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

or cups on the Camino. Where there’s a kitchen facility at a refuge, there’s usually some crockery and cutlery. Most kitchens also have pots and pans, although sometimes a refuge has only a microwave oven—or a hotplate. Occasionally you’ll find basic staples like rice or pasta left by other pilgrims. Spices, salt and pepper, and cooking oil are sometimes found too. Most pilgrims check out the facilities at their accommodations and then go to the local grocers to get what’s needed for their evening meal and for breakfast the next morning.
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    A picnic lunch while hiking might include foods that are high in calories with relatively limited weight, like snack bars, nuts, olives, bread, a hunk of cheese, an avocado, slices of meat, or hard-boiled eggs. You can also buy small canned foods like tuna salads or squid-in-ink (the latter found in Spain). You can even carry yogurt for lunch or a snack if it’s kept inside, and on top of, your backpack (so it doesn’t get squashed).

    A typical lunch on the Vía de la Plata route: olives, water, and a cheese bocadillo (Spanish for sandwich).
    Most pilgrims prefer to eat a light lunch, then consume snacks throughout the day to keep their energy levels high. Occasionally you’ll get lucky and find yourself in a village or town around lunchtime so you can enjoy a hot meal. Caution: too much beer or wine, along with a large lunch, can make walking the final kilometers of the day extremely difficult!
    You can choose between a few options for breakfast on the Camino: make your own breakfast at the pilgrims’ refuge; carry breakfast foods in your backpack (like a piece of fruit, bread, and cheese); or eat breakfast at a bar-café, where you’ll usually get a glass of orange juice along with the usual bread (sometimes toasted), butter, jam, and coffee.
     
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    Camino Lingo
    Breakfast
    Spanish = desayuno
    French = petit déjeuner
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    Investigate the breakfast options after arriving in your destination for the day. If a bar-café or restaurant doesn’t open until after you want to leave the next morning, buy breakfast foods at a local bakery or a grocery store that evening. That way you won’t be hanging around for an hour or two in the morning, waiting for breakfast (some places to eat don’t open their doors until after eight—and sometimes even later—in the morning).
More About Water
    Water is surprisingly heavy. Bottled water is usually measured by the metric system, and one liter—a little less than a quart—weighs 1 kilogram (about 2.2 pounds).
    Drinking enough water is so important while backpacking that it’s better to err on the side of carrying too much. If it’s clear toward the end of the walking day that you’ve overestimated, pour out some of the excess water on the ground, or over your head if it’s hot, instead of carrying it the last few kilometers. You can then replenish your water supply after arriving at your accommodations for the night. That’s a better scenario than underestimating how much water you’ll need and running out. (While tap water is safe in both France and Spain, it’s best to ask the locals whether the outdoor fountains provide safe drinking water.)
    The amount of water to carry depends on the distance walked during a particular day, the weather, your body’s needs, and resources available along the way. Again, a guidebook usually tells where water is available—and where it is not—so you can plan accordingly (we’ll look at options for carrying water—water bottles and backpack hydration systems—in Chapter 12: Backpack Features to Consider ).
    I recently walked in the excessive heat of southern Spain. I started each day with at least two liters of water, but sometimes more when the guidebook indicated that no water was available along that day’s route. When a guidebook warns about a lack of water for a long stretch of the Camino, it’s a good idea to carry more than what you usually require for the same