Dinner for 10

[jsalt]

Hi, I need some advice please for what to do about dinner for a group of 10 people staying at Albergue Linar do Rei in Linares. We will have walked up from Ambasmestas to O’Cebreiro that day, and stopped there for a while before the last short leg to Linares. If I was on my own I would do a long late lunch in O’Cebreiro, but I bet these people, being newbies and creatures of habit, will want their dinner in the evening. Not to mention breakfast next morning. I know the albergue has a kitchen, but where do we buy food? Is there a reasonable little shop in O’Cebreiro? (I’ve been there 3 times before and can’t picture one, nor can I picture a restaurant in Linares.) There is no way we are going to slog food up the mountain. Help please! Jill

 

[Tincatinker]

Jill, this may be the moment when 'newbies and creatures of habit' make amazing discoveries about the camino, the world and themselves. I don't recall anything even vaguely resembling a food shop in o'Cebreiro unless you are planning to dine on over-priced honey, ham, cheese and dubious dried sausage all of which can be found nestling amongst the trinkets. There is a supermercado Tel: 982 367 145 in Pedrafita do Cebreiro which would be an easy-ish adventurous taxi-ride from Linares. Though that said the taxi will come from Pedrafita so you'll be paying for a 4-way trip.

This really might be an opportunity for a leisurely 'late' lunch and an evening in the Albergue on home made tapas y vino. Lugging snacks and a few botellas the last couple of Km's to Linares has to be a better bet than hauling the ingredients of a meal all the way from Villafranca.

Happy planning

 

[jsalt]

This really might be an opportunity for a leisurely 'late' lunch and an evening in the Albergue on home made tapas y vino.

Brilliant idea! Thank you!

 

[Mark Lee]

Snack at O'Cebreiro and walk all the way to Fonfria, maybe? They have a really great communal dinner there at the allbergue.

 

[FLEUR]

I was going to say that as well, we had a very good meal at Fonfria.

 

[FLEUR]

There was a very good little shop/mini supermarket at La Faba but if you shop there you'd still have to carry your supplies and continue the climb up O'Cebreiro.

 

[rometimed]

Not sure where you are stopping... why not bring food along from Villafranca del Bierzo? There's 2 supermarkets in that town.

 

[FLEUR]

Carrying food for dinner for 10 people is crazy. 30km plus, on a mountainous walk from Villafranca to Linares is not a great prospect . At least make everyone carry their share of the food. Mark's suggestion of walking on to Fonfria makes better sense IMHO.

Edit: I see you are walking from Ambasmestas and not setting out from Villafranca on that day.

 

[dagreen]

The menu del dia at the restaurants in O Cebreiro can be amazing. Do not miss out on the caldo gallego and queso de O Cebreiro with honey. The restaurants are made for large groups as well.

 

[Bradypus]

The menu del dia at the restaurants in O Cebreiro can be amazing. Do not miss out on the caldo gallego and queso de O Cebreiro with honey.

Agreed! Back in October I arrived in mid-afternoon and sat down to a proper Galician menu: pulpo stew, churrasco mixto and tarta de Santiago. No more expensive than most menus peregrinos and a very welcome change from spaghetti! It just confirmed that I had finally made it back into the Promised Land - even if only by one or two km.

 

[jsalt]

Snack at O'Cebreiro and walk all the way to Fonfria, maybe? They have a really great communal dinner there at the allbergue.

Hi, thanks for the suggestion. Fonfria will be too far for my group, as we would have already walked 17kms from Ambasmestas. They will find it hard enough getting up to O’Cebreiro without adding another 9kms to the day. Thanks for the suggestion though!

 

[jsalt]

The menu del dia at the restaurants in O Cebreiro can be amazing. Do not miss out on the caldo gallego and queso de O Cebreiro with honey. The restaurants are made for large groups as well.

Hi, yes, I had dinner once in O’Cebreiro and it was very good. I will probably go with Tincatinker’s brilliant idea: having lunch in O’Cebreiro and then we each buy ingredients for an evening of tapas and wine. It will also make a nice change from other evenings of pilgrim menus. Thanks for your input. Jill

 

[FLEUR]

Sounds like a good solution for your group and I'm sure they'll appreciate a late lunch and a sit down when the reach O'Cebreiro.

 

[jsalt]

There was a very good little shop/mini supermarket at La Faba

Ah, thank you for that! I will check it out when I get there. We might find more suitable things to buy in Faba, that a few of us can carry, than in O’Cebreiro itself.

 

[FLEUR]

We walked from Trabadelo and stayed overnight at La Faba. That made the rest of the walk up O'Cebreiro a litttle easier the next day. After a coffee stop in La Laguna and another at O'Cebriero we managed to walk on to Fonfria. Before Fonfria there's a bar (at Alto do Poio I think) that caters for breakfast, which could be useful for your walkers.

 

[jsalt]

We walked from Trabadelo and stayed overnight at La Faba.

Hi Fleur, I stayed at La Faba once and never again! It’s a great place, very friendly, but the dorm is crowded, the windows open inwards and there are very wide windowsills . . . I woke up about 5am and saw that all the European pilgrims had closed the windows, as they do (it was July!). Unable to open any window, because the pilgrims had put all their stuff on the window sills, and I dared not touch other people’s belongings, I had to rush outside to gasp for some fresh air. It stank in there. I stayed outside until people started moving around and I could hold my breath while asking people if I could open a window . . . .

Besides, with a group of 10 (maybe more) I am going to have to book accommodation in advance, which means private albergues only.

But, yes, we can do breakfast at Alto do Poio.

Thanks! Jill

 

[FLEUR]

We stayed at La Faba in September 2015. No problem with the heat but it was busy. The young Korean couple in the bunks above ours sat atop, lit up and had a quick smoke of "something" before they settled down for the night! Not sure which weed they smoked but I expect they had sweet dreams and slept well!

 

[Kiwi-family]

We cooked for eleven at O'Cebreiro. I was sitting with my daughter who had just broken her arm when she fell on the path and so hubby went out to find food. A few cans of beans a loaf of bread were all he managed to find to augment our emergency peanuts and dried fruit!

 

[jsalt]

A few cans of beans a loaf of bread were all he managed to find to augment our emergency peanuts and dried fruit!

Hopefully the albergue at Linares will have a saucepan (unlike O’Cebreiro!), so we can at least heat up the beans, if we end up in the same situation

 

[scruffy1]

The menu del dia at the restaurants in O Cebreiro can be amazing. Do not miss out on the caldo gallego and queso de O Cebreiro with honey. The restaurants are made for large groups as well.

I am not a big fan of pulpo, not even a little one. However the best pulpo I ever ate was in the inn at O Cebreiro, a l-a-r-g-e portion suitable for a first initiation into octopus for a group of people.

 

[marbuck]

O Cebreiro is a tourist town but the restaurants do serve great food. I had the best soup ever there. It is a long hard slog up the mountain so do yourself a favour, eat there. Even though it is a tourist town it is a great place to spend the night. A lot of modern Camino history here.

 

[Bradypus]

A lot of modern Camino history here.

Those of us who have walked the caminos in the past 30 years owe a great deal to Don Elias Valiña - parish priest in O Cebreiro for many years. Probably the most influential figure in the modern revival of walking the Camino Frances: researching and marking out the way and writing a clear and comprehensive guide book which I found indispensable on my first Camino. Sadly I arrived in O Cebreiro a few months after his death and so did not have the chance to meet the man. Passing through in October last year it was good to see his bust and grave in the church and know that his memory is honoured. Just one of the reasons why O Cebreiro is a physical and spiritual highlight of the camino for me.

 

[jsalt]

Even though it is a tourist town it is a great place to spend the night.

We would love to stay in O’Cebreiro, but my group are on a very strict budget, so hotels are not an option. As we will be walking in peak season I must book accommodation for them in advance, and it is not possible to book Xunta albergues. It would be a nightmare if I pitched up with a group of 10 (or more), exhausted after their climb, only to find the albergue full. It is not a risk (as group leader) I am prepared to take! I can book private albergues only. But thanks for the suggestion! Jill

 

[Kiwi-family]

Jill
I don't intend to try to change your mind! But I will mention that we were a group of eleven and managed to get beds! It is a big albergue and if you've stopped the Night before halfway up the hill you arrive early enough to sit in the line until opening time and then have all afternoon to explore.

 

[HedaP]

There was a tienda at O'Cebreiro when we went through in October 2015. It had a good deli counter, plenty of tinned goods, some veg, plus all the usual dried goods. Plenty of options for making a dinner and breakfast for 10. The tienda was the thatched roof building below the level of the Camino path on the left when walking into town. I bought some good cheese there that we had with breakfast the next day.
I found this on YouTube:

The only catch might be siesta hours.

 

[jsalt]

There was a tienda at O'Cebreiro when we went through in October 2015.

Fabulous, thank you! I had no idea this place existed. Jill