedral of Santiago through the Holy Door, opened only in Jubilee Years, and celebrate Mass together at the Cathedral itself. We venerate the relics of St. James the Apostle in the crypt and embrace his statue at the high altar, continuing a pilgrim tradition stretching back centuries. We then assist the group in obtaining the official Compostela certificate at the Pilgrim’s Office. A joyful celebration dinner together.

A full day to savor our arrival in Santiago. We attend the famous Pilgrim’s Mass at the Cathedral, where on special occasions the great Botafumeiro (the giant silver censer) is swung in a sweeping arc across the transept. There is time to explore the medieval old city, its monasteries and churches, the lively Plaza do Obradoiro, and to rest, pray, and give thanks together. Mass and group meal.

Our second full day in Santiago offers time for personal prayer, confession, and quiet reflection at the tomb of the Apostle, or for further exploration of the city. An optional excursion may be offered to Cape Finisterre (“Land’s End”) on the rugged Galician coast, the point that medieval pilgrims regarded as the very edge of the known world. We gather this evening for our farewell dinner, giving thanks for the road we have walked together. Final group Mass.

An early start: we check out and transfer by private motorcoach to Porto Airport for TAP Air Portugal flight TP 1921 at 8:30am, connecting in Lisbon to TP 231 at 11:40am and arriving at Washington Dulles at 3:10pm the same afternoon. We carry home with us the graces of the Camino and the Jubilee Year. Pilgrims on independent air depart according to their own arrangements.