VdlP - Albergue Kitchens, Pots, Stoves & Microwaves....

[Robo]

On my upcoming VdlP camino, I plan to mix up accommodation options and will stay in a few Albergues.
I understand that in some remote locations, DIY meals may be the only option.

So for those who have extensively used Albergues on the VdlP I would love to hear your views on:

1. The proportion of times you needed to DIY a meal. Needed to, rather than choice. I would always opt for a bar/cafe given a choice.
2. If you had to cook in an albergue, (obviously bread and cheese is an easy option) but did you usually find a pot to use (unlike in Galicia for example)
3. If you were going to carry a really small ultra light pot/cup (like 60 gms), would you take one suitable for a stove top or suitable for a microwave. i.e. what is most commonly available? (if not both)

Just curious to hear your thoughts.

Recognising that the most common advice might be...............take nothing!

But it gives me another excuse to play with my packing list and kitchen scales......

 

[C clearly]

I don't remember ever having to cook for myself, except once on Easter Sunday when everything was closed and even the Repsol station was low on supplies.

i recommend carrying nuts and ramen noodles for that rare occasion, rather than any pot. However, I have been sucked onto the immersion heater club and will take that and a metal cup on my next remote Camino. I am not sure that I would bother for the VDLP, where the infrastructure is quite good.

 

[Robo]

I don't remember ever having to cook for myself, except once on Easter Sunday when everything was closed and even the Repsol station was low on supplies.

i recommend carrying nuts and ramen noodles for that rare occasion, rather than any pot. However, I have been sucked onto the immersion heater club and will take that and a metal cup on my next remote Camino. I am not sure that I would bother for the VDLP, where the infrastructure is quite good.

We've tried the immersion heater thing. Used it twice I think in 40 days, to boil eggs.
And it's quite heavy. (relatively). But I see it could make sense for a remote Camino.
I suspect I won't take anything.
A couple of evenings eating a left over cheese sandwich is probably preferable to packing a pot, coil or whatever

 

[Kanga]

On my upcoming VdlP camino, I plan to mix up accommodation options and will stay in a few Albergues.
I understand that in some remote locations, DIY meals may be the only option.

So for those who have extensively used Albergues on the VdlP I would love to hear your views on:

1. The proportion of times you needed to DIY a meal. Needed to, rather than choice. I would always opt for a bar/cafe given a choice.
2. If you had to cook in an albergue, (obviously bread and cheese is an easy option) but did you usually find a pot to use (unlike in Galicia for example)
3. If you were going to carry a really small ultra light pot/cup (like 60 gms), would you take one suitable for a stove top or suitable for a microwave. i.e. what is most commonly available? (if not both)

Just curious to hear your thoughts.

Recognising that the most common advice might be...............take nothing!

But it gives me another excuse to play with my packing list and kitchen scales......

Robo, I managed to completely avoid cooking anything on the VdlP. The infrastructure is pretty good.

If I'm not eating out (a meal at 2pm, tapas at 6) I can get away with "arranging" food I've bought at the supermarket. I cook so much at home that taking a break is one of the things I treasure when away.

 

[J Willhaus]

You can check @Karin309 's thread. She can give ideas of what is open right now. When serving in winter on the VDLP we had some pilgrims who had to sleep outside. One had a gas stove and a 1 serving expresso maker. I would carry some kind of granola bars, nuts, a single serve canned tuna with crackers, and maybe an instant Ramen in a cup that you can just add water and heat. I always have instant Starbucks coffee with a couple of shelf stable creamers (you can buy the individual ones at Eroski). If you see a panaderia, get a baguette with some cheese or Jamon. I also buy the individual butter pats at Eroski (Arias brand). You can always make a sandwich for the next day if you dont eat it overnight.

 

[camino07]

On my upcoming VdlP camino, I plan to mix up accommodation options and will stay in a few Albergues.
I understand that in some remote locations, DIY meals may be the only option.

So for those who have extensively used Albergues on the VdlP I would love to hear your views on:

1. The proportion of times you needed to DIY a meal. Needed to, rather than choice. I would always opt for a bar/cafe given a choice.
2. If you had to cook in an albergue, (obviously bread and cheese is an easy option) but did you usually find a pot to use (unlike in Galicia for example)
3. If you were going to carry a really small ultra light pot/cup (like 60 gms), would you take one suitable for a stove top or suitable for a microwave. i.e. what is most commonly available? (if not both)

Just curious to hear your thoughts.

Recognising that the most common advice might be...............take nothing!

But it gives me another excuse to play with my packing list and kitchen scales......

Last year ,the one and only time we had to make do with snacks from the next door petrol station was on a Sunday in Ponte Ulla. I stayed in a room at o,Cruceiro and their restaurant was closed. There was a restaurant open down the hill but it was packed with a busload tourists and few staff.

 

[Kirkie]

Just don't pack a rice cooker...

 

[Robo]

Just don't pack a rice cooker...

Do you have something against Rice Cookers?

I was thinking of looking for a new model.....
Found one at just 800 gms......

 

[Kirkie]

@Robo, I presume you are speaking in jest...I am wishing you well in your next venture on a Camino. Seriously. Mind you, given the weight loss, maybe you can afford the extra weight of a rice cooker. Mine is still going strong, but no way would it take up space in my backpack.

 

[peregrino_tom]

everything was closed and even the Repsol station was low on supplies.

Ha! might have been the one on the other side of the road from the albergue with a rooftop terrace in Castilblanco...?

Robo, my VDLP was a long time ago. On the section up to Granja we only had one place without any kitchen, which was at Montamarta and it looks like that albergue has been replaced now.
I was on the Madrid and Frances last year and everywhere I stayed (except the Santa Teresa church in Tres Cantos) had a microwave.
I have always packed a single wall titanium mug 600ml to cook in and drink from, plus a cylindrical tupperware container and lid that fitted exactly into it. Last year, I found every place that had a cooker always had some useable pots and pans (outside Galicia). The tupperware container got used occasionally in microwaves - warming water for tea/coffee, soups, noodles, couscous etc - and the titanium mug was never used on a cooker outside Galicia, and even then I could have used the microwave. So from now on it's just the tupperware container for me.

 

[whiteblaze]

There are possibly micro waves available? Golden. I will have to test my collapsable bowl/cup to see If these can be utilized. They are silicon based.

 

[DeansFamily]

Wishing you a wonderful VdlP Robo!
As there were 3 of us (now down to 2 due to University studies) cooking for ourselves is common. It goes without saying that a mug and camp cutlery are indespensable as so many albergues have great kitchens but no utensils. We buy cheap plastic bowls from the "chino" stores and can microwave food to eat in them (surprisingly easy to pack things around to fit in your bag) and we do porridge (topped with cola cao) for an energy breakfast of champions, salad and tinned tuna for light dinner / lunch and noodles or mashed potato sometimes. A hack I came up with to deal with no frypans or pots is to look for disposal aluminium bake trays that most supermercados sell. You can fry up or bake lots of good stuff and you don't have to wash up (a double bonus!). There's a way around everything if you just look at what's available. But something the old "jamon, queiso y pan" is hard to beat, especially with a nice vino Tinto!

 

[Robo]

Wishing you a wonderful VdlP Robo!
As there were 3 of us (now down to 2 due to University studies) cooking for ourselves is common. It goes without saying that a mug and camp cutlery are indespensable as so many albergues have great kitchens but no utensils. We buy cheap plastic bowls from the "chino" stores and can microwave food to eat in them (surprisingly easy to pack things around to fit in your bag) and we do porridge (topped with cola cao) for an energy breakfast of champions, salad and tinned tuna for light dinner / lunch and noodles or mashed potato sometimes. A hack I came up with to deal with no frypans or pots is to look for disposal aluminium bake trays that most supermercados sell. You can fry up or bake lots of good stuff and you don't have to wash up (a double bonus!). There's a way around everything if you just look at what's available. But something the old "jamon, queiso y pan" is hard to beat, especially with a nice vino Tinto!

Great tips, many thanks.

 

[DeansFamily]

At the Xunta at Vilar de Barrio the hospitalara had pots & pans in her office that she only lent to the trustworthy ones. Apparently much cookware walked out the door in the morning otherwise. Imagine carrying a metal frypan on your travels? Also, I have been known to hard boil eggs in an electric jug in desperation. Boil the water prior to putting the eggs in, leave eggs a while to start the process (otherwise it can get messy if they crack) and give the jug a number of boils to make sure the eggs are really cooked. Only had one time where I really had a clean up on my hands but like I said desperate times!

 

[SallyJane]

along very similar lines, i also have an immersion coil and just signing off my final bag packing. i require a kettle or microwave for hotwater each day for personal medical reasons. i will check with the lady on the trail at the moment suggested above (been enjoying her blog) but did any of you find that almost all municipal albergues had a kettle or microwave?

i can either bring my coil or alternatively when there is no kettle then ask at a bar for hot water. im happy to pay, im just shy and get embarrassed especially with a language barrier.

any thoughts

 

[J Willhaus]

Getting hot water at the bar would be easier unless there is no bar. If you MUST have it then I would carry a microwave safe cup at a minimum. Some places will have no microwave or it won't work (Murphy's Law) but if you can be slightly flexible with your medication regime then you may find a bar earlier or later. I would say to be safe carry a cup and also be on the lookout for a friendly bar.

 

[Rita Flower]

Autumn 2022 I cooked twice on VDLP because I felt like it. Lunch around 3 - a snack in the evening if hungry.

 

[Sirage]

You perhaps could think the reference point for eating on any Camino is to carry no food (including no snacks) and no cooking equipment. Rely on what you find en-route. Sometimes there might be sometime between eating.

@Rita Flower has provided the basic idea (minus the cooked twice) when possible. Adjust according to circumstances.

 

[jungleboy]

You perhaps could think the reference point for eating on any Camino is to carry no food (including no snacks) and no cooking equipment. Rely on what you find en-route. Sometimes there might be sometime between eating.

And while you’re there, don’t even bother buying your plane ticket in advance either. A true pilgrim would just show up at the airport on the day and let the camino provide.

Come on, this is not good advice. It’s smart to take snacks with you on a remote camino.

 

[Former member 104756]

It’s smart to take snacks with you on a remote camino.

That’s for sure. I can think of many days on the Mozarabe, Madrid, and more recently on the Piemont in France when we were grateful to have in our packs - a cereal bar, or a piece of fruit, or a small can of tuna or beans, or even some leftover bread from breakfast. Some days on remote paths even if a guidebook tells you there is a small shop on the way, it may not be open. I don’t like walking 25 + kms without food

 

[dick bird]

You perhaps could think the reference point for eating on any Camino is to carry no food (including no snacks) and no cooking equipment. Rely on what you find en-route. Sometimes there might be sometime between eating.

@Rita Flower has provided the basic idea (minus the cooked twice) when possible. Adjust according to circumstances.

Having walked this camino, I would strongly agree with Jungleboy. On remote or less well-trodden caminos there is a real danger of dehydration (pilgrims have recently died on the Plata from dehydration), and not eating when you are walking long distances away from towns and villages is also a very bad idea. The camino provides but pilgrims must also be responsible enough to take basic care of themselves. Never set out without adequate supplies.

 

[JWB]

Have walked the VdlP in 2022 in two parts (april, october). No need to cook by your selves. At one location (Santa Marta de Tera) everything was closed at Sunday.

 

[Rita Flower]

And while you’re there, don’t even bother buying your plane ticket in advance either. A true pilgrim would just show up at the airport on the day and let the camino provide.

Come on, this is not good advice. It’s smart to take snacks with you on a remote camino.

I was taking about cooking on Camino, not food in general. I always carried food - some or all of canned tuna / pulpo, bread, fruit, nuts, yogurt, occasionally chocolate. I just didn’t cook my main meal but ate menu de dia mid afternoon for my main meal and had cold snack in the evening if I was hungry at that time.

 

[dick bird]

I was taking about cooking on Camino, not food in general. I always carried food - some or all of canned tuna / pulpo, bread, fruit, nuts, yogurt, occasionally chocolate. I just didn’t cook my main meal but ate menu de dia mid afternoon for my main meal and had cold snack in the evening if I was hungry at that time.

Jungleboy and I understand that. Please don't be upset, our replies were not directed to you. But another poster seemed to be suggesting that it wasn't necessary to carry food with you on the walk and it wasn't important if you went without food for a while. I can't recall a day when finding food in the evening was a problem, but finding food and, more importantly water, was often impossible midday.

 

[Rita Flower]

Jungleboy and I understand that. Please don't be upset, our replies were not directed to you. But another poster seemed to be suggesting that it wasn't necessary to carry food with you on the walk and it wasn't important if you went without food for a while. I can't recall a day when finding food in the evening was a problem, but finding food and, more importantly water, was often impossible midday.

@dick bird Hahaha - - all good - I’m not upset.
Just clarifying in case someone thought that’s all I ate - one menu del dia and an evening snack. No way! I need to eat every couple of hours when I walk. Thanks for the kind response though.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

I have never gone on any Camino without carrying a few snacks that I replenish along the way. They are my "security blanket" for the "what if's".

 

[Robo]

I have never gone on any Camino without carrying a few snacks that I replenish along the way. They are my "security blanket" for the "what if's".

Me too. I always have at least a pack of GORP or similar in my waist belt pocket........

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Me too. I always have at least a pack of GORP or similar in my waist belt pocket........

And I don't go anywhere without a giant chocolate/nut bar in my possession. My other snacks are secondary.

 

[Sirage]

My previous post seemed to generate some firm comments, notwithstanding I imagine this forum is about sharing ideas (and often many of which some people disagree with) regardless of whether such ideas are just someone else's imagination or based on experience or possibly even tentative science, so I thought a follow-up was in order.

To clarify I mentioned food which does not include water in my language, and noting people have died in Spain from lack of water. As I recall I started the via de la Plata some years ago and after less than 2 weeks the temperatures were unseasonably high, often in the 40s, so I stopped walking and had an enjoyable holiday in more temperate towns in Spain. Even walking from 5am until 11am wasn't going to work - the afternoons were miserable. I heard somebody did die of heat on the vdlp that August. Water is useful.

My comments loosely follow what I have done for sometime, including on consecutive strenuous days. It is also similar to what some others have done. So small experiments have been done with no adverse effects. I also think many people have had grandmas who discouraged snacking, warning us (ie energetic children) not to “spoil our appetites".

And further, all major religions incorporate fasting of some type, and probably weren't encouraging lying on the sofa whilst fasting.

This well publicised event was more extreme than I had suggested.

Was James Cracknell's latest stunt the daftest ever?

Cracknell and his seven team-mates - including bloggers and healthcare professionals - fuelled themselves on water and the occasional black coffee.

www.dailymail.co.uk

An extract - note, includes Type 1 diabetics who have more challenges in eating:

 

[JennyH94]

Hi Robo -

The ‘Isabel’ brand tinned salads are a great thing to keep in your pack. They even have a small fork under the lid! One of these salads, together with a can of tuna makes a sustaining meal if there aren’t any restaurants open and the salad makes a terrific evening snack if you’ve had a menu del dia at lunchtime. They were really good! I enjoyed them very much.

I kept one of each in my pack all the time on the VDLP and Sanabres. The tip to buy the salads was given to me by @wanda here on the Forum and I was very grateful to her for the tip.

Here they are:



Cheers - Jenny

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Thanks, Jenny! I have never noticed these little salads before, but will be on "the lookout" as they would compliment the can/tin of tuna I often buy.