Hi everyone. After reading some recent threads, I thought I should update with my experiences of doing the northern way over August / September and being highly gluten intolerant (i.e. vomiting if I have anything more than trace).
Not going to bore people with a day by day story...
The first week from Irun to Bilbao was great. Tortillas everywhere, salads available with most evening meals (ensalada mixta is a powerpack of vegetables, egg and tuna), or just the tamate (a big plate of tomatoes that are delicious). I had nuts, protein bars from home and such like so food wasn't an issue. I bought some gluten free bread to carry but didn't need it. Of course pinchos become the norm as you get to Bilbao and there are several meat only options that were great. Pilgrim's menu not particularly available and it is tourist season, so pilgrims generally come second in the larger towns. Cafes tended to open after 10am, so breakfasting there after a 6am start is a little late (though I did it often).
Week two heading into Cantabria, the outlook changed. Tortillas were less frequent and so were salads. Not bad enough to make it uncomfortable but sometimes had to walk a long way until I found something that wasn't bread in the mornings. I got into some bad habits of walking a long way in the morning without food then being starving hungry and struggling to find anything (cafes are less frequent in this section and few open before 9am). Protein bars, nuts and other carried food got eaten up. I had stopped carrying bread because I hadn't needed any the previous week. Brain wasn't being too rational, probably because of highs and lows of metabolism. Still got in enough energy, but not necessarily in the right order or time. Had my first pilgrims menu during this week which was great but they are not easy to find from my experience. Menu del dia is very common and quite economical but tends to have mainly gluten options. Not a lot of help from the staff when asking for a gluten free option so would eat the non gluten part and leave a lot behind.
Week three (Asturias) saw me become a little more rational. Cafes again are less common and mostly bread driven. Tortilla is a thin tortilla in bread most of the time. I bought gluten free bread, ham and cheese when in a large enough town. Sometimes had a high protein yoghurt drink as part of my recovery on arrival and gluten free biscuits sometimes. Bought fruit from shops and had a salad whenever I could find one (not quite as frequent). Got in the habit of a ham and cheese sandwich to start the day which was great. Evening meals were more often than not either ham, bacon or pork with chips and eggs, but would take the salad whenever available. Had a fairly balanced diet and managed OK.
Week four in Galacia was a change again. I guess because the volume of pilgrims is higher, there is a greater awareness of selling variety. I was back to having tortillas available in most places. Cafes open early for pilgrims and plenty of options. My brain suddenly switched on one day as I was eating my salad and watching my friends eat burgers. I handed over two pieces of gluten free bread and asked them to use those in the burger instead of the bun (I had established that the patty is all meat). Heaven!! A bacon and egg burger with salad veges...
I had a wonderful Camino! I don't write this as a complaint, but instead to help others looking at the Del Norte. I hope that my experiences help others to plan their food better than I did and learn from my experiences. Many of the gluten free posts related to the Frances so I had an expectation from them. In the end, it is my body and my responsibility to give it the right nutrition. The food is there, and in abundance. I just had to learn to plan and I did that. I can't wait to do another Camino as this was my first.
General notes.
The further you go after Bilbao, the more pizza and burgers become the dominant option. Often places sold these only, with fries so I just didn't go into them. I regret that now as I could have swapped in my bread. I didn't see gluten free pizza once.
Larger food stores tend to have gluten free options. Small ones seldom do. Carrefour is usually fantastic, even the small ones.
Rice dishes were not common and often had gluten in the sauce of whatever went with them so were out of the picture.
I would say "no como gluten" or "no como trigo" and usually the response was minimal. Basically you need to know what you can eat, not expect someone to understand your dietary requirements. That said, the service was always friendly. You could ask for a ensalada tamate (plate of sliced tomatoes) and they would sometimes just make one for you even though not on the menu.
Carry nuts and fruit as they are a quick pick me up. High protein yoghurt drink is also a quick recovery and there are plenty of shops if you just stop walking and look.
Smiles and friendship carried me through the Camino. I would rather be hungry and meet all the wornderful people than be sated and alone. So many great times....
Not going to bore people with a day by day story...
The first week from Irun to Bilbao was great. Tortillas everywhere, salads available with most evening meals (ensalada mixta is a powerpack of vegetables, egg and tuna), or just the tamate (a big plate of tomatoes that are delicious). I had nuts, protein bars from home and such like so food wasn't an issue. I bought some gluten free bread to carry but didn't need it. Of course pinchos become the norm as you get to Bilbao and there are several meat only options that were great. Pilgrim's menu not particularly available and it is tourist season, so pilgrims generally come second in the larger towns. Cafes tended to open after 10am, so breakfasting there after a 6am start is a little late (though I did it often).
Week two heading into Cantabria, the outlook changed. Tortillas were less frequent and so were salads. Not bad enough to make it uncomfortable but sometimes had to walk a long way until I found something that wasn't bread in the mornings. I got into some bad habits of walking a long way in the morning without food then being starving hungry and struggling to find anything (cafes are less frequent in this section and few open before 9am). Protein bars, nuts and other carried food got eaten up. I had stopped carrying bread because I hadn't needed any the previous week. Brain wasn't being too rational, probably because of highs and lows of metabolism. Still got in enough energy, but not necessarily in the right order or time. Had my first pilgrims menu during this week which was great but they are not easy to find from my experience. Menu del dia is very common and quite economical but tends to have mainly gluten options. Not a lot of help from the staff when asking for a gluten free option so would eat the non gluten part and leave a lot behind.
Week three (Asturias) saw me become a little more rational. Cafes again are less common and mostly bread driven. Tortilla is a thin tortilla in bread most of the time. I bought gluten free bread, ham and cheese when in a large enough town. Sometimes had a high protein yoghurt drink as part of my recovery on arrival and gluten free biscuits sometimes. Bought fruit from shops and had a salad whenever I could find one (not quite as frequent). Got in the habit of a ham and cheese sandwich to start the day which was great. Evening meals were more often than not either ham, bacon or pork with chips and eggs, but would take the salad whenever available. Had a fairly balanced diet and managed OK.
Week four in Galacia was a change again. I guess because the volume of pilgrims is higher, there is a greater awareness of selling variety. I was back to having tortillas available in most places. Cafes open early for pilgrims and plenty of options. My brain suddenly switched on one day as I was eating my salad and watching my friends eat burgers. I handed over two pieces of gluten free bread and asked them to use those in the burger instead of the bun (I had established that the patty is all meat). Heaven!! A bacon and egg burger with salad veges...
I had a wonderful Camino! I don't write this as a complaint, but instead to help others looking at the Del Norte. I hope that my experiences help others to plan their food better than I did and learn from my experiences. Many of the gluten free posts related to the Frances so I had an expectation from them. In the end, it is my body and my responsibility to give it the right nutrition. The food is there, and in abundance. I just had to learn to plan and I did that. I can't wait to do another Camino as this was my first.
General notes.
The further you go after Bilbao, the more pizza and burgers become the dominant option. Often places sold these only, with fries so I just didn't go into them. I regret that now as I could have swapped in my bread. I didn't see gluten free pizza once.
Larger food stores tend to have gluten free options. Small ones seldom do. Carrefour is usually fantastic, even the small ones.
Rice dishes were not common and often had gluten in the sauce of whatever went with them so were out of the picture.
I would say "no como gluten" or "no como trigo" and usually the response was minimal. Basically you need to know what you can eat, not expect someone to understand your dietary requirements. That said, the service was always friendly. You could ask for a ensalada tamate (plate of sliced tomatoes) and they would sometimes just make one for you even though not on the menu.
Carry nuts and fruit as they are a quick pick me up. High protein yoghurt drink is also a quick recovery and there are plenty of shops if you just stop walking and look.
Smiles and friendship carried me through the Camino. I would rather be hungry and meet all the wornderful people than be sated and alone. So many great times....
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