104 - Camino News Update 2/7/24 with Leigh Brennan & Johnnie Walker

Survey Posts were on the following Facebook Pages:

Camino Pilgrim International Discussion Group

https://www.facebook.com/groups/confraternitysaintjames/

Camino de Santiago All Routes

https://www.facebook.com/groups/544764125895308/

The Camino Cafe Podcast Group

https://www.facebook.com/groups/CaminoCafe/

Transcript

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Pilgrims' Favorite Foods on the Camino

Speaker 1 0:04

Hello Pilgrims . It's Wednesday , february 7th of 2024 , and we are coming to you from Santiago de Compostela and all along the Camino routes . I'm Lee Brennan , and Johnny Walker will join us shortly . As Pilgrims , what and where we eat becomes a big part of our Camino , doesn't it , and we were curious to see what do Pilgrims enjoy eating the most while walking . We did a little survey and wow over . Well , in just a few hours , we had over a hundred responses . Surprisingly , though , not many items were repeated . We expected tortilla to win , but our favorites are as widespread as a number of countries we come from and the various routes we walk . Are you ready to find out the winner ? Well , hold on , we'll get to that in just a few minutes , but first off , we have Johnny Walker . Johnny , what do you have for us this week ?

Speaker 2 0:52

Hello Lee , hello everyone . This is John in Santiago , in a very sunny Santiago today , still a wee bit chilly in the morning and in the evenings , but there's nothing quite like . Look behind me , the cathedral bathed in sunlight , the Plaza Obradoro bathed in sunlight , and I've decided to go for a wee walk . Come with me . I went right along the the Rua Franco , off the Plaza Obradoro to the Porta Fasheira where the Portuguese Camino , the route from Portugal , enters the city . I walked along past the two Marias , kept on going through the gardens and I came to the Mirador of the Alameda , which looks over . The University of Santiago is split into two campuses . There's the medieval campus in the old town around the cathedral and then this modern campus , not so modern now , but the southern campus which stretches out before us . Well worth walking round there . I'll take you there one day .

Speaker 2 1:48

The pilgrims are still arriving in Santiago and , of course , in the last week , 529 pilgrims have arrived and you know that means since the 1st of January this year , 2601 pilgrims have arrived . Now the question is are numbers going up ? Are they going down ? Are they staying the same ? Well , in the same period 1st of January to the 5th of February 2023 , 2415 , compostela is Mauritius , so already we're 200 Compostela ahead based on last year . So we'll see whether that trend continues and we'll be monitoring this as the year goes ahead .

Speaker 2 2:31

But at this time of the year , as we said last week , we're all preparing for our pilgrimages .

Speaker 2 2:36

Our Camino is an antique of going on a Camino at the beginning of September , beginning to think about that , and it's always exciting when you're preparing , but spare a thought for another lot of pilgrims who are going to travel by sea Now .

Speaker 2 2:51

As you know , pilgrims in the Middle Ages from England and Scotland , wales , the Scandinavian countries , ireland had to come by boat to venerate the Tourist of James and they got a boat from wherever they were embarking from and sailed to Acarunya , and three pilgrims Simon Jenkins , ned Spencer , peter Hor experienced pilgrims decided that they would try to re-enact this and make this available to other pilgrims , so they've chartered a boat , the Morgenstham , which is a tall ship which has sailed to Acarunya before , and 36 pilgrims have signed up to be trainee sailors on the journey , which is going to take a week , from the 8th of June , to arrive in Caracaga , and they will be re-enacting the pilgrimages of all . Many of them will walk the pilgrims way , which runs from Padstow , in the north of Cornwall , to Fowie in the south of Cornwall , which is the end of the same way . Then they'll get on the boat and the boat will sail down the Fowie estuary .

Speaker 2 3:57

It'll cross the English Channel , the Bay of Biscay hope it's not too rough for them and eventually arrive in Caracaga it's a very exciting journey and we will be tracking the preparations , the mounting excitement , and we'll be hearing much more of the sailors on the journey as time goes past . But I have to tell you I suffer easily from seasickness , so I will be walking the route from Caracaga to prepare some walking notes for these sailors when they arrive , and I'll tell you more about that later . That's all for this week , folks . Thank you very much for listening bye , bye .

Speaker 1 4:33

One food item though that was mentioned more often than any other and drum roll , that was polpo . And here's what Brad Thomas Batten wrote about Popo , answering our survey in the Camino Cafe podcast group . Well , it has to be my first Popo experience on the French way in Malide . This is back in 1989 , when Malide was a touch quieter than it is now . The Poporea we went into is still present now but has been modernized . It's on the main drag just across the street from San Roque .

Speaker 1 5:04

Back in 89 , the place looked like a large warehouse . On the inside , benches and tables are scattered up and down the sidewalks , a concrete floor , I believe the place was packed with pilgrims and locals . At lunch the Popo was cooked and prepared in large pots on the roadside outside . You'd line up there and you'd see the octopi cooking away on medium heat , bubbling in water . A couple of women would serve you up , plopping the Popo on wooden plates , cutting into pieces and softly drizzling the serving and olive oil , sea salt and paprika . Then you'd head inside , find a table full of pilgrims and let the celebration begin . Side dishes of salad and potatoes sliced at a half an inch or so would follow and a jug of wine and small glasses . It's an acquired taste , popo , but the atmosphere relieves any trepidation and that first bite rounds into the mouth and brings about a smile .

Speaker 1 5:52

Well , responses proved over and over again our theory that hunger and tiredness may be some of the best ingredients . I loved Matt Norris' response in the Camino Pilgrim International Discussion Group when he said the pilgrims meal with a steak and fries and Tarte de Santiago was my go-to choice . But the day I climbed the Pyrenees I got two boiled eggs and a can of Coke from the food truck up on the top and that might have been the best meal I ever had up until that point . Dave hits . His response really cracked me up because it felt so true . He said in the Camino de Santiago All Routes group oh my , everything was my favorite Cafe Con Leche by the Gallons , fresh squeezed orange juice from those neat machines . The tortillas .

Speaker 1 6:40

I ate well and still managed to lose 20 pounds . Burning north of 5,000 calories a day is great for the appetite . And what the heck , two hours into the next day , the calories you consumed . They were history . I just loved all the responses . There were too many for us to list and read them all . Check out the Facebook groups If you want to read through them . There are so many great food recommendations and restaurant recommendations . Links are wherever you are watching this . I caught up with Lindsay Taitionne . He's on the Vieta La Plata . Here's just a little bit of an excerpt from our chat yesterday .

Speaker 3 7:15

Monday 29 from out of Sevilla , and it's about 630 kilometers , gives me about 370 to go before Santiago . The second time on the Vieta La Plata . I walked it last year for the first time and I started at the end of February , whereas this time I've started beginning of January . This last time I walked there were more pilgrims because it was a better season . It meant that I always had company . Now , for the last week , I've been the only person in each of the Albergues I've stayed at , so I feel like a bit of a king , just really enjoyed it because I could do whatever I wanted . The only thing is that if I left any rubbish , it was obviously me that left it .

Speaker 3 8:00

You can't avoid walking over 30 kilometers

Via De La Plata and Learning Spanish

Speaker 3 8:03

. I'm a person that likes to walk 20 kilometers or under , and there's some days you just there's just no services in between . Morning I couldn't even get a coffee in town . I had to wait 15 kilometers before I could get to a bar to have my morning coffee . So I'm learning Spanish through Duolingo , and so one of the things about the Viadolà Plata is hospitality . People speak any English , so it's forcing me to actually start to ask simple questions and interpret the answers . So as I go along , I'm getting more confidence . Last year I had a company that translated for me , so I didn't need to do that . Very easy for me now to go into bars go into what appears to be full bars . I was once a bit intimidated by old Spanish men . You walk into a bar and all the heads turn and what should come in ? Now I just smile at them and realize that I'm just part of the whole culture . So it's actually that part's very empowering . I don't feel like an oddball anymore .

Speaker 1 9:10

Next up is birthday boy Rocco Rossi . He celebrated his birthday this week on the Via de la Plata .

Speaker 3 9:17

Just made it to the historical center of Caceres . What an extraordinary place . Listen to the Spanish guitar and slow your breathing Totally in my happy place . My goodness gracious , the theater here in Merida is absolutely spectacular . I highly recommend a visit as you're walking the Ruta de la Plata .

Speaker 1 10:13

From all the team here , especially Johnny and myself , may we say thank you for watching and pilgrims will see you in Santiago .