breakfast

[Kiwi-family]

I've just read on a few blogs things along the lines of "there was nowhere to eat until we'd walked 8km" OR "once I realised we didn't need breakfast, I was much more calm"

I fear we would not get to the point of being calm! We do not embark on any adventures without filling our tummies with a bowl of porridge or (in South East Asia) noodle soup or lamb's tail tea in Mongolia.....I cannot imagine asking my kids to walk for two hours on empty stomachs. Are there really stretches where you cannot plan ahead to have at least a loaf or two of bread and some cheese for the morning? (in particular from Astorga onwards)

 

[CaminoGen]

I always bought my orange juice and chocolate croissant the night before. You'll soon realize that you always have stuff to eat in your bag, be it leftovers from lunch or the wonderful cherries you bought from an old lady on the side of the road. I understand that feeding and lodging 11 can necessitate a little planning, I'm guessing you'll easily get into a comfortable routine. I've never had trouble getting food along the Camino. One hint, buy any food before 2 PM, even if you have not reached your destination for the day. Waiting until 5 PM to eat lunch may be asking a lot of the kids and teenagers with hollow legs.

 

[Abbeydore]

I guess you'll be carry'n emergency vidals to keep the hollow legs @ bay, no much worse than a grumpy child, :wink:

 

[dougfitz]

If you plan carefully (more carefully than perhaps I did) you should not have to do without breakfast before you start off each day.

When I got into a pattern, I made sure that I had a piece of fruit, some bread and some dried fruit and nuts available for the following morning so that I could have something to eat irrespective of when I started out.

If you plan on preparing your own, just make sure that you have shopped early enough to get everything you need. Bread might be an issue, particularly in smaller towns where shop-keepers may not have much more than they need for their local customers. A few times I found that they didn't have any if I shopped later in the day. This was not an issue in the bigger towns.

I relied on bars and cafes for coffee. If the albergue didn't serve breakfast, I needed to walk to the first open bar. Most places seemed to open about 8.30am, so I often had a pleasant walk for an hour before my first coffee & toast. I don't recall any long stretches from Astorga without a bar. You can always carry your own tea or coffee makings, and make sure you stay where there is a kitchen you can use.

If the alburgue provides breakfast, it won't always be available early. At la Faba, the hospitalera must have set out breakfast the previous evening, because it was available when I got up at about 6.30am. In contrast, at Granon there was a communal breakfast at 8.00am, and I didn't get started until about 8.30am that day.

 

[jastrace]

Here's an idea: if you are concerned about a particular stretch of the Camino (or all of it), then plan ahead. You can do this mid walk if need be and you may have to give up some flexibility. So you pick the days that you are concerned about, book accommodation for each night ahead of time, have a bag/pack filled with supplies you need and have them transported for you each day to your planned destination. I'm sure someone in the group would be happy to volunteer to have their pack transported for them for a day. If you book accommodation some will even prepare something for you to take with you if you ask (and pay for it). There are plenty of people who can provide this service or coordinate it for you and I can even recommend some that I have used.

Another idea is to start after 7am. When we started walking at 5.30ish we would pass many cafes that were all closed until 7.30-8.30 ish and so if we had not have planned ahead we would have gone hungry for a couple of hours. Also we made some new friends a couple of days as we shared the extra we carried (just in case) with those who we're quite as organised.

No doubt these sorts of ideas will not appeal to some but they are not going to walk the Camino for you so you should feel free to do it your way.



Cheers,

Jason.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Desayuno is normally bread, butter, and jam with coffee and/or orange juice. It will be available about 80% of the mornings at the albergue or in a nearby bar. Croissants and tortilla de patata, a sort of potato omelet, may also be available regularly. No porridge. No noodles. No eggs. No bacon. No lamb. No yak. When the cook arrives, usually sometime before noon, omelets may be available. Ask for a tortilla francesa. Often you can add cheese and/or ham. It will be served as a sandwich unless you ask for it on a plate.

A lack of protein drains my energy, so I try for an omelet as soon as possible. Tins of pate or sardines are available in the supermarkets, so I keep a couple in my pack. Also, you can buy eggs in the markets and hard boil them in the evening at the albergue. They last several days, and provide an excellent protein boost.

In general though, a hot breakfast cannot be found in Spain.

 

[dplandis]

I tried to stay in albergues with kitchens whenever possible, so I could prepare my breakfast food and coffee. Whenever I had the chance I would make bacon and eggs (got some jealous looks from hungry pilgrims off to try their luck for a croissant in a bar...). Sometimes I hardboiled eggs the night before for quicker eating. Muesli and milk was another simple filling breakfast. Bread and cheese also does the trick. I would also make my own coffee as I'm really not awake until I've had some.

A few times I splurged on breakfast in a bar, and just found that a couple tiny slices of toast was not enough to keep me going. The Spanish tortilla wedges were more filling.

I always had at least a few emergency granola bars handy, especially if I stayed in an albergue without a kitchen. Remember that many shops are closed on Sundays, so it's worth renewing your emergency food reserves the day before.

 

[daesdaemar]

I've always bought some fruit the night before and ate it on the go as I start walking in the morning.

 

[nellpilgrim]

......and, as in any emergency scenario, there's always chocolate!

 

[Tia Valeria]

Depends on if there is any food in your albergue and the time you set off.
Each afternoon we bought water and supplies for next morning. This gave us a snack if there was no convenient bar mid-morning and also could be used as breakfast if needed. We never had to start without breakfast, usually available after 7.00, but the extra mid morning snack was often needed as well as coffeess etc in the bars along the route.

 

[Kiwi-family]

Thank you for your reassuring replies. It certainly sounds that it is not ESSENTIAL to go for half a day before eating anything. I am not against planning ahead and even carrying supplies for an extra day if it means everyone will be happy in the morning. We don't need something cooked - just SOMETHING to eat. I now feel confident that this is entirely possible. In fact, it sounds like fantastic fare.

 

[SabsP]

http://www.mundicamino.com/ruta.cfm?p=T ... es=Tiendas

Tiendas on the Camino

 

[annakappa]

I tried to stay in albergues with kitchens whenever possible, so I could prepare my breakfast food and coffee. Whenever I had the chance I would make bacon and eggs (got some jealous looks from hungry pilgrims .

Crikey! Frying up bacon and eggs in the Albergue in the morning? I'm not sure how the hospitaleros felt about that! They need everyone out ASAP , with the kitchen clean and tidy!
Anyway Kiwi family - I realize your dilemma, because you need to cater for your whole family, the old and the young! My advice would be to always keep a few emergency dry rations on hand, sufficient for everyone. You will soon work it out, because of you all having travelled all over the world , you know the routine, far, but far better than many of us! Also once you have reached Ponferrada, you will find that the villages are closer together, so you should always find a shop or bar.
There is also the bread man, who passes from village to village in his van, sounding his horn as he enters the village. Anne

 

[Kiwi-family]

OOOH the bread man - just like in France, and like the vege and fish trucks in Greece. So much to look forward to. My fears have been allayed, and I will not be packing an emergency supply to take from NZ.

 

[Tia Valeria]

The only late opening day we found was a Sunday, even in our pension. Coffee was available in the bar quite early, but breakfast on Sunday was 9.00am and we needed to be away before that as we had a long day ahead. Sometimes one bar will open in the larger places and take their rest day/late morning another day.
However on Saturdays we bought bread etc in the supermarket/shops even before we checked out the position with Sunday breakfast. I cannot go far without something to eat! Otherwise all was fine. Tempted by the bread man on occasions but for 2 the loaves were often too big. Great for a family though. We often bought some bread and carried a tin of sardines in case of need anyway

 

[kelvasilidou]

hi everyone! i have a question!!! if you get up early every morning and leave the albergue about 07.oo,you dont get brekfast there,right?you just have to eat something on the way. what time they usually serve breakfast?

 

[Deleted member 3000]

If there is desayuno in the albergue, it usually opens at 0700, sometimes earlier. The bars typically open at 0700 also, sometimes later, rarely earlier.

 

[basquelady]

hi everyone! i have a question!!! if you get up early every morning and leave the albergue about 07.oo,you dont get brekfast there,right?you just have to eat something on the way. what time they usually serve breakfast?

Beware that Mondays are taken as the rest day by many bars. We started early from Belorado, expecting to have our breakfast at the first village, Tosantos, only 4 Km away. No luck there, or at the next 2 villages. We walked 12Km to Villafranca Montes de Oca before finally having our much-needed café con leche etc.

 

[Icacos]

Beware that Mondays are taken as the rest day by many bars. We started early from Belorado, expecting to have our breakfast at the first village, Tosantos, only 4 Km away. No luck there, or at the next 2 villages. We walked 12Km to Villafranca Montes de Oca before finally having our much-needed café con leche etc.

Too true! And if one is on Camino for any length of time, it is very easy to lose track of what day of the week it is. Always keep a stash of eats - granola bars, dried fruit and/or nuts, chocolate - in your pack for such eventualities. More than once, these saved my bacon - no pun intended!

 

[kelvasilidou]

when you mean mondays are closed...all day??? or just they open a little late?

 

[Deleted member 3000]

when you mean mondays are closed...all day??? or just they open a little late?

All day, and the same applies in France! Sundays and Mondays see a lot of closures. Not everything, of course, but many stores and bars are closed.

 

[kelvasilidou]

thanx a lot! thats good to know!!

 

[bystander]

All day, and the same applies in France! Sundays and Mondays see a lot of closures. Not everything, of course, but many stores and bars are closed.

Does that mean or suggest that, if you can afford it, staying in a casa rural or hotel is the best solution for eating etc on those days?

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Does that mean or suggest that, if you can afford it, staying in a casa rural or hotel is the best solution for eating etc on those days?

That would be a strategy. Or carry your own breakfast (we are talking bread, butter, and jam here). Or keep walking until you find a place that is open. Many times I have cursed a half-dozen places for being closed and denying me my coffee; but it always ended well.

 

[angulero]

No sé lo que pasa en el Camino Francés, pero en el norte, generalmente, si hay más de un bar en un pueblo, no cierran todos el mismo día sino que se turnan el día de descanso para que la gente tenga donde comer o tomar algo. Me parece rarísimo que la mayoría de bares cierren los lunes. No digo que no sea verdad pero, al menos por mi zona, eso no pasa.

I do not know what happens in the French Way, but in the north, generally, if there is more than one bar in a town, not close all the day but turns the day off so that people have to eat or drink something. It seems very strange that most bars closed on Mondays. I'm not saying it's not true, but at least in my area, that does not happen.

 

[fernandezr]

That would be a strategy. Or carry your own breakfast (we are talking bread, butter, and jam here). Or keep walking until you find a place that is open. Many times I have cursed a half-dozen places for being closed and denying me my coffee; but it always ended well.

My son came up with an idea on this; he had some plastic tubes whose bottoms opened and could be sealed with a clamp. He filled one with jam and the other with peanut butter; the products could be squeezed out of a small opening which was sealed with a screw-on cap. He was able to buy baguettes and always had peanut butter and jam sandwiches whenever he got hungry. The tubes allow one to carry the products in a light and not easily breakable container. This was a very effective and economical solution.

 

[StuartM]

Any time I treat myself to a hotel I always make sure I stock up on those little packets of jam and Nutella and keep a stash in the top of my rucksack.

A tip I learned from an interview with Robin Williams... he was so poor he used to go into diners and just order a cup of hot water. Mix in some free ketchup and it becomes instant tomato soup.

 

[Metropolly]

I carry a few Miso soup sachets and some sticks of Horlicks powder for those occasions when no food can be found - it's usually not an issue on the Frances, though. I would tend not to pilfer extras from a breakfast buffet, no matter how much I'd paid for the room. I'm not a member of the deserving poor, and I don't want those businesses to be slowly bankrupted, one tiny Nutella pot at a time...

 

[Icacos]

...........I would tend not to pilfer extras from a breakfast buffet, no matter how much I'd paid for the room. I'm not a member of the deserving poor, and I don't want those businesses to be slowly bankrupted, one tiny Nutella pot at a time...

So glad to hear this. Stocking up on extras from the breakfast buffet for consumption en route during the day, or beyond, is something that really, really bothers me.

 

[basquelady]

No sé lo que pasa en el Camino Francés, pero en el norte, generalmente, si hay más de un bar en un pueblo, no cierran todos el mismo día sino que se turnan el día de descanso para que la gente tenga donde comer o tomar algo. Me parece rarísimo que la mayoría de bares cierren los lunes. No digo que no sea verdad pero, al menos por mi zona, eso no pasa.

I do not know what happens in the French Way, but in the north, generally, if there is more than one bar in a town, not close all the day but turns the day off so that people have to eat or drink something. It seems very strange that most bars closed on Mondays. I'm not saying it's not true, but at least in my area, that does not happen.

There are plenty really small villages on the CF with only one bar! They have busy weekends and need one day of descanso.

 

[mspath]

When considering various menu possibilities for breakfast on the camino be sure to read these earlier Forum threads re coffee and re a water heating coil to boil water for the first cup of the day.

 

[godslamb]

I have Celiac disease, so it was essential that I planned for breakfast and lunch. I just made are that I stay in a town with a store. I would but yogurt and nuts for breakfast, GF bread (if they had any) and meats/cheeses for lunch. I always bought fruit. Never went hungry. Always found bars open on Mondays. Just remember that everything will stay closed after 2 on Sundays.

 

[Tammi Murray]

As always, I'll preface my reply by saying that although I have done wilderness hiking, I have not YET walked the Camino. That said, I am not a breakfast eater. My day starts with coffee and is supplemented with coffee. When I am hiking, however, I usually start my day with instant oatmeal (the packages that just take hot water, not necessarily very hot) and instant coffee. If I get hungry before lunch or between lunch and dinner, I usually have dried fruit, nuts, and granola or energy bars on hand. Walking between towns, however, I can easily imagine that I'd be making stops for bread, fruit, cheese, etc., to have on hand (markets are not readily available during wilderness hiking). 8 km is about 3 1/2 miles, which is only about an hour and a half of walking. Even if one had to walk on an empty stomach for an hour and a half, I think that everyone would survive. However, with all of the advanced planning tips that folks have expressed above in mind, it doesn't seem that this would pose any cause for alarm so long as one had a small supply of emergency food rations on hand, at least a snack for each person.

 

[bystander]

8km, Tammi, is just under 5 miles.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

which is only about an hour and a half of walking. Even if one had to walk on an empty stomach for an hour and a half, I think that everyone would survive.

I regularly walk for two to three hours before eating, and then typically some fruit, bread, cheese, or yogurt. It is the coffee I like!

 

[Tammi Murray]

8km, Tammi, is just under 5 miles.

Sorry, I'm bad at math and think in miles rather than kilometers. It takes me an hour and a half to walk a 3.5 mile city stretch (from the ferry terminal to my home) that includes inclines, declines, and flats. Regardless of the math, children and adults in Africa routinely fetch water and firewood for their families on an empty stomach and somehow manage to survive. I think that the biggest issue that most people have with international traveling is that their normal routines are altered. I think that one of the many ways that we can grow as individuals is to learn how to adapt to different circumstances without stressing out about all of the minute details. There are things that each of us find comforting. For me, this is coffee in the morning and a pillow. For others, this may mean breakfast before we start our day. Howeveer, I think that instead of planning out every possible scenario, one might just consider making a few adjustments ahead of time to tackle your fears. Which again, for me, would be lack of caffeine, but for another might be not eating at their regularly scheduled mealtime.

 

[tploomis]

The Spanish are surviving with their particular dietary habits -- most of them looked pretty healthy to me!

 

[Al the optimist]

I'm like Falcon. I walk until I'm hungry and that is usually about 3 hours.

 

[angulero]

The Spanish are surviving with their particular dietary habits -- most of them looked pretty healthy to me!

De hecho, para nosotros los hábitos raros son los vuestros.....

In fact, for us the rare habits are yours .....

 

[Kanga]

When in Spain, I'm Spanish. I rather like an excuse to eat cake for breakfast.

 

[Al the optimist]

Chocolate y Churros rule for breakfast as far as I am concerned when having a rest day in a big city .

 

[Icacos]

[QUOTEChocolate y Churros rule for breakfast as far as I am concerned when having a rest day in a big city .[/QUOTE]
Cafe con Leche y Churros isn't too shabby either!

 

[Felipe]

There is a nice Spanish saying: "Donde fueres, haz lo que vieres" (my loose translation: "when in Spain, do as Spaniards do"). There is a rationale and a long experience behind "café con leche" and "madalenas". And travelling is not only about landscapes and museums, but also about trying other lifestyles. We can ever like and adopt them. I, for one, adopted from French villagers the good habit of a cup of red wine with my meals....