Last things to do before leaving

[Dodog]

Hello, i am leaving in 2 weeks, beginning the camino at Burgos, i have all my things, i practice to walk 15km with my backpack, i plan the my days, and the number of km per days approximatively. My train is book to Burgos. Is there somethings else i should do before leaving?

When i walk is there a lot of Albergue who offer breakfest? Or should i buy things to eat the night before? What is the typical breakfest on the camino?

The place to by food are open until what hour?

I am a bit nervous don't knowing where i will sleep every night, where i can find food every day, is it easy?

Thank you
Do

 

[SYates]

When i walk is there a lot of Albergue who offer breakfest? - Some of the private ones do and also the bars in the villages.

Or should i buy things to eat the night before? - Always a good idea! Just in case a bar is closed, a couple of bananas and cereal bars will get you to the next 'feeding place'. Also eating wayside picnics helps to keep costs down.

What is the typical breakfest on the camino? - Cafe con leche ;-) and whatever you like.

The place to by food are open until what hour? - In some places the albergue will close earlier than the shops ;-) In general shops will be open at least until 20:00, often much longer.

I am a bit nervous don't knowing where i will sleep every night, where i can find food every day, is it easy?- Yes, don't worry and Buen Camino! SY

 

[Al the optimist]

Click on the "Resources" tab at the top. Select Camino Frances" on the left hand side. One of the resources is an albergue list with each one's facilities including whether there is breakfast available. Many people breakfast at their first coffee stop though.

 

[Dodog]

Thank you!

 

[SYates]

Oh, and don't forget the usual stuff when you are away for a few weeks: Find somebody to empty your mail box, water the plants ect. ;-) SY

 

[Dodog]

Thank's my husband is staying at home, i doing the camino with my son of 17 years ago!

 

[Anniesantiago]

Is there somethings else i should do before leaving?
YES! CALL YOUR BANK AND TELL THEM YOU WILL BE IN SPAIN!!
Otherwise, you may find your ATM card disabled.

Regarding food, I find the best value to be a midday meal between noon and 2 pm, called Menu del Dia. More food, less expensive. Then just picnic or snack for the evening.

Don't worry... you'll be fine. Keep an orange and some nuts in your pack "just in case" and some hard cheese, which you can buy in any tienda along the trail. Another good snack to carry is to buy a couple of eggs (you can buy them separately there) and boil them in the albergue the night before. Here are a few blogs I did on Camino food:

http://caminosantiago2.blogspot.com/2011/08/eating-on-camino-santiago-coffee-and.html
http://caminosantiago2.blogspot.com/2011/08/all-about-tapas-and-pinchos.html
http://caminosantiago2.blogspot.com/2011/08/lunch-on-camino-santiago.html

 

[John Finn]

My routine breakfast-wise was to set off with just an energy bar and an orange juice on board and then to have breakfast at the first town/village I came to - usually 5kms or so away. Then, another OJ, a nice coffee or two and a tortilla patata with a chunk of bread. Lovely.

Availability of food is not a problem.

And when in Galicia be sure to have the Pulpo.

 

[SYates]

The only difficult stretch food-wise I remember on the CF are the 16km from Carrion de los Condes to Calzadilla de la Cueza. Sometimes there is a mobile bar in the middle of nowhere, but I wouldn't rely on it, so take enough food, and perhaps more important - enough water! Buen Camino! SY

 

[VNwalking]

Nothing more to add to the very good advice form 'old hands'...except to relax and remember to breathe.
Pre-camino nerves are normal; once you're out there, they do go away. It all works out somehow. I ate (or not), managed to find a place to sleep, and discovered that often in a pinch the Camino provides. Maybe not what I'd planned but maybe better. In the end I got it (at least temporarily)...all those things that anxiety drums up? They're not that big a big deal.

 

[dougfitz]

Thank's my husband is staying at home, i doing the camino with my son of 17 years ago!

Even more reason to find someone to empty the mail box and put the bins out

 

[CaminoDebrita]

Even more reason to find someone to empty the mail box and put the bins out

That's the funniest thing I've heard you say! Love it!!!

 

[dougfitz]

That's the funniest thing I've heard you say! Love it!!!

I'd better stop then before comments like this ruin my reputation!

 

[CaminoDebrita]

I'd better stop then before comments like this ruin my reputation!

Oh, we're on to you now, Fitzy!

 

[Kiwi-family]

My current list for the Saturday that I leave so far includes:
change the sheets on the bed (coz Grandpa is coming to look after the kids and might like fresh sheets!)
weed the vegetable garden (then it won't be a jungle when we return)
take the family to a wild west coast beach for our annual mid-winter photo-shoot (it's a bit of a tradition)....here's my favourite photo from before last year's camino (the day we sent two of the kids to India)



And before we know it, it will be 11pm and our plane will be taking off
All that to say - just relax and enjoy the now!!!

 

[VNwalking]

Kiwi-family, I see why your name is what it is...A beautiful Kiwi family you have! (Piha, Muriwai, Bethell's? It makes me nostalgic...and such wonderful walking...)

Today's death of the peregrino on the Route Napoleon shines a light on one thing that few of us probably do: closure. Say goodbye consciously. Tell your loved ones you love them, tell them what you appreciate about them, have some good quality time together...like Kiwi-family going off to the beach with the kids and grandkids...perhaps leave a note to open 'in case...'
Because we waltz off into the sunset with our packs and plans and schedules, thinking we'll be just fine...but, truly, who knows?

 

[Lynda t]

Don't Forget the tiendas/shops close at about 1300 hours until about 1600.

 

[Al the optimist]

Last thing I do? Kiss my Mom and say a silent prayer for her good health while I am away.

 

[Dodog]

My current list for the Saturday that I leave so far includes:
change the sheets on the bed (coz Grandpa is coming to look after the kids and might like fresh sheets!)
weed the vegetable garden (then it won't be a jungle when we return)
take the family to a wild west coast beach for our annual mid-winter photo-shoot (it's a bit of a tradition)....here's my favourite photo from before last year's camino (the day we sent two of the kids to India)

View attachment 18681

And before we know it, it will be 11pm and our plane will be taking off
All that to say - just relax and enjoy the now!!!

So cute, i will miss my husband and daughter for sure, but i will enjoy my time with my son of 18 years old, a great way to make souvenir for the both of us,.

 

[KinkyOne]

...Just in case a bar is closed, a couple of bananas and ...

Sybille, you're so sweet with always "offering" bananas for intermediate food that I think you could change your nickname to BananaSYates

I can only ditto your advice though!

 

[Lynda t]

Is there somethings else i should do before leaving?
YES! CALL YOUR BANK AND TELL THEM YOU WILL BE IN SPAIN!!
Otherwise, you may find your ATM card disabled.

Regarding food, I find the best value to be a midday meal between noon and 2 pm, called Menu del Dia. More food, less expensive. Then just picnic or snack for the evening.

Don't worry... you'll be fine. Keep an orange and some nuts in your pack "just in case" and some hard cheese, which you can buy in any tienda along the trail. Another good snack to carry is to buy a couple of eggs (you can buy them separately there) and boil them in the albergue the night before. Here are a few blogs I did on Camino food:

http://caminosantiago2.blogspot.com/2011/08/eating-on-camino-santiago-coffee-and.html
http://caminosantiago2.blogspot.com/2011/08/all-about-tapas-and-pinchos.html
http://caminosantiago2.blogspot.com/2011/08/lunch-on-camino-santiago.html

Anniesantiago. The lard, minced meat and paprika is a typical Andalucian tapa called 'pringa'.

 

[whariwharangi]

Hello, i am leaving in 2 weeks, beginning the camino at Burgos, i have all my things, i practice to walk 15km with my backpack, i plan the my days, and the number of km per days approximatively. My train is book to Burgos. Is there somethings else i should do before leaving?

When i walk is there a lot of Albergue who offer breakfest? Or should i buy things to eat the night before? What is the typical breakfest on the camino?

The place to by food are open until what hour?

I am a bit nervous don't knowing where i will sleep every night, where i can find food every day, is it easy?

Thank you
Do

I carried muesli. You can buy a 1 kg bag at grocery stores in larger towns. A bag would last 4 days. I'd buy a small tub of yoghurt to mix with it at the local village store the night before ... it will keep overnight. You need a bowl and a spoon; most albergues don't have utensils.

Store hours ... usually the stores close for siesta in the afternoon. They typically open around 7PM for an hour or so. If its Saturday, Sunday, or the night before a holiday ... they don't. In smaller villages it was sometimes a mom and pop operation that sold cigarettes, coca cola, potato chips and little else (well, okay - the selection was very limited and any bread was usually suited for carpentry). I carried a package of dried soup against the day when I would be in a place where I wasn't able to get anything.

Most albergues don't serve breakfast; typically they want you out the door and gone by 8AM. A lot of pilgrims bought breakfast at the first bar they encountered.

 

[Anniesantiago]

Anniesantiago. The lard, minced meat and paprika is a typical Andalucian tapa called 'pringa'.

In Sevilla it is called Manteca Colora
http://caminosantiago2.blogspot.com/2014/02/manteca-colora.html

 

[Kiwi-family]

Kiwi-family, I see why your name is what it is...A beautiful Kiwi family you have! (Piha, Muriwai, Bethell's? It makes me nostalgic...and such wonderful walking...)

...like Kiwi-family going off to the beach with the kids and grandkids...

Karekare is our usual haunt but we frequent the others too.
But hey - no grandkids. I'm only 45!!!!! Our kids are now aged from 9-20, eight of them, no grandies;-)

 

[VNwalking]

Oops, sorry, dear...if I'd been able to see you (or had read more here) I'd have likely known that! But I'm a newbie.
And having had 8 kids? Any Camino'd be a snap. Easy peasy.

 

[ricitosdeplata]

Anniesantiago, thank you so much for your links. I found them very informative and another thing that makes me more and more excited about my camino. When I think I have about heard all the major tips I need I run into a post like yours. Love this forum!