What an amazing experience – one I would wholeheartedly recommend to anybody who loves a bit of a walk!
The Camino Frances is the most popular of all the Camino routes to Santiago de Compostela in North West Spain, and I can understand why. It starts in St Jean Pied de Port on the French side of the Pyrenees and finishes around 780 km later in Santiago. This was a test run for us, so with only one week to spare we managed to cover 102 miles.
Day one is a bit of a shock to the system, with a huge mountain to climb and over 17 miles to walk to the next hostel. We were told we couldn’t climb the mountain as there was deep snow at the top and it would be too dangerous. Some of the party were relieved, others disappointed, but for those that thought we would be having an easier day, they were in for a bit of a shock! We still had to climb to 1057 metres to reach our dinner and beds for the night!
Apart from the walking, the next best thing about the camino is the people you meet. Everyone has a different story to tell as to why they are there, and there were lots of stories that certainly made me feel very humble, including a robust 74 year old woman who had walked the route 7 times and this time had started in Austria!
I had anticipated returning home a little slimmer, but fortunately the food was far too good for that to be the case – lots of great almond dishes, roasted peppers, surprisingly good fish, perfect paella, and great garlic soup! And of course we were walking through the Navarre and Rioja wine areas, so it would have been rude not to sample a little each night to help us sleep!
Quick and Easy Paella
Serves 4
1 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, peeled and diced
1 garlic clove, crushed
pinch saffron
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
300 g long grain rice
1 x 400 g can chopped tomatoes
900 ml fish or vegetable stock
400 g mixed seafood (frozen is fine)
100 g peas
seasoning
handful chopped parsley
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan and saute the onion for 4-5 minutes then stir in the garlic, saffron and paprika and cook for 1 minute.
- Stir in the rice to coat with the spices, then pour in the chopped tomatoes and stock, bring to the boil and simmer for 15-18 minutes, stirring from time to time, until most of the liquid has been absorbed.
- Stir in the seafood and peas, cover the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes.
- Check for seasoning, scatter with parsley and serve.
Happy eating!
Joy x