El Menu del Dia

Ruth-
We were warned that we would tire of the pilgrim dinners, but so far they are working well for us. The choices always challenge the bounds of our Spanish vocabulary so it is usually somewhat of a surprise to see what we have actually ordered. Who knew that merguez is actually fish not sausage? The first course is usually a complete meal in itself with options like a hearty mixed salad with tuna or egg, spaghetti, paella or soup. This is followed by more meat options many involving pork. It is amazing how many different words there are for pork dishes. This is not a country for vegetarians, even our melon today was served with ham.

Gordon – Wine is served with every meal except breakfast (an untapped market?). When we order a menu del dia a bottle with the cork loosened is generally placed on the table with the bread and the water. Initially we took it upon ourselves to see that no wine was wasted, but after a number of meals we realized that consuming the entire bottle is merely a possibility. A partially consumed bottle is topped up and presented to the next group of diners. In the cheaper establishments we were actually charged a “supplement” if we drank more than a large glass each.

A quick update on our progress: we have covered 270 km in our first 9 days on the Camino. This pace is more than sufficient to get us not only to Santiago, but also Finisterra. We have been fortunate to not suffer any foot or other problems thus far, and day by day we are getting stronger.