Dinner time on the VDLP

[JustJack]

I’ll be walking the VDLP in April, and given the lower numbers of pilgrims along this route I’m guessing there won’t be a pilgrim menu much of the time. I’m therefore assuming that frequently there won’t be any place open for dinner until 8pm or later. Am I correct about that? How do most deal with dinner - eat late like the locals, or do you eat dinner in the late afternoon before the bars close? Eating food I’ve picked up at a grocery store is an obvious solution, but there will be times that I’ll want a full meal at a bar or restaurant.

My experience is limited to the CF, where I walked in a bit of a camino bubble, and where there’s a steady flow of pilgrims and therefore all the necessary services to provide for them. I’m not expecting to see too many pilgrim-specific services on the VDLP, and am wondering what the best options are for dealing with dinner and the late hour at which the locals eat.

Apologies if this is a silly question.

 

[DeansFamily]

When we walked the VdlP in 2019 we tended to cook our own meals as we like to eat at 6pm. Many take advantage of a menu del dia at a bar or restaurant for a big lunch and have a snack in the evening. I prefer to not walk on a full stomach but if you grocery shop take into account siesta time. Many supermarkets shut from 1.30pm to 4/5pm and be aware that there are a few stages where you'll have no choice but to carry dinner and breakfast with you as there is nothing available to purchase anything to eat. Gronze is an excellent resource for what is available in each town and use google translate to read in English. Enjoy the VdlP, it's my favourite and I hope to do it again this year. And don't hesitate to ask any questions here on the forum, someone will have the answer.

 

[Former member 112842]

I just finished the VDLP in Nov 23, I understand your concern. My experience has been (I also have walked Camino Frances and Portuguese) is that mealtimes are always less than ideal for pilgrims like me that would prefer to be hitting the sack around 8pm rather than heading out to find something to eat. I think that you will have times when you do not have a great selection before 8pm, but you can usually find something. I have found that sometimes you just need to grab an early meal, say before 4pm, and then snack later so that you don't have to wait until 8pm for a proper meal.... Never a bad idea to have a few things on hand, just in case. My general routine has become: breakfast (usually a piece of fruit on my way out the door); second breakfast (maybe a pastry or tortilla and cafe con leche at the first open bar); late lunch at your destination (usually menu del dia - so french fries and whatever, a salad if you are lucky); and then snack on something in the evening (olives, salami, cheese, etc. from the local supermercado). But that's just me

To sum up, you will get lucky and have proper meals served before 8pm from time to time, but that is not always the case.

 

[WildPlace]

My friend @Shona and I walked the VdlP in spring 2022, we got into the habit of eating a menu del dia in the afternoon, it wasn't very often that we missed out on the lunchtime menu del dia and had to eat food we had with us or eat late like the locals, sometimes places weren't opening until 9pm for food and that was too late for us.

We always made sure we always had some food and snacks with us and became mindful of the fact that shops often closed early on a Saturday and did not re-open until Monday. I nearly always had in my pack some energy/cereal bars, trail mix (fruit and nuts), olives, bread, cake, salted nuts.

Most often our day would look like this: Get up early, breakfast if you're lucky (there wasn't always somewhere that was open), walk, eat menu del dia, rest/explore/do chores, eat a snack, go to bed early.

 

[Robo]

I walked the VdlP last year.
Started early about 6:30 am
There was usually a bar open doing breakfast for the locals. (check the night before)
I would finish walking by 1-2 pm.
And I made my 'main' meal the Menu del Dia which is generally served till 3pm.
My evening meal was often a snack in a bar or something I picked up in a store.
You won't see 'Pilgrims' menus.

 

[Antonius Vaessen]

I walked the Vdlp in 2015 and parts of it again in 2016 and last year. Sometimes it was hard to eat at 7, but regularly something was possible.
One restaurant, which serves a pilgrims menu and opens not to late ( I think at 7) and should not be missed is El Gusto de Comer in Rionegro del Puente. It is right across the street from the Albergue. From the outside it looks like an "upclass" restaurant, the first time we stayed in Rionegro we went to another restaurant. Later we heard that the "chef" of El gusto takes honour in preparing a "gastronomic" meal for Pilgrim prices (last year less than 15 euro)

 

[Plataman]

I’ll be walking the VDLP in April, and given the lower numbers of pilgrims along this route I’m guessing there won’t be a pilgrim menu much of the time. I’m therefore assuming that frequently there won’t be any place open for dinner until 8pm or later. Am I correct about that? How do most deal with dinner - eat late like the locals, or do you eat dinner in the late afternoon before the bars close? Eating food I’ve picked up at a grocery store is an obvious solution, but there will be times that I’ll want a full meal at a bar or restaurant.

My experience is limited to the CF, where I walked in a bit of a camino bubble, and where there’s a steady flow of pilgrims and therefore all the necessary services to provide for them. I’m not expecting to see too many pilgrim-specific services on the VDLP, and am wondering what the best options are for dealing with dinner and the late hour at which the locals eat.

Apologies if this is a silly question.

You answered your own question in the first paragragh, flexibility is the key, and sometimes even picking up some food at a local store, ( and finding one that is open) is a challenge. One day in 2022 I arrived at the hosted in Rio Negro and found that the only restaurant/bar in town, ( which I had frequented in previous caminos) was closed. The other gourmet restaurant was closed indefinitely. Id come a long way and although I had a couple of snack bars in my pack, the prospect of no food, no wine, and not even a cold beer at the end of the day made for a bleak evening. By this time some more pilgrims had arrived, and we asked a passing local where we could buy some food. He pulled out his phone, and in a few minutes pointed to a house a couple of hundred meters away that contained a bakery and a small shop, and the guy was willing to open for us. Problem solved, bread, pasta makings, wine , beer….we all loaded up, back to the kitchen and it turned into one of the most enjoyable evenings on that Camino. Morale of the story, something usually turns up.

 

[peregrina2000]

Started early about 6:30 am
There was usually a bar open doing breakfast for the locals. (check the night before)

I think the Vdlp is the Camino with the most bars open very early, particularly on the southern part of the route. Maybe it’s because things get so hot later on that they are used to early starts, or maybe it’s because the Vdlp frequently goes close to a main trucking north-south route but for pilgrims it’s great!

And I totally agree about trying to have your main meal at the “midday” time - usually 2-4 pm. I try to eat as late as possible. If you can shower and wash clothes before eating lunch, you can have a post lunch coffee that takes you almost to afternoon opening times around 5 pm. It makes for a very nice schedule - if you’re in a town with sites you want to visit, you have the whole afternoon ahead of you - 5-8 or so, and then it’s time to head back to the albergue and get ready for bed.

 

[BruceNZ]

Albeit not dinner - Walking the Madrid last year which also can be sparse food-wise, for breakfast we took milk powder (mixed the night b4 if a fridge) , bought cereal and fruit and so had a good breakfast b4 hitting the road in the morning. Worked a treat and so any stops along the way were a bonus.

 

[K_Lynn]

I just finished the VDLP in Nov 23, I understand your concern. My experience has been (I also have walked Camino Frances and Portuguese) is that mealtimes are always less than ideal for pilgrims like me that would prefer to be hitting the sack around 8pm rather than heading out to find something to eat. I think that you will have times when you do not have a great selection before 8pm, but you can usually find something. I have found that sometimes you just need to grab an early meal, say before 4pm, and then snack later so that you don't have to wait until 8pm for a proper meal.... Never a bad idea to have a few things on hand, just in case. My general routine has become: breakfast (usually a piece of fruit on my way out the door); second breakfast (maybe a pastry or tortilla and cafe con leche at the first open bar); late lunch at your destination (usually menu del dia - so french fries and whatever, a salad if you are lucky); and then snack on something in the evening (olives, salami, cheese, etc. from the local supermercado). But that's just me

To sum up, you will get lucky and have proper meals served before 8pm from time to time, but that is not always the case.

I tried to get a late lunch around 3 or 4 and then grab a snack for later when on the Frances. I always had fruit, nuts and cheese if I needed something now. I was not interested in eating dinner at 9pm!

 

[Robo]

Funny VdlP food story and a tip.

I arrived in Villafranca de los Barros having had a lovely walk from Zafra.
Somewhat tired having slept little the night before.
(The bedroom window overlooked a very lively square)

I checked into a really nice Hostel (Rural Hostel Casa Perín)
Just what I needed. A nice private room to get a good night's sleep.

Swinging into my post walk routine, I showered, started laundry and asked the host where I might find a shop to restock my snacks and packed lunch for the next day. A long day for me, 27 kms to Torremejía. So I would need a meal of sorts en route. Or so I thought.

The response was............."It's Sunday, nothing is open". Nothing..........

But I found a bar open for lunch, so managed to save a bread roll and some meat for a walking snack the next day. All was good.

I headed back to the Hostel to rest, and as I walked in I noticed something.........
There was a lobby of sorts.
On the right hand side, was the owners office, where I had checked in.

On the left side, as I now saw, was a small shop!
Full of snacks for Pilgrims!! Biscuits, chocolate, noodles and some canned goods.........

I asked.............."Could I buy some stuff from here"?
"Of course" she said..........

A combination of my poor Spanish and lack of observation on arrival.
She even sold me two eggs and let me use the kitchen to hard boil them.......

Oh the tip!

From then on, each evening I would check a day or two ahead to see not only what accommodation was available, (using Gronze) but also cafes and shops. Google maps was my friend. I would google a village on google maps, then add the search term cafe or bar and they would spring up on the map. Clicking on each would generally show the opening hours. This only failed me a couple of times.


But always be prepared!

In San Pedro de Rozados I stayed in a place that provided breakfast. Important to me as there was little on the road till Salamanca, my next stop 24 kms away..

No one turned up to provide breakfast! No problem. I set off for the next village that had 2 cafes.......
Both were closed.............

But hey, I had a banana and a small bag of nuts. That got me to Salamanca.

Though my powers of observation (or lack of) let me down again. I failed to notice a village with an open cafe about half way, just a few hundred metres off the Camino! Miranda de Azan. Lesson learned. Again.........

At least I was carrying plenty of water!
Though I still downed a bottle of Aquarius at the first petrol station in Salamanca! (and a snickers bar)

That walk into Salamanca on a hot day is liking heading towards an Oasis in the dessert!
You can see the City from 13 kms away and it seems to take an age to get there.........

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

The OP may remember this thread he started but the rest of you can visit it at this link:

Solo walkers, what kinds of food do you buy at grocery stores?

 

[Rita Flower]

The great thing about the Via is that down south (in 2022) a very substantial Menu del dia was available for €12 and sometimes less.
As per @Robo
Bars usually open early for coffee and toast.
Supermarket food for the road (tinned fish- bread -fruit - whatever etc)
Menu del dia at the end of lunch time - any time between 2.30 - 3.00 pm. Kitchens usually close 4.00 pm at the latest but sometimes maybe a bit earlier.
Then a supermarket snack (yogurt, nuts, whatever ) before bed.

 

[DeansFamily]

I walked the Vdlp in 2015 and parts of it again in 2016 and last year. Sometimes it was hard to eat at 7, but regularly something was possible.
One restaurant, which serves a pilgrims menu and opens not to late ( I think at 7) and should not be missed is El Gusto de Comer in Rionegro del Puente. It is right across the street from the Albergue. From the outside it looks like an "upclass" restaurant, the first time we stayed in Rionegro we went to another restaurant. Later we heard that the "chef" of El gusto takes honour in preparing a "gastronomic" meal for Pilgrim prices (last year less than 15 euro)

I second Antonius's recommendation of Me Gustar Comer (I like food), we stayed at the municipal albergue which is great and enjoyed the absolute best Pilgrims Menu in Spain at this wonderful restaurant. It is so good that we usually hire a car to get back to Madrid so we can stop here to eat. Pilgrims always have a seat, but you'd better book ahead if you're driving there as it has such a good reputation. Don't miss out when walking through Rio Negro.

 

[DeansFamily]

Another important thing to remember on the Vdlp is where your drinking water is available. We left Caceres for Embalse de Alcantara (34km) and it wasn't hot weather but we had drunk all our water (a couple of larger bottles each) 5km before the Embalse and there was no where that you could fill drinking containers before the albergue there. The VdlP has many longer stretches with very little available, and it's easy to get caught out. Research your next days journey before heading out.

 

[Corned Beef]

Just be careful of the tapas in small towns, especially the seafood tapas.

Or plan not to be walking the next day.

 

[Antonius Vaessen]

Another important thing to remember on the Vdlp is where your drinking water is available. We left Caceres for Embalse de Alcantara (34km) and it wasn't hot weather but we had drunk all our water (a couple of larger bottles each) 5km before the Embalse and there was no where that you could fill drinking containers before the albergue there. The VdlP has many longer stretches with very little available, and it's easy to get caught out. Research your next days journey before heading out.

When did you walk? If recent : was the albergue at the Embalse open? I will be passing there in april and would loce to stay there

 

[el-pe]

Walked in April-May 2023. As mentioned, the services are limited, so you have to plan ahead for places to sleep, eat, buy food, pharmacies, etc. Then factor in the weekend when many places are closed, holy days, local holidays, etc. Walked a long day to Oseira the only restaurant was closed starting that day for a two week family vacation. Luckily the hospitalaro was able order food from a bar 10 km away and the nuns at the monastery were able to provide breakfast boxes. It was a great Camino, hope you have a great time.

 

[Bradypus]

If recent : was the albergue at the Embalse open? I will be passing there in april and would loce to stay there

According to a message on Gronze dated November 2023 the Alcantara albergue is still closed while tenders for an operator are being sought. I have passed twice and have never found the place open. Do not assume you can find water there. The stretch from Casar de Caceres to Alcantara is already pretty tough with no food or water anywhere en route. Having to continue on to Cañaveral makes it an exceptionally difficult day.

 

[MesaWalker]

When did you walk? If recent : was the albergue at the Embalse open? I will be passing there in april and would loce to stay there

Walked it in early October. The albergue was closed.

 

[Pangloss]

I walked the Vdlp in 2015 and parts of it again in 2016 and last year. Sometimes it was hard to eat at 7, but regularly something was possible.
One restaurant, which serves a pilgrims menu and opens not to late ( I think at 7) and should not be missed is El Gusto de Comer in Rionegro del Puente. It is right across the street from the Albergue. From the outside it looks like an "upclass" restaurant, the first time we stayed in Rionegro we went to another restaurant. Later we heard that the "chef" of El gusto takes honour in preparing a "gastronomic" meal for Pilgrim prices (last year less than 15 euro)

I wholly endorse Antonius' comments re Me Gusta Comer. Without a doubt my best meal on VdlP

 

[Shirley Proctor]

I did VDLP in 2018 and always found a reasonable meal at 7pm.....small towns with only one bar seemed on principle to see it as their duty to provide an early meal for pilgrims. I did have some emergency supplies with me (which I often ate for lunch next day or so) and yes I agree Me Gusta Comer was fabulous and he did it all just for me starting at 7pm.

 

[Texas Walker]

When did you walk? If recent : was the albergue at the Embalse open? I will be passing there in april and would loce to stay there

This is a question that I would refer to Gronze.com. The last time I looked, they had the "closed" symbol on it. It's another 8 or 9 km into the next town if it's closed...a word to the wise and all that.
BC

 

[JustJack]

This is a question that I would refer to Gronze.com. The last time I looked, they had the "closed" symbol on it. It's another 8 or 9 km into the next town if it's closed...a word to the wise and all that.
BC

Yeah I've been looking at the various options for stopping overnight through that area, and they aren't great. I suspect I'll be walking those 8 or 9 km to the next town, meaning a 40-some km day. Hope the weather cooperates...

 

[C clearly]

meaning a 40-some km day.

Not if you stay in Casar de Cáceres. From there, Gronze shows 21.9 km to the Embalse, and then 9.8 km to Cañaveral, for a total of 31.7 km. It is true that there are some awkward staging decisions - long days versus more short days - so that sometimes leads people to walk a very long day, but it is not necessary.

I have walked Casar to Cañaveral in April and quite enjoyed the stage, although it is somewhat longer than I usually like. If you are prepared for the fact that there are no services, there is nothing particularly difficult about that stage, unless the weather is hot. Cañaveral has a great albergue!

 

[camino07]

I did VDLP in 2018 and always found a reasonable meal at 7pm.....small towns with only one bar seemed on principle to see it as their duty to provide an early meal for pilgrims. I did have some emergency supplies with me (which I often ate for lunch next day or so) and yes I agree Me Gusta Comer was fabulous and he did it all just for me starting at 7pm.

In 2022 he was closed on a Wednesday. I was sad but the cafe across the Plaza gave a very good meal.

 

[Robo]

According to a message on Gronze dated November 2023 the Alcantara albergue is still closed while tenders for an operator are being sought. I have passed twice and have never found the place open. Do not assume you can find water there. The stretch from Casar de Caceres to Alcantara is already pretty tough with no food or water anywhere en route. Having to continue on to Cañaveral makes it an exceptionally difficult day.

According to the locals last year, it's all got a bit political.
The land is very valuable.
And there are vested interests.

 

[MesaWalker]

Last fall we definitely did the short stage from Cáceres to Casar de Cáceres and spent the night to shorten the next day to Cañaveral, which was still a 34 km day. I recall it being a nice walk, especially the long walk around the huge embalse. It was nothing horrible at all as long as you're physically capable of that long a walk, which wasn't wildly uncommon on the VdlP anyway. But I remember thinking of that day as emblematic of the differences between the VdlP and the CF - unlike the CF where there are so many villages and places to stay, we had to walk a much shorter stage than we wanted (to Casa de Cáceres) just to make the logistics of the next day work for us. And all due to one albergue being closed.

 

[limescene]

I did VDLP in 2018 and always found a reasonable meal at 7pm.....small towns with only one bar seemed on principle to see it as their duty to provide an early meal for pilgrims.

I did not find this to be the case (anymore) when walking the VdlP in 2023. Many places did not serve food before 8 pm or even later which was pretty annoying.

As others have mentioned before, we too changed our routine into opting for a menu del dia (often 12 €, usually choices of primero, segundo, postre and bebida) for a late lunch before 3-4pm and a snack later in the evening if needed whenever possible. It’s also possible to prepare your own food if the Albergue provides a least a microwave but not all do so.

The most difficult place I remember was Morille, where the only bar open (the one you check in for the Albergue) only served tapas and no tienda available. In all other places where was at least an open tienda if no bar/restaurant serving food was available, even if late.

 

[C clearly]

According to the locals last year, it's all got a bit political.
The land is very valuable.
And there are vested interests.

I had also understood that there were issues related to water supply and/or waste water being released into the reservoir, and the necessary treatments, permits, etc. These decisions and permits can develop a "political" life no matter how reasonable things might seem on the surface. One local will say "A" while the person across the street will say "B." Meanwhile person "C" is pulling strings and saying nothing.

 

[mlhhome]

Funny VdlP food story and a tip.

I arrived in Villafranca de los Barros having had a lovely walk from Zafra.
Somewhat tired having slept little the night before.
(The bedroom window overlooked a very lively square)

I checked into a really nice Hostel (Rural Hostel Casa Perín)
Just what I needed. A nice private room to get a good night's sleep.

Swinging into my post walk routine, I showered, started laundry and asked the host where I might find a shop to restock my snacks and packed lunch for the next day. A long day for me, 27 kms to Torremejía. So I would need a meal of sorts en route. Or so I thought.

The response was............."It's Sunday, nothing is open". Nothing..........

But I found a bar open for lunch, so managed to save a bread roll and some meat for a walking snack the next day. All was good.

I headed back to the Hostel to rest, and as I walked in I noticed something.........
There was a lobby of sorts.
On the right hand side, was the owners office, where I had checked in.

On the left side, as I now saw, was a small shop!
Full of snacks for Pilgrims!! Biscuits, chocolate, noodles and some canned goods.........

I asked.............."Could I buy some stuff from here"?
"Of course" she said..........

A combination of my poor Spanish and lack of observation on arrival.
She even sold me two eggs and let me use the kitchen to hard boil them.......

Oh the tip!

From then on, each evening I would check a day or two ahead to see not only what accommodation was available, (using Gronze) but also cafes and shops. Google maps was my friend. I would google a village on google maps, then add the search term cafe or bar and they would spring up on the map. Clicking on each would generally show the opening hours. This only failed me a couple of times.


But always be prepared!

In San Pedro de Rozados I stayed in a place that provided breakfast. Important to me as there was little on the road till Salamanca, my next stop 24 kms away..

No one turned up to provide breakfast! No problem. I set off for the next village that had 2 cafes.......
Both were closed.............

But hey, I had a banana and a small bag of nuts. That got me to Salamanca.

Though my powers of observation (or lack of) let me down again. I failed to notice a village with an open cafe about half way, just a few hundred metres off the Camino! Miranda de Azan. Lesson learned. Again.........

At least I was carrying plenty of water!
Though I still downed a bottle of Aquarius at the first petrol station in Salamanca! (and a snickers bar)

That walk into Salamanca on a hot day is liking heading towards an Oasis in the dessert!
You can see the City from 13 kms away and it seems to take an age to get there.........

Was I alone buying chocolate too? It was a necessity as a portion of my road lunches and snacks.

 

[Bradypus]

Was I alone buying chocolate too? It was a necessity as a portion of my road lunches and snacks.

No. I usually carry chocolate, chorizo and cheese. Very calorie-dense and keep well.