Free To Walk Far, Carry Less : Camino de Santiago by Jean-Christie Ashmore Page A

during the day’s walk, thank goodness, as you eat lunch and snacks and drink the water. There are times, however, when one should plan to carry extra water and food.
Using Your Guidebook for Food and Water Planning
    Read ahead in your guidebook to see what resources lie ahead. Look for places where you can get water containers refilled. Notice the locations and hours of restaurants, bar-cafés, grocers, butchers, bakeries, and outdoor village markets. If you see a village or hamlet on the map, don’t assume there will be access to potable water or a place to buy food.
    Plan at least a day in advance. Pay particular attention to Saturday afternoons, Sundays, and even Mondays, as town and village shops, restaurants, and some bar-cafés are often closed on these days. That’s when you’ll need to have extra food and water.
     
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    Pilgrim Stories
    Caution: Easter and Other Holiday Weekends
    One day in France I had to ration out a bar of chocolate—my only remaining food—for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It was Monday of the long Easter weekend—a tricky time to get food in both France and Spain. All the restaurants, bar-cafés, and shops were closed for the day in the area where I was walking. I had already eaten the “emergency” food in my backpack.
    If you want to avoid every kid’s dream and most adults’ nightmare—chocolate for every meal—carry extra food, particularly around the long Easter weekend. This is a big holiday in both France and Spain, and although timing varies by region, it’s best to plan for limited food access from the Thursday before Easter through the Monday after.
    For other national holidays, ask the locals about anticipated shop or restaurant closures. It could depend on the location, with cities or large towns usually having more places that stay open.
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Guessing and Padding
    When organizing your backpack, guess the amount of food and water you’ll need for a day’s walk. Add that weight to your total backpack weight.
    Then pad it a little.
    Needing an extra bottle of water is a good example of why you should pad the weight estimate for food and water. You could indeed find you’ll need extra water once you’re on the Camino, depending on water access and the weather (particularly when it’s hot).
    Guessing what you’ll need and padding that a little provides a more accurate, even if approximate, total backpack weight. Not adding a guesstimate for food and water creates only the illusion of a lightweight backpack.
     
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    Lightweight Notes
    How Much Does That Snack Weigh?
One medium-size piece of fruit—like an apple, orange, or banana— averages about 200 grams (7 ounces).
One liter of water weighs about a kilogram (2.2 pounds).
That’s about 1.2 kilograms (2.6 pounds) for a piece of fruit and a bottle of water. Most pilgrims need more than that for a typical hiking day on the Camino.
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Finding a Balance
    If you carry more food and water than you need, efforts to trim grams for a lightweight backpack will be for naught. Think of Vidal’s maxim about carrying one’s fears when gathering food and water supplies on the Camino. But don’t skimp, either: proper nutrition, hydration, and appropriate calorie consumption are essential for a healthy Camino journey.
    Within a day or two on the Camino you’ll begin to feel more confident when planning ahead for both food and water and will have a sense of the right amount to carry and the consequences of carrying too much—or too little.
Eating on the Camino
    For dinner you can often find a “pilgrim’s menu” at restaurants, bar-cafés, and even at some pilgrims’ accommodations along the popular Camino routes. This relatively inexpensive meal typically offers three hearty courses plus wine and helps to replenish the calories you’ve burned during a long day’s hike. It also provides one hot and nutritious meal each day.
     
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    On the Camino
    Kitchen Facilities
    There’s no need to take plates, bowls,