The stage after Campiello is often referred to as the Hospitales route. It crosses the most remote mountainous section of the Primitivo, and in centuries past, hospitals, or aid stations were build to provide help to pilgrims on their way to Santiago.
But for me, it was already a cloudy morning when I left Campiello. There had been rain during the night, and low cloud and mist were hanging about. It is only a couple of kilometres to Borres, and I arrived there more in determination than hope.
Shortly after leaving Borres, the rain started. Thankfully, there was little wind, so this was not the driving rain of my homeland, but a steady rain. There would be no refreshment points for quite some distance, so it was a case of keeping going and getting through it. There is over 600m of ascent from Borres, so I was well into the clouds and rain as I went.
The Hospitales themselves are ruins today. There are three of them in all, and little remains of each. The Camino de Santiago attracted large numbers of pilgrims through the middle ages and the Renaissance periods, but declined gradually after that. Through the 19th and early 20th centuries, there would not have been enough pilgrims to justify the existence of the Hospitales. Now, there is barely stone left upon stone. The ruins and the weather created a dismal scene.
Going on, there were times when it looked like the mist might clear and the rain might stop, but these were false hopes. I could only continue on anyway. Montefurado might qualify as a village if there had been any people there, but it seemed completely deserted.
The route eventually reaches the road, and continues to the village of Lago. According to the guidebook, there is a bar in Lago, but when I was there, it was not to be found. I had gone 17km with no place to get refreshments, and it would be another 3km to Berducedo. But there was no choice so on I went. The hostel in Berducedo is a good one. I was able to wash and dry my wet clothes, and I enjoyed a good dinner with fellow walkers as we shared our experiences of a tough day on the Hospitales route.
My total steps for the day was 44,035
Walkingman 