Allowed to use Camping stove?

[Larkan]

Im heading out on my first Camino (Frances) at the start of April. Initially I was planning on bringing my Trangia/alcohol fuled camp stove with me but now I feel very nervous about it.

Reasons for bringing it: Budget is going to be one of my pilgrim struggles. Also, i have a few allergies/restrictions and feel more comfortable cooking my own things when nessecary. Final reason, from what I understand, after Covid, a lot of Albergues dont have "cooking" equipment anymore, which I totally understand. So I cant assume that I will be able to cook at the Albergues.

My fear is that I am not sure If I will be allowed to set up my stove. Are there any rules that make this illegal? I have tried to search on Spain and fire hazards but have not really found anything. I would NOT set up shop next to a café or restaurant, I think that would be very rude and possible illegal, but what about outside the Albergues I will be staying at? A few meters away from the road, away from people, at some kind of pavement or some such? Would that be a problem? I will ask the Hospitalera before, obviously, but Im still nervous that It would be a problem.

Also, I have seen a lot of people saying "just bring a Camping stove" in other forums - but how did that actually work? Were these people campers and allowed to to this in specified camping area? Or just regular Albergue people who stepped outside to cook their food?

As you can see, I have some worries and I would very much be greatful for any insights or thoughts from you all.

 

[dick bird]

Even if they have removed the cooking utensils, most albergues still have kitchens so you could either use the cooker/microwave or set up a camping stove in the kitchen if you negotiate with the hospitalero. A small gas cylinder camping stove might be a better bet than an alcohol liquid fuel stove. There are camping stores along the way that will sell the cylinders (which you can't take on planes of course, not even checked).

 

[roving_rufus]

I have taken an alcohol stove on other routes but not on the Frances. I generally found somewhere to use it if necessary. It's alot smaller and lighter than a gas stove to carry, and I normally bring some tinfoil to set it on and create a wind barrier- I tend to see it as backup so don't carry huge amounts of fuel. In France most supermarkets carry alcool a bruleur (cleaning section), in Spain a ferreteria is your best bet for fuel.
As alot of albergues have a microwave I tend to carry a suitable microwaveable container - (my current favourite is a plastic screw top jar as it let me carry leftovers the next day).

 

[peregrino_tom]

Im heading out on my first Camino (Frances) at the start of April. Initially I was planning on bringing my Trangia/alcohol fuled camp stove with me but now I feel very nervous about it.

Hi Larkan, over the years I've talked with many people ahead of their first camino Frances who feel they need to plan as if it was an expedition i.e. have a back-up plan for sleeping outdoors (mats/tents) and cooking (pots/cooker etc). The truth is that for 99% of the CF there are are good facilities and services every few hours at the most. It generally works best when you take as little emergency stuff as possible - actually the lighter load gives you the flexibility to change your distances to suit the options that you prefer as you walk along the way. And going at the beginning of April should be a good time - that should be too early for it to be overcrowded and experience any bed rush anxiety.
I've seen pilgrims (actually just the ultra long distance ones) carrying stoves but only ever saw one person using one (in a Galician Xunta albergue where the cookers weren't working).
Better IMO not to take a cooker but adapt to what is freely available along your route. So that means:
- choose to stay at albergues with kitchens where they are available and in your price range (which a guide like Gronze will show you, and often the comments will say how useful the kitchens are)
- take a plastic bowl/mug/container that you can use for warming food/drink in a microwave if that's all there is
- locate and use the shops/supermarkets in each town you stay to stock up with unrestricted foods and keep some of these on you for contingencies
- 'read' the camino and work out the best ways to adapt your life and eating arrangments to its rhythms. Pretty quickly you should find an approach that works for you.
Last year I walked a few weeks with a vegan. He really enjoyed cooking big veggie stews and inviting everyone to get involved - and we had some great evenings of that. But other times where he/we couldn't find a good kitchen we just made the best of the situation we were in: whether that was microwaving some stuff (there's quite a big range of microwave meals in Spanish shops now) and/ or sourcing an array of uncooked foods from the supermarket/shops - bread, salads, fruit, tinned foods, potato chips, ice cream (including vegan...), beer, wine etc etc . And then the next night we'd find a better place have an excellent cooked meal - and so it went on.
Cheers, tom

 

[J Willhaus]

As hospitaleros in Estella, we had a pilgrim leave his gas stove plus 4 canisters of gas and a group boy scout cooking kit with service for 4 in the donation bin.

 

[Flatlander]

Im heading out on my first Camino

First things first, the best of luck to you.

However, I think you may be overthinking this (and you wouldn't be alone)

Also, i have a few allergies/restrictions and feel more comfortable cooking my own things

I think that this is key. The degree of these allergies is what is important and the foods that affect you.

If budget is such a priority, then sharing food in a communal meal will most likely deliver the best bang for buck.
Of course, that may not work for broad allergies.

Note that buying food to cook for one is not particularly cheap in the current climate. You'll probably be carrying staples (more weight) and anything fresh will need to be packed carefully to avoid damage or spoiling.

My fear is that I am not sure If I will be allowed to set up my stove

There are laws, set locally, about fires and stoves. While gas stoves are normally exempt I have never been able to get a definitive answer on whether my Trangia is compliant or not. It is common in parts of Spain for there to be a complete ban on fires for part of the year - including barbecues in campgrounds, as an example. After devestating wildfires last year I'd imagine more of these this year. In April in northern Spain, though, I'm not too sure.
However, if you plan on cooking in the grounds of an Albergue I cannot see an issue if you explain your need and demonstrate that you are not reckless.

There is a lot to be said for sharing a meal with others or even enjoying a Pilgrim's menu that has a value over and above the Euro price. Similarly, there's a cost to being the lone traveller cooking up a one pot meal outside an Albergue. (The fumes can be fatal and should only be used indoors when there is lots of ventilation. I've cooked indoors on mine but an Albergue is communal).

I'd encourage you to look at the real world effects of your allergies and see how you can make them compatible with communal meals or eating out. Spanish kitchens, in my experience, can be very flexible and accommodating when they are open (!) and not too busy.

Or, as suggested above do an extra bit of research and choose places to stay based on cooking options.

It's Spain - you won't starve

 

[Arctic_Alex]

From a practical point of view and as I remember it from the Camino Francés, there are plenty of options to use such a stove in safe outdoor locations. Be it on stony ground, concrete at the outskirts of villages and towns, on outdoor tables etc. . But please stay away from dry vegetation, grass and in particular under coniferous trees as all the dry biomass there will quickly feed a huge fire. In other words, if it is not wet or stone, best refrain from using an alcohol stove outdoors. I am sure many accommodations will either have a functioning kitchen, or will allow it indoors or direct you to a safe place to use it.

Not sure about if it is legal or not, but I suppose so.

 

[good_old_shoes]

Many albergues still have kitchens. The list of albergues you get at St. Jean should include the information which do have one.

Sometimes it's only a microwave or a kitchen only for "cold" use, or there are stoves but no pots ect ... But even if there's no kitchen at all, you can still prepare sandwiches, salads ect. if you bring a small pot, spoon/fork and knife

I walked from home last year, with a tent, and still didn't bring a stove. On the Francés it is not needed, even if you're on a budget. Wildfires are a big problem so even if you're careful, locals won't like it if they see you using a stove somewhere outside.

I remember at least the following albergues to have a functioning kitchen (last summer / 2022):

- Roncesvalles (giant kitchen with very limited amount of plates ect., no shop, so bring basic ingredients or dehydrated trekking food).

- Zubiri albergue municipal (shop in town)

- Zabaldika donation based communal dinner

- Cizur Menor, albergue Orden Malta, small shop in town or supermarket in Cizur major, better bring ingredients from Pamplona

- Puente la Reina, albergue padres reparadores, shop in town

- Estella municipal had the stoves turned off, rest worked, shops in town

- los Arcos, albergue Isaac Santiago, shop in town

- Logrono albergue parroquial had a donation based communal dinner

- Najéra municipal, supermarkets in town

- Granon albergue parroquial, donation based communal dinner

- Burgos municipal, microwave kitchen, no plates ect., no fridge either if I remember correctly, but good enough to prepare a cold meal. Supermarkets in town.

Ect.

For the rest of the way I skipped a few sections due to injury/illness and also often camped on the campsites instead of at the albergues, so can't say much about the kitchen situation further on. But maybe this at least gives you an idea that there are still many albergues where you can cook or eat the communal dinner even on a budget.

At the places with communal dinner, talk to the hospitaleros. If the dinner is not possible for you because of the allergy, they'll probably come up with an alternative idea.

Don't be afraid, you won't starve, even if you decide to leave the stove at home!

Happy planning and buen Camino

 

[Larkan]

Hi Larkan, over the years I've talked with many people ahead of their first camino Frances who feel they need to plan as if it was an expedition i.e. have a back-up plan for sleeping outdoors (mats/tents) and cooking (pots/cooker etc). The truth is that for 99% of the CF there are are good facilities and services every few hours at the most. It generally works best when you take as little emergency stuff as possible - actually the lighter load gives you the flexibility to change your distances to suit the options that you prefer as you walk along the way. And going at the beginning of April should be a good time - that should be too early for it to be overcrowded and experience any bed rush anxiety.
I've seen pilgrims (actually just the ultra long distance ones) carrying stoves but only ever saw one person using one (in a Galician Xunta albergue where the cookers weren't working).
Better IMO not to take a cooker but adapt to what is freely available along your route. So that means:
- choose to stay at albergues with kitchens where they are available and in your price range (which a guide like Gronze will show you, and often the comments will say how useful the kitchens are)
- take a plastic bowl/mug/container that you can use for warming food/drink in a microwave if that's all there is
- locate and use the shops/supermarkets in each town you stay to stock up with unrestricted foods and keep some of these on you for contingencies
- 'read' the camino and work out the best ways to adapt your life and eating arrangments to its rhythms. Pretty quickly you should find an approach that works for you.
Last year I walked a few weeks with a vegan. He really enjoyed cooking big veggie stews and inviting everyone to get involved - and we had some great evenings of that. But other times where he/we couldn't find a good kitchen we just made the best of the situation we were in: whether that was microwaving some stuff (there's quite a big range of microwave meals in Spanish shops now) and/ or sourcing an array of uncooked foods from the supermarket/shops - bread, salads, fruit, tinned foods, potato chips, ice cream (including vegan...), beer, wine etc etc . And then the next night we'd find a better place have an excellent cooked meal - and so it went on.
Cheers, tom

Thank you for your insight.

Hi Larkan, over the years I've talked with many people ahead of their first camino Frances who feel they need to plan as if it was an expedition i.e. have a back-up plan for sleeping outdoors (mats/tents) and cooking (pots/cooker etc). The truth is that for 99% of the CF there are are good facilities and services every few hours at the most. It generally works best when you take as little emergency stuff as possible - actually the lighter load gives you the flexibility to change your distances to suit the options that you prefer as you walk along the way. And going at the beginning of April should be a good time - that should be too early for it to be overcrowded and experience any bed rush anxiety.
I've seen pilgrims (actually just the ultra long distance ones) carrying stoves but only ever saw one person using one (in a Galician Xunta albergue where the cookers weren't working).
Better IMO not to take a cooker but adapt to what is freely available along your route. So that means:
- choose to stay at albergues with kitchens where they are available and in your price range (which a guide like Gronze will show you, and often the comments will say how useful the kitchens are)
- take a plastic bowl/mug/container that you can use for warming food/drink in a microwave if that's all there is
- locate and use the shops/supermarkets in each town you stay to stock up with unrestricted foods and keep some of these on you for contingencies
- 'read' the camino and work out the best ways to adapt your life and eating arrangments to its rhythms. Pretty quickly you should find an approach that works for you.
Last year I walked a few weeks with a vegan. He really enjoyed cooking big veggie stews and inviting everyone to get involved - and we had some great evenings of that. But other times where he/we couldn't find a good kitchen we just made the best of the situation we were in: whether that was microwaving some stuff (there's quite a big range of microwave meals in Spanish shops now) and/ or sourcing an array of uncooked foods from the supermarket/shops - bread, salads, fruit, tinned foods, potato chips, ice cream (including vegan...), beer, wine etc etc . And then the next night we'd find a better place have an excellent cooked meal - and so it went on.
Cheers, tom

Thank you for your input, it was really something I needed to hear. As a fellow vegan it is nice to know that food problems/fears appear if you create them yourself, kind off. As you and many others have commented I will try to plan with plastic containers and microwave cooking! Thanks again!

 

[David Tallan]

At the height of the pandemic, when there were strict limitations on albergues, including reduced occupancy and social distancing in dorms, kitchens were closed. I don't expect that is still the case (although I'm sure someone who has walked more recently can correct me if I am wrong).

So a kitchen with some sort of cooking appliance should generally be available. You may still want to bring some sort of light pot to cook in if you want to consistently cook your own food, but a stove is probably not necessary on the Frances.

 

[J Willhaus]

I don't think you will need it. Before we did our first Camino we were avid hikers and campers in the US so we had a ton of "gear" for that purpose (and still do). Unless you are going to be on one of the more remote Caminos, there will be places to eat and cook and generally cookware and utensils to do so (even post pandemic). If you are staying somewhere with a communal meal, tell the hospitalera about any food allergies or preferences. That is one of the questions on the list that are often asked as you are signed in even. I know I always make an effort to include pilgrims in any meal preparations and make it possible for everyone to eat together despite allergies and food preferences of the various pilgrims. Shared meals are a wonderful part of the Camino and I hope you will want to participate in one or more.

 

[peregrino_tom]

Thank you for your input, it was really something I needed to hear. As a fellow vegan it is nice to know that food problems/fears appear if you create them yourself, kind off. As you and many others have commented I will try to plan with plastic containers and microwave cooking! Thanks again!

And save a little money for when you reach Santiago for a visit to The Green House / La Casa Verde. Beautiful gentle dishes influenced by the spices and traditions of south east asia.
There's also an area that's becoming like a 'Vegan Quarter' around Rua do Hospitalino. We ate at Entre Padras and there's another veggie place opposite called A Porte Verde, and Hervor e Fervor is nearby too (but didn't try them, yet ).