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Search 69,459 Camino Questions

How much water to carry and cooking along the way

bonafem

New Member
Time of past OR future Camino
Frances November (2014)
Hi everyone!

I just want to start with an advance thankyou because this forum has been so helpful for me in planning my trip!! So thank you so much for taking the time to help a newbie out :)

I had a question about food and water along the way. First of all, how much water do you recommend carrying? Are there usually places to fill up along the way? Especially the first day (starting in SJPP)?

Also, I had a friend that did the camino a few years ago and she said the Albuerges don't really have cooking facilities. But I've seen a few people on here talking about cooking in the Albuerges. How common are kitchens in the Albuerges? I would like to cook a fair amount both to save on money and because I have quite a few dietary restrictions so just makes it easier. Any advice?

X
 
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I prefer to carry a 2li bladder, and fill it each morning and depending on how much I have consumed, again around midday. Some people are happy to walk with far less. The longest leg on the CF is about 15km without water, so even if you do normally carry less, there are a few stretches you need to look out for. Otherwise, carrying enough for a couple of hours should be sufficient.

I suspect that most people have never bothered to calculate their body's consumption rate and how different it will be when outside much of the day walking. I have walked with people who were showing some of the early signs of dehydration because they were not carrying enough and not finding the places to refill.

As for cooking, its not so much the kitchen as the kitchen equipment that will defeat you. Most of the kitchens that I saw were pretty sparse with only a few well kitted out. Most had fairly cheap pots and pans, but very few had good food preparation equipment.
 
I rely on two 600 ml flasks - so just over a litre of water. There are a few stretches where I know water is scarce and I might buy another 600 ml bottle. Walking from SJPDP on the route Napoleon you can refill your water bottles at Orisson, and again when you reach the fountain near the Spanish border.

I never miss an opportunity to top up my water flasks.

Many of the albergues do, theoretically, have kitchens but, as Doug says, equipment is usually minimal. There will be a few pots and pans and a bit of cutlery. There never seem to be any tin openers so I look for ring pull cans when I'm choosing, for example, tuna.
 
The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
Carry plenty of water. In my avatar picture, you see my son and me on the last day of our first camino. Part of the reason it was our last day was that we walked too far and ran out of of water on the stretch between Montjardin and Los Arcos. We simply didn't realize there would be no fountains for that long stretch. I was seriously worried about my son and felt like the world's worst parent. I think we drank 3 bottles of water and 3-4 colas from the machines at the edge of Los Arcos when we finally got there! We never again ran out of water, believe me. For me, that meant always having at least 1.5 liters on me, and filling all bottles at every fountain or sometimes buying water. I carried 3 bottles and my son and husband both had 2, I think.
 
Kitchen equipment ... once the only option to boil water for tea was to use a wine glass (the only wine glass) in the mircrowave oven.

The kitchens in all of the Xunta albergues (Galicia) were modern (stove fridge sink ergonomic counter top table and chairs) but not a one had any utensils at all.

SO if you plan to cook your way across Spain you will need your own kitchen. Cast Iron Fry Pan: 1 Fork:1 Knife:1 Spoon:1 Fine China Plate:1 ... if you get my drift.

Oh yes ... there was one Xunta albergue that had a pot. Unfortunately someone else had used it to heat chestnuts and couldn't be bothered to scrub it clean.
 
Ah, the smell of chestnuts cooking! Reminds me of my last walk into Burgos, in November, as the weather was getting cold. We don't have street sellers of hot chestnuts in Australia (that I know of).

Bit of a divergence from the topic.
 
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Thanks for responses everyone!!

I think I will carry 1.5 L of water and fill up as often as possible.

So I will not plan on cooking every night hehe. Might carry a bag of rice for when there is a kitchen and can add in beans and veggies.

Thanks so much!
 
There won't be many places where you cannot find staples when you arrive. And you will find many places with a small supply of these left behind by pilgrims who rather than carry them. You might get greater value from bringing your favourite spices and dried herbs if you use them than carrying rice or pasta.
 
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In my opinion 1.5 liters of water is way too much weight to carry on the Camino Frances.
I carry an 8 ounce bottle and fill it up in each village.
I also carry an orange.
From Monjardin to Los Arcos is only around 10 kilometers. 6 miles.
In extremely hot weather you may want to carry more water, but your profile says you did the Camino Frances in November 2014, so you know that, right?
And if you are doing it in November 2015, it won't be that hot - the only place I've ever run out of water is on the VDLP.
 
If you want to cook buy (or bring) a kitchen knife. I believe hardware stores are the best place to buy one. The knifes you will find in the alburgues are better suited to be spoons. They likely have never been sharpened.

Buy some olive oil (preferably with a shaker top) and bring a small tin of salt. Then, each day you can see what equipment is there when you check in. After you know the situation you can decide if you want to cook that day or not. No need to carry a lot of stuff unless you plan to cook every day.
 
My 2 cents:

1) Water - In my opinion, it is best to error on the side of caution. When hiking -- any type of hiking -- I carry at least 32 oz./1 litre of water. I personally go through about 16 oz of fluids on a regular day without exertion or heat. If I felt that it would be longer than an hour between water access points, I would plan to carry double that amount. Yes, extra water = extra weight, but adequate hydration cannot be emphasized enough. Also, different people have different water needs. I would be thinking about monitoring water consumption when on 'training' hikes to get a good idea of personal water consumption levels and always plan to have a little more than that on hand.

2) Cooking - There is a lot you can do with a bare minimum of supplies. Again, pulling from a Uganda example, I did cooking over a charcoal 'stove' with the following equipment - 1 pot with lid, 1 knife, 1 fork, 2 spoons (a 'teaspoon' and a 'tablespoon', a coffee cup, a bowl, and a plate. With this equipment, I have 'baked' banana bread and cornbread.
 
€2,-/day will present your project to thousands of visitors each day. All interested in the Camino de Santiago.
IMO the food in Spain is so good, and some of it can be so cheap (especially if you self cater from a grocery), that it isn't worth the hassle of trying to cook in albuergue kitchens----which, from my experience, have limited equipment and sometimes albuergue hospilitarios that aren't "really" so thrilled you are cooking for yourself (though sometimes they encourage it). Besides, when I'm in Spain I want to eat Spanish food, when I'm in the Basque Country I want to eat Basque food, if I was in China I'd want to eat Chinese food*. I don't really want to eat pizza or indian satay or food from back home when I'm trying to immerse msyelf in a foreign culture. Just my .02

*I have always been curious to try cheap chinese takeout in Europe. There's "real" chinese food and then there's "American" chinese food. I'm pretty confident European chinese food isn't "real" but I bet it's different than "American" and I'd be curious to see what it looks like for a European palate. That said, I've never done it for the reasons stated in my previous paragraph. I did break down and do pizza twice on the Camino when options were limited and I was really hungry for as many carbs as I could find.
 
Waveprof, I know what you mean about cravings while in a foreign country. Pinto beans, fritos, and peanut butter were what I craved in Argentina. As far as soaking the culture in Spain by eating the food served is a good idea. When in Galicia, I'll try most of their well known dishes from gizzard s in Tabara to octopus in Muxia. But I am also going to partake of the vegan culture a la espan~ola which seems pretty strong in Sevilla.
 
Transport luggage-passengers.
From airports to SJPP
Luggage from SJPP to Roncevalles
blogger-image-1590050349.jpg
 
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Study your map/guide and if you are walking where there is a long distance between towns and fountains I would suggest carrying at 1.5 litre bottle in your backpack along with a 0.5 litre bottle in your pocket. In the heat during the summer you can dehydrate quickly and your extra bottle might be a life saver for some other pilgrims who didn't plan the day as well as you did!
 
IMO the food in Spain is so good, and some of it can be so cheap (especially if you self cater from a grocery), that it isn't worth the hassle of trying to cook in albuergue kitchens---- Besides, when I'm in Spain I want to eat Spanish food, when I'm in the Basque Country I want to eat Basque food, if I was in China I'd want to eat Chinese food*.

*I have always been curious to try cheap chinese takeout in Europe. I'm pretty confident European chinese food isn't "real" but I bet it's different than "American" and I'd be curious to see what it looks like for a European palate. I did break down and do pizza twice on the Camino when options were limited and I was really hungry for as many carbs as I could find.

Waveprof, I'm with you for the most part. Since you live in NOLA you probably get the "eat local & seasonal" thing better than many Americans. When I lived in Lake Charles, LA I was amazed by how much I really enjoyed eating.

If we are only talking about a week, say those starting from Sarria, I can't imagine wanting to cook. However, at some point many people, myself included, just want to cook. Even when there is great food in the bars and restaurants, there is also great food in the markets and tiendas. While I wouldn't want to try and tackle pulpo in an albuergue kitchen, frying up some morcilla in Burgos isn't too much of a stretch. Sometimes people just want a little taste of home, like the day we decided to make grilled cheese sandwiches (& they were great!) The other cool thing about cooking is it is (or at least was for me) a great way to bond with your "Camino family". You learn their likes and dislikes, their skills, and find ways to work together and over come challenges. You also get to share a little more of your life back home with them.

They other thing you mentioned (trying another culture's take on foreign food) can also be fun. I have had some great pizzas in Spain over the years, good Tai food in Ireland, and incredible Italian food in Argentina.

As always, just my 2¢
 
They other thing you mentioned (trying another culture's take on foreign food) can also be fun. I have had some great pizzas in Spain over the years, good Tai food in Ireland, and incredible Italian food in Argentina.

I have a Latin American friend who claims the best non-authentic Mexican food she's ever had in her life was in Switzerland. When you think of non-authentic Mexican, you realize there are a LOT of cheeses and sour creams etc.......so it all makes sense.
 
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I suspect that most people have never bothered to calculate their body's consumption rate and how different it will be when outside much of the day walking. I have walked with people who were showing some of the early signs of dehydration because they were not carrying enough and not finding the places to refill.

Guilty! First day I was barely out of St. Jean and I'd burned through 2 liters!

In my opinion 1.5 liters of water is way too much weight to carry on the Camino Frances.

I'd go through that much water before lunch. I'm a big, sweaty guy. 8 ounces is sip for me!

Like Doug said, you need to figure out how much water you'll need, BEFORE you start your Camino. That's why training walks with your full pack are so important. But if you're starting tomorrow and you have no idea how much water you'll use, it's far better to bring to much than too little! Worst case with too little water is dehydration. Worst case with too much water is that you dump it on the ground!

I have a Latin American friend who claims the best non-authentic Mexican food she's ever had in her life was in Switzerland. When you think of non-authentic Mexican, you realize there are a LOT of cheeses and sour creams etc.......so it all makes sense.

I met some folks from Europe who thought Doritos were Mexican food. I tried not to laugh too much!

As for cooking, like others have said, Xunta albergues in Galicia usually have nice kitchens, but no utensils. Other albergues that have kitches will usually have a few pots and pans, but not much else.

I brought along one of these. Very handy for cooking in un-stocked kitchens.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005188T90/?tag=casaivar02-20
 
I'd go through that much water before lunch. I'm a big, sweaty guy. 8 ounces is sip for me!

Yes, and since you WEIGH more, you can probably carry much more weight than a 5'5" slender person.

So you should perhaps carry more. But there are several places to fill your water bottle between breakfast and lunch.

Even in the 8 kilometers between SJPP and Orisson, you can refill at least twice.

And though getting dehydrated is dangerous, to me the bigger danger is going lame from carrying too much weight when there's plenty of water to be had.

At any rate, people will figure it out for themselves :)
Everyone is different.
 
A gallon (4 liters) of water per day is the rule of thumb.

So if you plan to walk for 35 days ...

You should carry 140 liters of water.

If you plan to wash or brush your teeth ... you will need to carry more.

Apparently beer weighs less.
 
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Yes, and since you WEIGH more, you can probably carry much more weight than a 5'5" slender person.

So you should perhaps carry more. But there are several places to fill your water bottle between breakfast and lunch.

Even in the 8 kilometers between SJPP and Orisson, you can refill at least twice.

And though getting dehydrated is dangerous, to me the bigger danger is going lame from carrying too much weight when there's plenty of water to be had.

At any rate, people will figure it out for themselves :)
Everyone is different.

Not only can I carry more, I have to carry more! I'm 10 inches taller than you, so one of my shirts is probably equal to 2 or maybe even 3 or yours, not to mention pants, undies, and all that fun stuff!

I walked the Valcarlos route, and if I remember correctly, there are 2 places where one can get more water before Valcarlos and only one after. (There was a fountain along the highway after Valcarlos but it was marked non-potable.) The other fountain was very close to Roncesvalles.

Yes, people will learn the proper amount of water they need, as I was saying, hopefully they do this BEFORE the Camino!
 
Weather matters. If it's really hot I can drink 6 litres a day. Plus what I get from my food. I'm still only barely hydrated.

If it's cold I might only need 1 litre and be well hydrated.

There are so many problems that come from being dehydrated.
 
Yep, there really isn't any water source that is officially "clean" after Valcarlos. At least none that I saw, and by that point I was certainly looking. Add the climb (& snow when I went) and that was the one day I would have had liked another liter of water.

I didn't really plan to comment on water in this thread. However now that I have, I will repeat what has been said above- you probably should do some hikes at home to work out your rate of consumption. Then you can ask the much more useful question- How many reliable water sources are there on xxxxx route?
 
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