Gluten free on the Camino del Norte

[Jane Erasmus]

Hi,
I am starting Camino del Norte on June 18 2018.....and have GOT to be gluten free because of Celiac Disease, so am wondering how your Camino went. Did you manage with the various menus or did you carry food and make your own meals?
Thanks in advance for any information
Jane

 

[KiwiBrownz]

Hi,
I am starting Camino del Norte on June 18 2018.....and have GOT to be gluten free because of Celiac Disease, so am wondering how your Camino went. Did you manage with the various menus or did you carry food and make your own meals?
Thanks in advance for any information
Jane

Hi Jane, while not celiac we have two children that are. On our two caminos we noted many pilgrim menus would have worked great salads, meat and potatoes, potato and chorizo soup, etc. we also noted a good selection of GF items in the supermercados. Good Luck. I am looking at traveling with a friend who is GF, walking the Camino frances in September.

 

[Deleted member 53631]

I have found that if I'm not too fussy, I'm able to eat gluten (and dairy) free along the Camino del Norte. It works especially well if you have some simple dishes you can ask for. My favourite is chips and eggs! I recommend always having some snacks just in case as well. Breakfast can be tricky as is very bread based, so if I have some nuts or fruit or an energy bar then I can get make it through until lunch.

 

[JohnMcM]

Hi,
I am starting Camino del Norte on June 18 2018.....and have GOT to be gluten free because of Celiac Disease, so am wondering how your Camino went. Did you manage with the various menus or did you carry food and make your own meals?
Thanks in advance for any information
Jane

Jane,
I walked gluten-free and found no real difficulties except for breakfasts.

Asking "Tiene productos sin gluten" in most shops usually produced a helpful response, although in the non-supermarket shops the choice was fairly limited. I never had a problem getting gluten-free items in a supermarket.

If you choose to eat the pilgrim menus my experience was there was usually always a gluten free option. On the odd ocassion there wasn't, or there was doubt, I found if I told them "Soy Celiaco", something was always happily produced.

I took the precaution of always having a snack in my pack just in case. I ended up carrying a packet of trail mix and a packet of gluten free biscuits/cookies which I hardly touched.

Buen (healthy-diet) Camino

 

[hillwalker]

Hi Jane, I walked the C Frances last May. I have coeliac, also allergies to eggs and dairy. I managed, but it was challenging. In restaurants, when I would ask if there was anything "sin gluten" (or show my little allergy card) the answer was generally no. But then I learned to ask for what I CAN eat, for example "filet ternera c/pimientos" – and that was MUCH more effective. I'm not sure where it divided, but for the first half of the Way, meat with peppers, then (maybe in Galicia), meat with potatoes. I'm sure you know to be careful regarding french fries to make sure breaded foods are not cooked in the same oil. For me, breakfasts were the most problematic. But if you can eat gluten free breads, then you should be okay (alas I could not). What else. Some mornings I got by on potato chips (although even these I couldn't depend on, as they were hit and miss gluten-free) and apples. By the end I was putting sugar in my coffee, and jam on my apples. The hardest part, though, was actually emotional – I struggled with not being able to accept what people offered. Nevertheless it was a glorious experience!

 

[Csutak]

Hi Jane, I have walked 10 Caminos without gluten. During the last few Caminos I had almost no problem. There might be difficulties in the mountains without villages and bars/shops or in boiling hot weather when you can't carry proper extra food with you. Bread lasts only for 2 days in the heat, I always carry some GF pertcel sticks, rice cakes, nuts, chips and fruit with me - just in case.