Today was a comedy of errors, that might have made for a good sitcom episode, and that I’m sure we will laugh at in hindsight.
We started our walk out of Castrojeriz with a quest for breakfast, but the path we took out of town didn’t yield any success. Wherever the breakfasts were, we didn’t find them, and when we got to the edge of town, looking at the long stretch of empty road ahead of us, we decided not to worry about it. We had some snacks in our bag that would tide us over.
The day started with a long climb out of town. Some helpful strangers offered to push the stroller. Addie was a champion, walking the entire hill by herself, while the adults around her all struggled. At the top, we stopped for a little “picnic” and took some time to admire the view.
The walk was a pretty walk, and we enjoyed the walk itself today. We walked to Itero de la Vega and stopped for sandwiches before catching a taxi to Poblacion.
The problem we are having with the lunches here is that it is difficult to find food the toddler can eat. She deconstructs the sandwiches sometimes, but the bread is thick and hard to eat.
We had also run out of baby formula, and had no luck finding it in Castrojeriz. Luckily we don’t rely on it, though she does enjoy a bottle in the evening. Our plan was to taxi to Fromista and stop at a pharmacy for formula, then go to our albergue in Poblacion. Our request, however, got lost in translation and we went straight to our albergue. We enquires at a desk about a pharmacy to buy baby formula, and the owners of the albergue offered to drive us to Fromista at some point later. Grateful, we checked into our room and the girls took naps.
Once everyone woke up, the real fun began. We went down to the little garden café in hopes of finding some milk or juice for Addie. When we asked for juice the lady shook her head no and headed away. People were sitting in the garden with beers and coffees, so we assumed that we could order something, but that seemed to not be the case. We were talking about taking a taxi to Fromista when the owner came over and offered again to drive us. She suggested driving us at 5:30 (in about an hour’s time). We asked if there was somewhere we could buy a snack for Addie in the meantime and when the answer was no said we would taxi in to town a little earlier.
Our same taxi driver showed up. He told us to wait for awhile then came inside our albergue and ordered coffee and cookies. We waited for him to finish his coffee break, and then he drove us to Fromista. We tried to pay him, but he insisted he would drive us back, even after we said we wanted to stay in town awhile and get some food. He tried to explain where he would pick us up in one hour. I asked if we could get picked up at the bar across the street, but he said no and repeated the directions.
Thankfully, the pharmacy had baby formula, so we solved the food challenges for one girl, at least. Addie was given some candy, and that boosted her spirits. Sandra managed to find a small grocery store, and she stocked up on yogurt, cheese, and Pringles… in case we couldn’t find dinner.
Then we had to go find our taxi again. Addie complained about the heat as we walked the half-kilometer through town in search of our taxi. We found the restaurant he’d told us to meet at, and he invited us to sit and have a beer with him. We politely declined, wanting to get back and order some dinner.
We were all pretty hungry by 7pm dinner, but thankfully the chicken and fries were enjoyed by Addie, and we all ate a filling dinner. We then spent the evening playing with Addie in the garden, and enjoying the cooler evening temperatures.
We have a few snacks for tomorrow, and a few more towns along our walk. We also have formula for Eloise, and so we are more-or-less stocked up. When we get to Leon, we might pick up a third backpack just to fill with snacks and send ahead.
The food has been an unanticipated challenge.
I am both surprised and not surprised you’re having trouble finding food. We had some of the best meals in our life in northern Spain, but all at either 2pm or 11pm. It can be very hard on little one’s schedule, and I imagine even harder on a walker trying to avoid the heat of the day. You all are such troopers!
I am so glad that you found formula for my Eloise, i was thinking about it alot yesterday. But i knew worst case scenario you could taxi to Leon and probably find it. Now, i can drink my chai tea latte and not feel bad about drinking my formula, ha, ha. The snack bag is a great idea, buy a big one and stuff it full. {now i want some pringles] . As you know, i always travel with a bag full of snacks, cause you never know what might befall you and a snack does wonders for the soul. Walk on family.
Who would you suggest play the taxi driver if this episode in your life was
made for tv!
Relieved that you got snacks for along the trail.
I suggest when you reach the end and are home you forward this journal to the Camino headquarters
for their archives. It touches all hearts.
Keep smiling
Hugs to all
Good problem solving, Memorable days are a blessing but probably more in retrospect than at the time. 😉 Buen camino.
Quite the adventure and challenges, but great work in adapting to the environment!