Frankybaby66
Active Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- Last Camino Sep 23 Camino Portuguese (Central)
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All sounds good; doesn't carrying a jar of Nutella way you down somewhat though??Bread, firm cheese, nuts, fruit, biscuits, nutella. The bread’s not ideal if it has to go to day 2, but I don’t throw it until I’ve secured a fresh replacement.
A spork, tiny can-opener/ bottle opener from long-ago compo rations, a corkscrew.
Emergency tin of tuna and pack of instant noodles.
I never leave home - let alone go on Camino - without proper teabags to hand.
A few tiny little ‘single serve’ packs - as often found at hotel breakfast buffets. If I can’t find Nutella it might be jam or honey. I need the option of something sweet.All sounds good; doesn't carrying a jar of Nutella way you down somewhat though??
You can get those individual portions too - like those jam packets in hotels. It's actually not a bad choice - you actually need the fat and sugar!All sounds good; doesn't carrying a jar of Nutella way you down somewhat though??
That is debatable, and not established science. There are many people who don't crash if they don't eat sugar. Possibly if your normal diet has a lot of sugar you probably will need to keeping eating more. However if your normal diet has little or no sugar, you can walk all day without sugar and not crash. And on a good day you can walk from an early breakfast to a late lunch with no food at all. And that includes some of the more demanding parts of the Caminos.That said you also need sugar or you will 'crash'.
I carried a couple of satsumas, some nuts, chocolate and my standby which was edible for a couple of days was bread with butter and honey!A few tiny little ‘single serve’ packs - as often found at hotel breakfast buffets. If I can’t find Nutella it might be jam or honey. I need the option of something sweet.
I'm 64 years old . . . Confused is my default positionThat is debatable, and not established science. There are many people who don't crash if they don't eat sugar. Possibly if your normal diet has a lot of sugar you probably will need to keeping eating more. However if your normal diet has little or no sugar, you can walk all day without sugar and not crash. And on a good day you can walk from an early breakfast to a late lunch with no food at all. And that includes some of the more demanding parts of the Caminos.
@Frankybaby66 you might now be a bit confused.
I'm not asking about the Frances (see original post); I'm asking about doing some of the less-frequented routes with little/no infrastructure on some stages . . .There are some pilgrims (actually quite a few) who do not carry any food with them on the Camino, only enough liquids to drink - because they have fat tissue under their skin. If you are even slightly overweight, walking the longest distance on the Camino Francés (17 km without any bar) is not a problem, unless your doctor clearly tells you not to.
Had it been otherwise, the human species would not survive millions of years of evolution. If the early humans, who were hunters-gatherers, had not been able to walk 20-25 km without finding food or killing an animal, we would not be around today.
In case your reaction is "I don't go to Camino to suffer" my answer is, neither do I - quite the opposite
An excellent point, my post was poorly worded - editing it nowThat is debatable, and not established science. There are many people who don't crash if they don't eat sugar. Possibly if your normal diet has a lot of sugar you probably will need to keeping eating more. However if your normal diet has little or no sugar, you can walk all day without sugar and not crash. And on a good day you can walk from an early breakfast to a late lunch with no food at all. And that includes some of the more demanding parts of the Caminos.
@Frankybaby66 you might now be a bit confused.
So does that mean that some days all you had for breakfast, lunch and dinner was dried fruit and nuts? Or were you fortunate enough to always find something open each day.We walked the Via Serrana and then Via de la Plata last fall. We always carried food "just in case." After carrying a variety of food for awhile (canned fish, bread, cheese, etc.) we ultimately settled on just dried fruit and nuts. The reasons: Compact, healthful, no meaningful packaging weight, doesn't go bad (cheese, bread) or melt (like chocolate), and keeps for weeks if necessary. It simplified our life considerably. Our primary choice was to eat in bars and restaurants, so sometimes we wouldn't touch the stash for days. It also doubled as snacks.
Ive walked five Caminos in all, the last three the Via Del Plata. There were a couple of places where there was no food available, ( usually arriving after hours or on a Sunday) , but overall I never found the availability of food an issue. I always carried a small bag of emergency snacks that would carry me through to the next day if necessary. A bit of planning and awareness can avoid a hungry night.Hi all, probably a question with many different answers, but here goes.
I've done several Caminos, but always ones that feature a cafe every now and then ( think Frances, Portuguese, Ingles etc)
I'm thinking of stretching myself to do one without similar infrastructure - either part of. Via de Plata, Lisbon to Porto, or the Invierno.
I know there will be some stages when I need to carry food, and am curious as to what other hikers found worked for them. Conscious that I could be carrying food for some distance in potentially high temperatures.
All input gratefully accepted.
Thanks in advance
I have not done this type of walking yet - but dates must be mentioned as a super food for hikers - as not only do they give an energy boost but also restore electrolytes lost through sweating.You can get those individual portions too - like those jam packets in hotels. It's actually not a bad choice - you actually need the fat and sugar!
Remember we are long distance walking which is completely different to normal life. Figures often thrown around in the hiking world are 45-55% carbs (some of which needs to be sugar); 35-40% fats; 10-15% protein to fuel a through hike. Whilst a camino is not quite as intense, on any camino over two weeks long our needs are similar.
Many hikers carry a jar of peanut butter which seems crazy until you figure out the weight to fat & protein ratio which is way, way higher than just about anything else available. Protein and fat are key when walking long distance - most of the nut butters- peanut, almond, cashew, walnut, pecan, hazelnut etc are great. That said if you normally eat a lot of sugar or foods that are high in it (highly processed food, dried fruit are classic examples) you may also need sugar or you will 'crash'. A Sergeant I know often used to carry gummy bears, when one of his privates started getting grumpy he'd hand him a handful .... problem averted.
There's a heck of a lot more information online if you're interested. Gearskeptic has done a whole series on 'Performance nutrition for Backpackers' on YouTube for instance - fascinating stuff.
On Camino:
From home I carry a few packets of cupa soup and oatmeal, instant coffee and sugar. (Hate instant coffee but with a little sugar it's better than nothing). Plus 1x noodles (ramen) - you can always crunch on it as a snack, the flavouring packet makes a tasty cold soup.
On stages that might not have any supplies:
In addition to the bread, firm cheese, (salted)nuts, fruit, biscuits, tuna and noodles (ramen) that @henrythedog carries, I carry dried fruit, Muesli or protein bars, and I normally have a Snickers bar or two, or some nut chocolate.
I also buy a small jar of tomato pesto, and some good crackers. Pesto can be used with the bread, the crackers, or the noodles. Ditto the cheese. I carry a teaspoon and a sharp knife (purchased from a supermarket), and sometimes one of those bamboo forks you frequently get with the salads. A microwavable container of some sort is useful, even if just a cup. I know a number of forum members also carry a coil to heat their own water - I don't (yet?).
If I use the supplies I obviously mix them out with whatever I can get at the time - sometimes simply for variety. For examples swapping couscous with noodles. The beauty of couscous is that you can cold soak it. I'll often swap the tuna for a chorizo/cabonossi. (The packaging is lighter too!). A few times I couldn't get coffee sachets but I could get hot chocolate. Not the same, but it's tasty!
Most of the Spanish supermarkets have the long life yogurt drinks. They don't need refrigeration and they are a good breakfast boost. You can sometimes get those dried pasta or rice meals.
Obviously a lot of these things come from my hiking days. I don't carry anywhere near as much food on camino as I would hiking but I would rather carry half a kilo more than risk going hungry. Basically, I carry enough food to cover myself for 24 hours.
If you look online (even dare I say it YouTube) you will find hundreds of ideas. Really it's just a matter of going into whatever supermarket you can find and looking to see what is light, halfway healthy, tasty and easy.
Jerry for the Aquarius - I kept a bottle and refilled it with a can. That way I did not need to drink it all at once. Only thing is the cans only have 330ml and bottles were 500ml I think.I try to buy an ice cold Aquarius or Kas everyday at a bar and drink it on the spot. I also carry one forward from a tienda. These are electrolytes. I also carry just a little in dried form -- wafers or powder -- in case I can't find it in a can or bottle. I prefer a can over a bottle because it has a greater chance of being recycled after use. Buen Camino
Well, last fall on the Via de la Plata, we were very happy to have a stash of emergency food. Shops have hours, siesta is observed, and the stages are long. We quit carrying cheese because it was so hot it got slimy. Dried fruit, nuts, and canned fish were mainstays.Trail mix handy to have a stash. I've even taken Breakfast cereal dry to munch in emergencies when off the beaten track
Even on the vids I have watched of the VDLP .... being sensible and loading up on water and grub when you get the chance... you're never that far away from a village , town or shop
Just be sensible and realize the next cafe isn't 5k away like the CF can be
I agree! My husband and I have done intermittent fasting off and on over the years and the best thing we learned from that is that it's not the end of the world if we go a time without eating. And we also learned it's really nice to start out walking at the beginning of the day on an empty stomach. But, I agree, this might not apply to everyone.There are some pilgrims (actually quite a few) who do not carry any food with them on the Camino, only enough liquids to drink - because they have fat tissue under their skin. If you are even slightly overweight, walking the longest distance on the Camino Francés (17 km without any bar) is not a problem, unless your doctor clearly tells you not to.
Had it been otherwise, the human species would not survive millions of years of evolution. If the early humans, who were hunters-gatherers, had not been able to walk 20-25 km without finding food or killing an animal, we would not be around today.
In case your reaction is "I don't go to Camino to suffer" my answer is, neither do I - quite the opposite
Yes, but on the other Caminos, you can actually walk for a couple days or more before having access to any food. Towns are less frequent, and they often have only one little store or bar, and it may or may not be open if the owner's on vacation or just wants to be doing something else that day. Plus if something happens (sprained ankle or whatever), there won't be any other pilgrims coming behind you, and you're not on any well-trafficked roads, and you may or may not have phone reception.There are some pilgrims (actually quite a few) who do not carry any food with them on the Camino, only enough liquids to drink - because they have fat tissue under their skin. If you are even slightly overweight, walking the longest distance on the Camino Francés (17 km without any bar) is not a problem, unless your doctor clearly tells you not to.
Had it been otherwise, the human species would not survive millions of years of evolution. If the early humans, who were hunters-gatherers, had not been able to walk 20-25 km without finding food or killing an animal, we would not be around today.
In case your reaction is "I don't go to Camino to suffer" my answer is, neither do I - quite the opposite
I agree, but in my opinion - and experience - they really need to be balanced with something else not just taken by themselves on an empty stomach. (Mind you the same could be said about most dried fruit - it's why trail mix has nuts in it too)I have not done this type of walking yet - but dates must be mentioned as a super food for hikers - as not only do they give an energy boost but also restore electrolytes lost through sweating.
My experience wasn't as marked as @Pilgrim9 , but I find that I'm much better off not eating them without some kind of carbohydrates as well.I once tried dried dates as an en-route snack. That was a bad idea. They were so very sweet that after eating a couple, my blood sugar level skyrocketed, then nose-dived. I got the shakes and had to immediately stop a
Some more data about less-frequented routes.I'm not asking about the Frances (see original post); I'm asking about doing some of the less-frequented routes with little/no infrastructure on some stages . . .
My standard VdLP breakfast diet was a coffee sachet brewed in an albergue microwave BYO collapsible S2S cup. Bead and banana eaten under a tree. Lunch was bread, tuna and tomato, again eaten under a tree.Hi all, probably a question with many different answers, but here goes.
I've done several Caminos, but always ones that feature a cafe every now and then ( think Frances, Portuguese, Ingles etc)
I'm thinking of stretching myself to do one without similar infrastructure - either part of. Via de Plata, Lisbon to Porto, or the Invierno.
I know there will be some stages when I need to carry food, and am curious as to what other hikers found worked for them. Conscious that I could be carrying food for some distance in potentially high temperatures.
All input gratefully accepted.
Thanks in advance
My standard VdLP breakfast diet was a coffee sachet brewed in an albergue microwave BYO collapsible S2S cup. Bead and banana eaten under a tree. Lunch was bread, tuna and tomato, again eaten under a tree.
I just buy what I need for the next day from whatever store I can find. One problem in small towns is that small loaves of bread are hard to find in the afternoon (pre siesta) or evening (post siesta).I like bananas and tomatoes but find they don't travel well. How do you carry them?
I normally walk all day without eating, or just eating some fruit, and never any adderad sugar. A nice but not too big breakfast with coffe will do. Vegetables and fish or meat in the evening if possible.That is debatable, and not established science. There are many people who don't crash if they don't eat sugar. Possibly if your normal diet has a lot of sugar you probably will need to keeping eating more. However if your normal diet has little or no sugar, you can walk all day without sugar and not crash. And on a good day you can walk from an early breakfast to a late lunch with no food at all. And that includes some of the more demanding parts of the Caminos.
@Frankybaby66 you might now be a bit confused.
Hi. Regardless of how busy or quiet a camino is you can always venture off grid. Whether 10mtrs or 100mtrs magic and tranquility awaits. I've met waterfalls, Stags, Squirrels and silence and the magic is I get to choose where to sit, eat and rest. The simpler the food the more freedom I've had. Bread/cheese/ water and chocolate always tastes better when in nature.Hi all, probably a question with many different answers, but here goes.
I've done several Caminos, but always ones that feature a cafe every now and then ( think Frances, Portuguese, Ingles etc)
I'm thinking of stretching myself to do one without similar infrastructure - either part of. Via de Plata, Lisbon to Porto, or the Invierno.
I know there will be some stages when I need to carry food, and am curious as to what other hikers found worked for them. Conscious that I could be carrying food for some distance in potentially high temperatures.
All input gratefully accepted.
Thanks in advance
Indeed, the wonderful world of personal superfoods.I see an unfathomable absence of recommendations of that superfood: a large bar of Milka!
Not all albergues are in villages/near bars, shops etc. OP was probably badly worded: was sort of asking about snacks AND things to eat for dinnerHow much water and snacks do you need on the Camino?
Practice hiking at home and you will learn your personal needs. Practice hiking especially at different temperatures which will greatly influence your water requirement.
-Paul
I carry food that does not require cool storage. For eating within a few hours, I might have a bocadillo, soft fruit, yoghurt, or a special item that I was able to purchase. Depending on the weather/temperature conditions, I might carry some yoghurt or Baby Bel cheese for a day or two. Otherwise, my emergency supply consists of nuts, ramen noodles, canned tuna, whole grain crackers, oranges, apples, banana.Can I take it a bit further and ask how people they are storing their food?
For nutrition sake, bring a trail mix of nuts, raisins,date and other items that will give you sustenance. My buddy puts in a generous supply of M&Ms in his trail mix. Keeps him from getting cranky. Beyond that, it's a matter of what keeps YOU going with a special emphasis on carbs. I prefer cookies.Hi all, probably a question with many different answers, but here goes.
I've done several Caminos, but always ones that feature a cafe every now and then ( think Frances, Portuguese, Ingles etc)
I'm thinking of stretching myself to do one without similar infrastructure - either part of. Via de Plata, Lisbon to Porto, or the Invierno.
I know there will be some stages when I need to carry food, and am curious as to what other hikers found worked for them. Conscious that I could be carrying food for some distance in potentially high temperatures.
All input gratefully accepted.
Thanks in advance
Not all albergues are in villages/near bars, shops etc. OP was probably badly worded: was sort of asking about snacks AND things to eat for dinner
This is a brilliant idea for those who have never thought to pack a lunch at home before!You can also practice packing a meal at home.
You're not selling it to me as a strategySome more data about less-frequented routes.
Last year I conducted a food experiment.
I walked the Mozarabe (620 km. It was a busy day if I saw more than a few other pilgrims, often none) then onto the Via de La Plata, and then the Sanabres. About 9 weeks and carried no food except on 3 long days when bars etc were not open when I started, not expecting anywhere during the day and food might not be available when I arrived.
On about 3 occasions things didn't pan out and I went 23 hours (breakfast to breakfast) without coffee and food. No suffering occurred although I was pleased when the bar opened the next morning.
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