Albergue kitchens on the Norte

[Robert Wawrzyniak]

Hi

We will be starting the Norte from Bayonne on 22 April 2023. As in the past, we will be staying in albergues wherever possible but are wondering how many still provide kitchen facilities. Going back a number of years we saw that those in Galicia were closing down or restricting their kitchen facilities and, on opening up post covid, we noticed threads where comment was made about limited or no kitchen facilities in other regions. Has this changed or have we seen the end of full kitchens in albergues?

 

[Former member 92300]

Last summer 2022 there were not many open kitchens, and those that were open didn’t always have cooking equipment or dishes.

 

[tominrm]

I think it is becoming a trend that albergues close down their kitchen. Kitchen uses electricity, many people don’t clean up after using the kitchen, and it cost money to replace broken or missing items. Although I would like to see more kitchens open, but I can’t blame albergues closing it down. I think I would be happy if there’s a working microwave.

 

[Former member 92300]

I think it is becoming a trend that albergues close down their kitchen. Kitchen uses electricity, many people don’t clean up after using the kitchen, and it cost money to replace broken or missing items. Although I would like to see more kitchens open, but I can’t blame albergues closing it down. I think I would be happy if there’s a working microwave.

Yep. It "seemed" that they had to close down for COVID and "some" took the opportunity to close permanently. I still bought food at supermarkets - but I bought things that didn't need to be cooked, including ready made salads. If there was equipment - it was more likely to be a microwave - so I would check for a microwave before buying food that needed to be heated.

For the most part, I was OK without the kitchens - but it was sad that pilgrims couldn't cook together more often. On the Norte though - some groups split the cost of AirBnB places with kitchens in the bigger towns/cities.

 

[LTfit]

There were here and there opportunities to cook but by a long shot not everywhere (last June starting in Bilbao). Off the top of my head there was a kitchen in Bilbao, Castro Urdiales, Santander (private hostel), Comillas, La Isla, La Caridad, Mondonedo, Miraz and in Sobrado dos Monxes. Sometimes there is a fridge and a microwave.

In Santillana del Mar a meal was offered. Wherever possible I stayed in small albergues where a communal meal was offered. All were vegetarian/vegan which I much appreciated.

There could be others but these I remembered.

 

[lt56ny]

Yep. It "seemed" that they had to close down for COVID and "some" took the opportunity to close permanently. I still bought food at supermarkets - but I bought things that didn't need to be cooked, including ready made salads. If there was equipment - it was more likely to be a microwave - so I would check for a microwave before buying food that needed to be heated.

For the most part, I was OK without the kitchens - but it was sad that pilgrims couldn't cook together more often. On the Norte though - some groups split the cost of AirBnB places with kitchens in the bigger towns/cities.

It has become a problem for me as I am a budget pilgrim and since the pandemic there are less kitchens opened. It upsets me when pilgrims do not clean up after themselves or treat the kitchens poorly. I only stay at albergues with very few exceptions. I need to cook to stay within my budget and I really enjoy eating with other pilgrims whether we are cooking together or at a donativo. Even if I could afford to stay at AirBnb's I would not want to . It is not to be critical. We all walk as we choose. When I walked the VDLP in 2021 very, very few kitchens were open and in many places I was forced to eat in bars that served food very late (for pilgrims) and were not very good. Carried alot of food on that camino as sometimes stores were pretty far away from each other and you never knew when a shop was open or if there was even a shop. Same was true on the Aragones and I expect the same this year on the Vasco.

 

[Former member 92300]

I need to cook to stay within my budget and I really enjoy eating with other pilgrims whether we are cooking together or at a donativo. Even if I could afford to stay at AirBnb's I would not want to . It is not to be critical.

I didn't stay in AirBnB's on the Camino - some of my Camino friends did. There were usually 6-8 of them sharing an apartment - so their experience ended up being similar to staying in an albergue - the shared cost was very low, they stayed with Camino friends, and they cooked together. They loved it, and it allowed them to save money actually. My daughter and I will stay in some AirBnB's on the Via Francigena though - but only because there aren't pilgrim accommodations all along the way.

And I totally get staying on budget - like I said - I just bought food that didn't need to be cooked instead. It still worked out.