Day 19.

Today I made it to Oviedo, or Uvieu in the Asturian language, the capital of the Principality of Asturias and the “official” starting point of the Camino Primitivo.

The Umayyad invasion of the Iberian peninsula began in 711 and by the end of the decade, they controlled most of the peninsula. Pelagius (Pelayo) was a Hispano-Visigothic nobleman who established the Kingdom of Austrias in 718 and is credited with initiating the Reconquista when he attacked and defeated an Arab-Berber army at the Battle of Covadonga. He is thus considered the forefather of all future Iberian monarchies, including those of Castile, Leon and Portugal. The culmination of the Reconquista would not come until the united kingdoms of Isabelle I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon defeated the last moorish stronghold, the Nasrid in Granada in 1492.

The Camino Primitivo is said to be the first pilgrimage to Santiago. The Spanish King Alfonso II walked from the Asturian Kingdom’s then capital, Oviedo, in the 9th century after hearing that the remains of St James the Apostle had been discovered in Compostela. There is also a Marian pilgrimage between Oviedo and Covadonga (GR-105, in case you are interested).

I was planning to take a break in Oviedo, rest my feet, perhaps mail some of the extra cargo I am carrying ahead, make some advance lodging reservations and generally prepare for the subidas and bajadas that are coming up. But why waste time? So I embark tomorrow in the footsteps of Alfonso.

Ultreia y Suseia!