15 December, 2009 Hola, greetings from Bandeira.
A hoare frost! Today has been altogether lovely and I have been transfixed by the beauty of it all. No snow, as predicted by the barman at A Laxe, but air cold enough to peel the skin off your face and plenty of warming rays later in the day to make a peregrina think it were Spring.
As this adventure comes to a close I have been considering whether there might be something practical I could contribute to the body of wisdom out there for today´s peregrino, and I have decided there is: here are a few dietary and culinary tips for those who are inwardly challenged.
Desayuno (Spanish for breakfast!)
2 dsp oat bran
1 dsp linseed
1 dsp sesame seeds
1 dsp pumpkin seeds
a handful each of raisins and raw almonds (skins on)
Cook in about 3/4 to 1 cup of water: 2 minutes in microwave or, if using a hotplate, until it is the consistency of porridge. Add fresh fruit, then enjoy. (If you are not used to a high-fibre diet, try it out a week or two before leaving home otherwise you might get a shock)
If there isn´t a microwave or hotplate in the albergue, add the above to natural yoghurt, which can be bought everywhere in Spain (and Europe). Yoghurt is high in calcium and great for aiding digestion. I have been eating this, first thing, for years and whenever transient or hiking I carry a two-week supply in my bag, packaged in single portions in re-sealable lunch bags (about 1-2 kilos). If I am hiking for longer than two weeks I send breakfast ahead by Post Restante or the Spanish equivalent, Lista a Correos. As said, it is high in fibre and, if eaten with bananas has an excellent calorific value.
Although I was able to purchase linseed, almonds and raisins whilst hiking the
Camino Frances (from Le Puy en Velay, 2004), from Cadiz to Seville and along the Via de la Plata, I have found these difficult to find (in Ourense: Mihlflor shop). I know this breakfast isn´t for everyone but for a few of us, keepìng this particular inner journey at peace is essential.
Dinner, courtesy of a genuine, love-struck Spanish chica:
100g Torizo
Tomate Friso (soup)
Beans -any kind
Corn kernels
Peas
an onion (fried in olive oil or raw if there isn´t any in the albergue)
Potatoes, cooked and cubed (if no hotplate, have pasta or eat a packet of potato crisps)
Combine all the above, heat then eat......
And gleaning food from the fields
The weather and the seasons really do have a powerful effect on one´s constitution and one day, after heavy rain and pyrotechnic lightning I came across Juan Carlos, a Spanish peregrino who owned his own fig trees, who ate copious amounts of
jamon and
queso, and who was full of fascinating local yarns. Juan Carlos was a sunburnt chico of the fields, someone who knew which berries and vegetation could be eaten along the Way and which hallucinogenic toadstools to avoid. Not only did he introduce me to a wild kind of blue berry much loved by Spanish bears (very sour but with a hint of sugar), he also suggested I indulge in
Polvarone, a traditional Christmas sweet which has to be squeezed in the palm of one´s hand, and
Ovieja, a mildly flavoured, sheep´s cheese -something we don´t have in NZ.
Ovieja doesn´t have the acrid bite of goats cheese. It is quite a specialty and in places like Mombuey in Zamora, where there is a fascínating romanesque tower with protruding cows head gargoyle, one can sample a huge variety -something for the peregrino to look forward to!
As I am talking about food I think I might as well include Juan Carlos´ philosophy in life. It is twofold: The first part is, ´Happiness ´and the second, ´Every monkey has his own banana´.
Pursuing Happiness sounds like a universal thing to do and, mostly, all good and fine, but I asked him, What if one man´s happiness is another man´s sorrow? What about the dictators of this world who delighted in genocide and the thugs that aided them in their joy? He said he´d have to think about that.
As to the other half of his philosophy, this is where the fun began. According to Juan Carlos every peregrino out on the Camino is pushing their own ´wheelbarrow´, passionately expounding their own particular view on the world and trying to convert others to it.
I must say that I have met one or two along the Trail like this but the best example I ever met was Juan Carlos himself. All the way from Banos de Montemayor to Fuenterroble de Salvatierra, within five minutes of talking to the locals, the word banana would pop up. The person would became transfixed´, flames would fly from Juan Carlos´ voluable mouth and power from his eyes. Juan Carlos spent much time stuffing his philosophical bananas down the ears of any poor soul in his orbit and none of us could easily escape, not even Don Blas (local priest in Fuenterroble d.s.) and his interesting collection of house guests. Juan Carlos was a delightful addition to my Camino, and for all that I learnt from him I am grateful.
Cheers, Lovingkindness.
