A Pilgrims Menu and other Practical stuff

Just about now, we are all dreaming of new food. It´s not that the food is bad, it´s just that it´s the same every day. So here´s a brief description of how the modern pilgrim eats along the Camino de Santiago.

Some hotels and alberques open cafes at approx. 6:30 or 7 a.m. to serve ¨desayunos¨. Now in case you think we have luxuriated in fresh cooked eggs and toast, breakfast is normally cafe con leche (coffee with milk) and something that is called a bocadillo. Think Hostess Twinkies in a plastic wrapper. So most often we have purchased fruits, or if we are really fortunate, the cafe will have toast with jam and butter to start our day. Only recently we are enjoying freshly baked croissants similar to the kind available in France.

For lunches, we have stopped and enjoyed either an item from the ¨Menu del peregrino¨ which is normally a 1st and 2nd course, or a ¨racciones¨which is an a la carte selection of common foods. We have also decided to purchase in advance when we are expecting the day ahead to be one of few cafes or restaurants. We had a few very enjoyable ¨picnic¨lunches of breads, cheese, roasted peppers, ham and apples or oranges along the way. The lunch stops are usually in a shady spot which at times was hard to find, but as we get closer to Santiago we are most frequently in pine or eucalyptus forests where shade is plentiful.

Dinner, which is often not served or available until after 7:30 is where we have generally selected items from the ¨Menu del Peregrinos¨, again a first course, a second course and a postre which is either flan, or the popular Tarte de Santiago, a thin almond cake.

Since arriving in Galicia we are seeing foods on menus which we have never seen before...such as Raxo or Zorza (fried meat either beef or pork, we aren´t sure because we haven´t tried it). And we spent a special evening at the local pulperia ,¨Pulpo¨restaurant, (see Jo and Dawn above) where we watched a vat of fresh octupus being cooked and removed from 50 gallon stainless steel pots. Pulpo is a Gallician specialty in this area. This was served simply with olive oil, a small bit of a chili oil, bread and wine.

Refreshments are generally a cerveza (beer) for Dawn, and Jo and I have really enjoyed the mixta drink of beer and lime juice which is very refreshing. This is also called a Shandy at times. Wines are plentiful and cheap with red being the most frequently served. We can buy decent bottles of vino tinto rioja or temporanilla for 3 or 4 euros, but have seen it on sale for .99 euros in the grocery store.

We also thought some of you might like to get some idea of what a trip like this costs. We´ve been most fortunate to have used a ¨kitty¨, where we all contribute equal amounts on a regular basis and then eat, drink, travel, hotel etc. from a common expense account. It´s been Jo´s responsibility for most of the trip and it´s worked very well. We estimate that we are spending approx. 40 euros/day per person but that includes everything. Some days are more, some less, depending on the accomodation, and what we choose to drink and eat. A pilgrim could be doing this trip on less than half that cost if they chose to stay in alberques and eat only the pilgrims meals which range from approx. 8 to 10 euros-day. But that just isn´t our thing...so as we come to the end of our trip, we are planning a celebration meal in Santiago. We are hoping for the worlds´best Paella, some great Sangria...and a truly memorable couple of days to celebrate.