Food and albergues

It seems as though I mention food quite a bit but as Jo has asked about food at the albergues I will talk about it some more.

All along the Camino are places for pilgrims to stay. Albergues (or refugios) is the generic term for them. However these vary from municipal ones to private ones to convents and monasteries to bars or hotels that have set aside a few dorm rooms. The eating situation varies enormously. Some bundle up the cost of a sleep to include breakfast, in which case you can be certain that what you will get is a bed plus bread jam and coffee.

Some offer a communal evening meal which is usually a soup, then a stew of some kind, then a pot of yogurt or some fruit.

Some have kitchens where you can do your own thing but this depends on either carrying stuff with you or finding a little dairy in the village.

Some are miles from any shop, don´t offer a kitchen, and clearly build in a profit centre around the set price pilgrim menu.

Regardless of where you are if the village or town is big enough one of the local bars will also offer a pigrim menu.

Pilgrim menus can get rather tedious; Choice of starter rather limited, followed by meat and chips or trout and chips, then yogurt or flan for dessert. And of course bottomless wine and bread.

I have done very version of these and many things influence the choice; sometimes a homemade tuna and rice or something is preferable to waiting around till 8.30 to eat when the lights go out at 10!