Breakfast, Lunch and Siesta Question

[CaminoJoy123]

Hola!

Sometimes I've seen people warn that siesta is between about 2p and 4p, and many businesses are closed.

Other people say lunch is available from about 2p-4p, and isn't typically available before or after. So the restaurants or bars must be open during siesta?

Is it siesta in name only, and really it's just a long lunch during the hot part of the day?

I've also read the main breakfast food that's available around 6-7am is a piece of bread. Is that at the albergues? Or restaurants?

But often a second breakfast is available around 10:30 am at a bar. So if people start walking around 6 or 7am, they're walking for a few hours without substantial meal?

Can someone explain?

Thank you.

 

[Robo]

I never had a problem finding food on the CF. There are hundreds of Pilgrims a day walking through these villages (other than in Winter) and they have catered, quite literally, for Pilgrims for a thousand years or more. You won't starve

In a larger town, you may find a particular restaurant you want to try doesn't open till 7 pm or something, but there will be alternatives.

Just be aware that the Spanish are not big on breakfast. In many cases it might be toast and Jam with a coffee. Hence many people talk about having a 'second breakfast' down the road a bit. A habit it's easy to fall into

It's a good idea to always carry small snacks anyway. You might be hungry 2 hours from the next village, and you won't know if there is even a cafe there or not..... Usually there is .... Just work on the basis that you might have to miss a meal at some stage, just because of where you are at the time, and have an 'emergency' stash of food

But I can't remember a day I could not get breakfast, or lunch or dinner..... at a time that suited me. i.e. 8 am ish for breakfast, 12-2 ish for lunch, 6-7 ish for dinner. Obviously if you are out on the road at 6 am you might not find a cafe open.....

You may find some businesses / shops closed for Siesta, but I don't recall that being an issue either.

Just be prepared to be a bit out of your comfort zone at times
All will be well, just go with the flow and try not to 'over think' it too much....

 

[trecile]

Bars are generally open during siesta time, so getting food most any time of day isn't a problem, though many grocery stores are closed during siesta. You will find more businesses open during siesta in the larger cities, and China stores seem to be open all the time.
I don't care to eat immediately upon rising, so it suits me to walk an hour or so before breakfast. And consider that on the longest days of the year in Spain sunrise doesn't occur until about 6:45. Unless it was going to be a very hot day, I didn't start walking until after 7:00.

 

[C clearly]

Note that @Robo refers to the Camino Frances, and during the busier times of year. While they do cater to pilgrim needs there, I can definitely remember waiting hungrily until a decent meal would be available at 8 or 8:30 pm, and I also did encounter closed stores in the afternoon.

Bars are typically open all day and can usually provide pilgrim fare. Proper restaurants are open about 1-4, and then again from about 8 pm. Stores typically close during the afternoon period, reopening around 4 or 5 pm.

On other routes (e.g. VDLP) be prepared for the fact that they do not cater to pilgrim's schedules. Carry snacks!

 

[CaminoJoy123]

Note that @Robo refers to the Camino Frances, and during the busier times of year. While they do cater to pilgrim needs there, I can definitely remember waiting hungrily until a decent meal would be available at 8 or 8:30 pm, and I also did encounter closed stores in the afternoon.

Bars are typically open all day and can usually provide pilgrim fare. Proper restaurants are open about 1-4, and then again from about 8 pm. Stores typically close during the afternoon period, reopening around 4 or 5 pm.

On other routes (e.g. VDLP) be prepared for the fact that they do not cater to pilgrim's schedules. Carry snacks!

Bars and restaurants are open from 1-4pm, but small markets are closed then. Got it.

I plan to buy snacks: bread, nuts, ham, tuna, sardines, peppers, tomato, olives, etc. Sounds like the mercados observe siesta hours, but the bars and restaurants are open then. Thanks!

 

[jefferyonthecamino]

Hola!

Sometimes I've seen people warn that siesta is between about 2p and 4p, and many businesses are closed.

Other people say lunch is available from about 2p-4p, and isn't typically available before or after. So the restaurants or bars must be open during siesta?

Is it siesta in name only, and really it's just a long lunch during the hot part of the day?

I've also read the main breakfast food that's available around 6-7am is a piece of bread. Is that at the albergues? Or restaurants?

But often a second breakfast is available around 10:30 am at a bar. So if people start walking around 6 or 7am, they're walking for a few hours without substantial meal?

Can someone explain?

Thank you.

as a Spaniard, with odd eating habits, i will try to explain

- siesta usually starts a bit later, 2:30 or even 3, until roughly 5 or 5:30 pm. most/all family run businesses will be closed. each business sets its own siesta closing times, in other words, it is not regulated, and they could stay open if they wanted to. most also make up for the 'loss' of business hours by staying open fairly late - even after 9 pm in some cases. supermarkets that are not family run, will stay open. pharmacies tend to close.

- we eat lunch no earlier than 1:30 pm, although typically after 2 and up to 3 or even 3:30 pm. lunch at noon is unheard of. you will find food at any of teh cafeterias and bars that stay open all day as their kitchen is also open all day. 'real' restaurants open at our lunch time and close at around 4 pm., opening again at around 8:30pm for the first of the dinners. once agian, bars and restaurants will be open all day and will not close for siesta, but they could if they wanted to.

- only the name left, few spaniards, if any, actually take a nap if not the weekend. definitely no one that works in an office. siesta also happens in the spring, autumn and winter, so it is not only heat related.

- on the Camino, many hostels and bars open at 6 am for those that like to walk in the dark and yes, we favour a so-called 'continental' breakfast (toast/pastry + coffee). heavy breakfasts with panackes, eggs, bacon, etc. is foreign to us.

- 'second breakfast' does not exist per se. when you are hungry, stop at any bar and they will have a grill ready and will be able to put together a 'bocadillo' (baguette) and/or will probably have their first tortillas ready for breakfast and/or even received their delivery of churros.

- we eat substantially at lunch and dinner, often as late as 10 pm.

- many places on the Camino are ready for pilgrims, especially foreign pilgrims, and will have food all day, even if just a simple plate of fried eggs, chips and chorizo. for a proper three-course dining experience, never trust a place that serves food outside of our eating times.

good luck and 'buen provecho'

 

[CaminoJoy123]

as a Spaniard, with odd eating habits, i will try to explain

- siesta usually starts a bit later, 2:30 or even 3, until roughly 5 or 5:30 pm. most/all family run businesses will be closed. each business sets its own siesta closing times, in other words, it is not regulated, and they could stay open if they wanted to. most also make up for the 'loss' of business hours by staying open fairly late - even after 9 pm in some cases. supermarkets that are not family run, will stay open. pharmacies tend to close.

- we eat lunch no earlier than 1:30 pm, although typically after 2 and up to 3 or even 3:30 pm. lunch at noon is unheard of. you will find food at any of teh cafeterias and bars that stay open all day as their kitchen is also open all day. 'real' restaurants open at our lunch time and close at around 4 pm., opening again at around 8:30pm for the first of the dinners. once agian, bars and restaurants will be open all day and will not close for siesta, but they could if they wanted to.

- only the name left, few spaniards, if any, actually take a nap if not the weekend. definitely no one that works in an office. siesta also happens in the spring, autumn and winter, so it is not only heat related.

- on the Camino, many hostels and bars open at 6 am for those that like to walk in the dark and yes, we favour a so-called 'continental' breakfast (toast/pastry + coffee). heavy breakfasts with panackes, eggs, bacon, etc. is foreign to us.

- 'second breakfast' does not exist per se. when you are hungry, stop at any bar and they will have a grill ready and will be able to put together a 'bocadillo' (baguette) and/or will probably have their first tortillas ready for breakfast and/or even received their delivery of churros.

- we eat substantially at lunch and dinner, often as late as 10 pm.

- many places on the Camino are ready for pilgrims, especially foreign pilgrims, and will have food all day, even if just a simple plate of fried eggs, chips and chorizo. for a proper three-course dining experience, never trust a place that serves food outside of our eating times.

good luck and 'buen provecho'

Thank you, this a very thorough answer. Living in Florida, and being among retirees, there are many similarities.

 

[Donna Sch]

On the VDLP the first bar I encountered that was open at 7 am was in Montamarta which is about 3/4 of the way into the Camino. Before that you had to be staying somewhere that provided breakfast or had a vending machine. Which is why I always made sure I had some snacks and food ready to go in the evening for the next morning.

 

[t2andreo]

You will learn how to accommodate your dietary needs very fast. I usually carry some sort of snack to consume while walking. This also holds me over if I cannot find a bar / cafe when and where I want one. I always carry extra water. If it is excess to my needs, another pilgrim may need it.

Leaving my accommodation in the morning, I try to snag a banana and / or an orange. I always try to carry a cellophane packet of frutos secos (dried fruits and nuts), available in any tienda. I find that peanuts with salt work fine as a walking snack.

This year, as an experiment, I am bringing 1.5 oz single servings of good old American peanut butter as a daily protein supplement. It will go on tosdada in the morning, as a sandwich spread on my jamon con queso boccadillo, and as an anytime, on the go snack using my spork to transfer from small cup to mouth as needed. The only downside is the added weight penalty.

BTW, I always attach a "trash bag" to my waist belt. If I pack in, I pack it out. Please do the same and do not litter our Camino routes.

My rucksack is packed to go, and is at 12 kg all in. EVERYTHING that went into the ruck has been weighed and "murder boarded" by me. This is in my normal carry range for a Camino and includes nutritional and health supplemental ingredients for up to two weeks.

I mail ahead replenishment supplies to a reserved accommodation at this point. So, my load gets lighter daily by serval ounces (a couple hundred grams) then I load up again.

I hope this helps.

 

[Mark Lee]

If you want some good complex carbs and protein in the morning before you start walking, don't rely on a typical Spanish "breakfast" to do that. I found it to be lacking there. It's usually some toast and jam, or a pastry along with coffee and maybe some juice. Sugary, simple carbs. To take up the slack I always tried to buy some things the day/evening before to have the next morning before I started walking. If possible, when the albergues have them, you can keep your stuff in the refrigerator. I never had a problem of someone else filching it, but I've heard it happens.

 

[joecamino]

If possible, when the albergues have them, you can keep your stuff in the refrigerator. I never had a problem of someone else filching it, but I've heard it happens.

Refrigerators-- I was wondering about those. Do most albergues have them? As long as the food will keep, it sounds like best time to find a breakfast may be at dinner, the night before.

 

[Paddington Bear]

Refrigerators-- I was wondering about those. Do most albergues have them? As long as the food will keep, it sounds like best time to find a breakfast may be at dinner, the night before.

If you google "supermarket in spain" you will see there are lots all along the French Way.

 

[HeidiL]

Walking anywhere else than on the Camino Francés, I always carry at least two meals' worth of food with me - things like instant oatmeal and soup (and a heating coil for water), bread, cheese and fruit. So far, I have always needed it somewhere - in the village where the bar opens for breakfast at 10, in the village where the shop closed last month because the owner moved, in the village where "everybody knows that the bar is closed on Tuesdays"...

 

[Deleted member 29041]

I usually buy un bocadillo, tamates, jamon and queso, plus I keep some fruit or a snack or two at hand. That way I can have a somewhat more substantial breakfast whenever it pleases me, and I have the option of doing the same for either the evening meal or lunch, depending on wether I'm close to an eatery at lunch time, or not. My preferred lunch is a menu del dia.

I carry a small kitchen knife - a Fiskars "tomato knife" (35 gram) to facilitate the butchering of the bocadillo and tamates.

Before I leave, I do a little homework and use google maps to locate panaderias and tiendas in the relevant towns, and save the screen dump to my tablet (mobile data rates abroad are akin to highway robbery).

 

[mspath]

For more re grocery stores on the CF see
https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/grocery-stores-on-the-camino-frances.24968/

 

[Anemone del Camino]

Refrigerators-- I was wondering about those. Do most albergues have them? As long as the food will keep, it sounds like best time to find a breakfast may be at dinner, the night before.

If you look up the albergues on the Eroski site, you can see whichnones have a kitchen. If they do, then they will at least have a refrigerator, a skink and either a stove or microwave. Yogourts, ham and boiled eggs shared with someone else make for a much better breakast than what albergues will charge you 3€ for. Visit the local mini market before dinner and stock up.

I've noticed on this walk that there are many more canned good than before that open without a can opener, including all sorts of tuna but also salads. Many more small portion jars of cooked beans and lentils than before. And Dia even has some gorgeous meals in hermetically pack plastic trays. Boxed gazpacho was only to be found twice, although I looked for it every day for three weeks: despite temps in the high 20s it is apparently not warm enough to sell it.

As for the pilgrim siesta... nothing beats it. Had kne nearly afternoon on this walk.

 

[Mark Lee]

Refrigerators-- I was wondering about those. Do most albergues have them? As long as the food will keep, it sounds like best time to find a breakfast may be at dinner, the night before.

It's hit and miss. Some do, some don't. I never looked it up which ones do, and never used there being one as a criteria as to whether or not to stay there. If they didn't have a fridge, I'd just have some energy bars, or something similar that's non-perishable in my pack to carry me over till I could find a real breakfast. If they did have a fridge I'd get some yogurt, juice, maybe sandwich stuff the evening before to eat in the albergue before I left the next morning. For the most part though, you never go but a few kilometers or so before you come to a town where you can stop and eat if you want to.
I always made it a point to always have snacks in my pack. Stuff like the before mentioned energy bars, or peanuts or trail mix, dark chocolate, etc.

 

[J Willhaus]

At supper you will be offered a desert. I usually just ordered a piece of fruit (usually a large apple or orange) and then tucked it in my bag to share at breakfast with my husband. When there was a kitchen, I usually bought some eggs to hard boil for the next morning's breakfast. We also bought a small loaf of bread, some ham and some cheese and made our lunch each day so we did not have to worry about whether we would find an open place in the afternoon. We bought a folding knife with a corkscrew in the handle at SJPDP so we could make our own sandwiches. We always stopped for coffee con leche at the first open place in the morning. Sometimes they had toast, but generally there would be tortilla which is kind of like an wedge of hash browns with eggs in it. We were generally on the road by 6:30 a.m. at the latest so sometimes we walked a long way before we found anything open and the fruit and hardboiled eggs were good to kickstart the day. I alway carried a bag of peanuts in my pack, too, in case there was nowhere to buy anything. Generally in the evening we were both starved and falling asleep by the time the 8 p.m. meal was served. We found that oftentimes the cook did not arrive to prepare the meal until late and although we could purchase beer or soda or coffee, we could not get a hot meal until at least 8 p.m. unless we cooked it ourselves. The evening community meals were some of the best memories of our trip.

 

[Thornley]

Thank you, this a very thorough answer. Living in Florida, and being among retirees, there are many similarities.

The Spanish do not venture our for dinner BEFORE 9-10pm........the pilgrims are fed early in cafe and bars.
If you are staying in an albergue YOUR doors are closed at 10pm
That is the reason why most when arriving in lovely cities ENJOY and book into a Hotel/Pension....Logrono/Burgos/Leon

 

[CaminoJoy123]

I usually buy un bocadillo, tamates, jamon and queso, plus I keep some fruit or a snack or two at hand. That way I can have a somewhat more substantial breakfast whenever it pleases me, and I have the option of doing the same for either the evening meal or lunch, depending on wether I'm close to an eatery at lunch time, or not. My preferred lunch is a menu del dia.

I carry a small kitchen knife - a Fiskars "tomato knife" (35 gram) to facilitate the butchering of the bocadillo and tamates.

Before I leave, I do a little homework and use google maps to locate panaderias and tiendas in the relevant towns, and save the screen dump to my tablet (mobile data rates abroad are akin to highway robbery).

sorry if this is a silly question, what sort of bags and gear are you using inside your backpack ? I mean, to make sure this lunch isn't all over your clothes and sleeping bag... that is.

 

[Anemone del Camino]

sorry if this is a silly question, what sort of bags and gear are you using inside your backpack ? I mean, to make sure this lunch isn't all over your clothes and sleeping bag... that is.

What ever bag the supermarket gave me the last time I went in. Plus, keep the food in the upper pouch of your backpack, it won't get squaished and it's easy to access.

 

[HeidiL]

I use zipped nylon bags for clothes. Less noisy, easy to find the stuff I need, easy to remember to bring everything. "Wet" food is in a plastic bowl with a tight-fitting lid, large enough to heat water for soup etc in if there aren't any kitchen facilities. (I, too, belong to the Cult of the Heating Coil.)

(I'm not concerned about weight at all, however much I stuff into my pack, I have never managed to find more than 10 % of my body weight that I actually WANT to bring.)

 

[Deleted member 29041]

sorry if this is a silly question, what sort of bags and gear are you using inside your backpack ?

I save some of the bags I get my groceries in, and keep my groceries on top, under the lid. Sometimes I carry the bread rolled inside my fleece, which is strapped to my backpack.

I use the same kind of bags when I carry my crocs inside the pack. I'm not one of the early risers, so the crackling is not an issue. I place my tomato knife, my eating utensils and my nail file in one shoe, and my silk mummy liner in the other shoe.