Both of us were essentially vegetarian, but were willing to eat fish, especially when we were fed up with tortilla patatas (potato omelette). Finding a selection of vegetarian food was often difficult.
Breakfast
As it was July and August and the days became very hot by lunch time we generally left the albergues before dawn and made a hasty exit out on to the road. Therefore we very rarely stayed at the albergue for breakfast. We ate as we walked:
Apples
Yoghurt
Cereal Bar
Mid Morning
Most days we tried to stop at a convenient cafe after we had walked for nearly 3 hours. Most villages had a bar near the village centre:
Tortilla patatas (potato omelette)
Pastry eg choc o pan
Brocodilla (french style bread) with cheese
'Te con lemon' (tea with lemon). Neither of us were coffee drinkers and tea with milk tasted disgusting. (Ask for 'te con leche frio' to get tea made with cold milk. Otherwise they make it with hot milk.)
Lunch
Usually lunch was on a picnic basis with food we had purchased the day before and carried with us. This was often eaten after we had reached our destination for the day. We always had something in reserve to eat. We discovered very early on that not all refugios have a convenient cafe or shop near by. Twice we were caught out and the nearest place to buy anything to either eat or cook was 2 miles away. On these occassions we had to makedo with what we had, perhaps an apple and a piece of stale bread, but basically we went hungry until the next day.
After being caught out without food we made sure we always had something with us. Many supermarkets sold tins of tuna salad, ready made with mayonnaise, some veg such as sweetcorn and peppers. They came with a pull tab so you didn't have to worry about a tin opener. Some even came with a little fork. We made sure we always had one of these tins in our rucksack just in case!
Pan - french style bread stick or croissants
Pilgrim's lunch (bad day):
- yesterday's bread (stale) and sun
melted cheese - delicious!!!
Cheese
Tomato or avocado, olives
Yoghurt
Piece of fruit - usually an apple or banana.
Grapes and peaches became squashed when carried.
Melon was too heavy to carry, but we had this frequently if we could buy them and eat them straight away.
We mainly drank water through out the day, but also fresh orange juice when we reached a cafe.
Evening Meal
Most days we ate at a local bar or restaurant. Many offered a Menu de Perigrinos (pilgrim menu) or a Menu de Dia (menu of the day). These were usually 8 or 9 euros for a choice of starter and a main course - usually a choice of a meat course, fish or vegetarian (usually tortilla). The price also included either wine or water. A dessert and coffee were usually an 2 or 3 euros extra.
Starter: salad, soup or pasta in a tomato sauce
Main course: chicken or pork or fish - often maluza (hake), trout or salmon or omelette usually with chips. Occasionally saute potatoes or rice.
Dessert: yoghurt, ice cream or flan (cream caramel)
On several occasions, especially early on before we reached Burgos, we joined other peregrinos in a communal meal at the albergue. These were excellent social events with conversations in a variety of languages, but with everyone trying. Notable were evenings in Eunate, Gannon, Toscantos and Santibanez. Food was generally stew based with bread and a simple dessert such as flan (cream caramel) or yoghurt.
Drinks
Alcohol led to dehydration, and generally neither of us drank alcohol a great deal. However, a cold lager was wonderful when we reached our destination. And wine was good with the evening meal.
We would often stop at bars on route and have a fruit juice or coke.
When walking we only drank water. Mostly we found the water from the taps and fountains was quite drinkable and not a problem. We always made sure our water bottles were filled when we reached a village fountain. This was particularly important in some stretches after Burgos where there were up to 20km between villages and no fountains in between. It was of course extremely hot as we walked in July and August. Drinking water regularly was therefore very important.
The only time we bought bottled water was in the larger cities as the tap water was so chlorinated and tasted horrible.
Fresh orange juice at Grannon
Total Cost of food:
Most days we ate for less that 25 euros -
We certainly didn't stave (but did go hungry on two occasions). We felt we had eaten a fairly healthy diet, but not vegetarian the whole time. The quantity was more than adequate for us. However, a few men we met on route, found the evening meals in the restaurants too small for their needs and needed extras to fill them.
