Thanks Rebecca. I love your substack, as I am walking the Camino later this year with some friends and family. Two of us are vegetarian. What are our options? Or do you know what people carry with them to compensate?
If you’re doing the Francés, you’ll have more vegetarian options than any of the other routes. But don’t count on anything. Have a plan B. And C.
I’ve heard there are entire blogs and websites and such dedicated to being vegetarian on the Camino, so maybe look for those.
I stayed in hostels with kitchens sometimes just so I could cook a good vegetarian meal. I also hunted down vegetarian options in the biggest cities and went to Italian restaurants in the smaller towns as there are a lot of naturally vegetarian Italian dishes.
Great post. We’re reminded “we aren’t in Kansas anymore,” we’re guests in another culture, what to expect, and to adapt. It prompted my memory of adapting to chilled red wine.
I’m surprised to learn that we’ll need to plan our walking schedule around lunch hours and the availability of menú del día. It’s something I hadn’t fully considered before!
It feels like yet another small challenge to embrace on the Camino - and honestly, that makes the experience even more exciting.
Thank you for such a helpful and insightful post. I highly recommend that anyone preparing for the Camino read this - it’s incredibly useful.
I wouldn’t so much say you need to plan around it, but certainly be aware of it. Having lived in Spain on the Camino, the number of times I saw pilgrims walking around at 5 o’clock desperately seeking a meal. . . I just thought it would be a good thing to make you aware of!
You can get sandwiches at some bars, for example. Or get bread at a bakery and cheese and ham at the supermarket, and make your own.
And if you’re walking the Camino Frances, you may not have as much of a problem as that route is so popular and some places have adapted to meet the need.
Oh— and don’t trust google maps if it says a place is open. It’s not updated here in Spain as much as it is in the US, for example!
Thanks Rebecca. I love your substack, as I am walking the Camino later this year with some friends and family. Two of us are vegetarian. What are our options? Or do you know what people carry with them to compensate?
If you’re doing the Francés, you’ll have more vegetarian options than any of the other routes. But don’t count on anything. Have a plan B. And C.
I’ve heard there are entire blogs and websites and such dedicated to being vegetarian on the Camino, so maybe look for those.
I stayed in hostels with kitchens sometimes just so I could cook a good vegetarian meal. I also hunted down vegetarian options in the biggest cities and went to Italian restaurants in the smaller towns as there are a lot of naturally vegetarian Italian dishes.
Buen Camino!
Thanks! We are going to walk Francés - that sounds encouraging! Will check out the other info sources
Great tip about googling for images when you don’t know what the words mean. And congratulations to Tim! 🥳
Every time I show someone how to use google images for this, they are so grateful! :)
Great post. We’re reminded “we aren’t in Kansas anymore,” we’re guests in another culture, what to expect, and to adapt. It prompted my memory of adapting to chilled red wine.
I'd forgotten about that as I'm so used to it at this point!
I’m surprised to learn that we’ll need to plan our walking schedule around lunch hours and the availability of menú del día. It’s something I hadn’t fully considered before!
It feels like yet another small challenge to embrace on the Camino - and honestly, that makes the experience even more exciting.
Thank you for such a helpful and insightful post. I highly recommend that anyone preparing for the Camino read this - it’s incredibly useful.
I wouldn’t so much say you need to plan around it, but certainly be aware of it. Having lived in Spain on the Camino, the number of times I saw pilgrims walking around at 5 o’clock desperately seeking a meal. . . I just thought it would be a good thing to make you aware of!
You can get sandwiches at some bars, for example. Or get bread at a bakery and cheese and ham at the supermarket, and make your own.
And if you’re walking the Camino Frances, you may not have as much of a problem as that route is so popular and some places have adapted to meet the need.
Oh— and don’t trust google maps if it says a place is open. It’s not updated here in Spain as much as it is in the US, for example!
Oh, that’s perfect - our route will be along the Camino Frances! 😊