You are planning to do some shopping when you get to the next town. You get there and find that everything está cerrado (it’s closed). And you don’t understand why… After all, it’s only the middle of the day.

Well, that’s exactly why everything is closed!

Lunch is the main meal of the day in Spain. And, although things are changing in the bigger cities, it’s common in smaller places for people to go home for lunch. In addition to that, the weather (especially in the summer months) can be too hot in the middle of the day. It’s just safer to stay indoors during the hottest hours.

That’s why, for instance, it is not advisable to walk the Vía de la Plata during the months of julio (July) and agosto (August) and why you should still be careful in junio (June) and septiembre (September).

So, most tiendas (shops) will close for lunch. Yes, for lunch. Not for siesta, sorry!

Some shops have horario continuo, meaning they don’t close in the middle of the day. This is more common in the bigger cities and also in the case of bigger shops: big supermercados, hipermercados or grandes almacenes (department stores).

In smaller towns, almost everything will close a mediodía; a mediodía literally means at midday, but we really use this expression to refer to lunch time, which could be anything between 1.30 and 4.30pm.

 ¿A qué hora abren?

What time do they open?

Shops opening and closing times may vary a bit from one establishment to another. But they will be similar to the one in this picture.

First of all, in Spain, when writing the time, we don’t use am and pm, as you can see in the picture. We use the 24-h clock. But just in writing.

The second thing you can see in the picture is that shops have some hours for weekdays (lunes a viernes – Monday to Friday) and different ones for sábados (Saturdays). It’s common for shops to be closed on Saturday evenings.

Almost everything está cerrado (is closed) los domingos (Sundays) except for bars and restaurants. Panaderías and pastelerías (bakeries and cake shops) open on Sundays too, but in the morning only.

Los bancos (banks) open in the morning only, usually from 8.00 or 8.30am till 2.00 or 2.30pm. They don’t open in the evenings or sábados.

Las farmacias have an on-call system, so that at least one is always open. You can check how the system works in El botiquín.

So, are you ready for some Camino shopping now?

For the pronunciation of supermercado, panadería and pastelería, check Shopping on the Camino.

For the pronunciation of junio, julio, agosto and septiembre, check Vía de la Plata. 

¡Buen Camino!

La Semana Santa (Holy Week) is one of the main religious celebrations in Spain. Unlike la Navidad (or other holidays, religious or not), it doesn’t have fixed dates. Instead, la Semana Santa is celebrated on the Sunday after the first full moon of spring (between 22 de marzo (March 22) and 25 de abril (April 25)).

Each Spanish region, or even town, has its own particular Easter customs. But they all have some elements in common:

• One of the most characteristic features of la Semana Santa is procesiones (processions).

• Cofradías (brotherhoods) are religious groups devoted to Jesus Christ or Mary. Among other things, they carry out charity work throughout the year. During Easter, they take their pasos out in a procesión. 

• Pasos are large floats with religious statues of Jesus or Mary, lavishly decorated with flowers and candles. The members of the cofradía carry these pasos on their shoulders.

Many cofradías date back to the Middle Ages and they have owned and cared for their pasos for centuries.

The best known and intense Easter celebration in Spain takes place in Sevilla, starting point for the Vía de la Plata. There are more than 70 cofradías in Sevilla. This schedule of all the processions for 2018 will you give an idea of the extent of it: https://www.semana-santa.org/itinerario-oficial-semana-santa-de-sevilla/

On the Camino Francés, we can highlight El Encuentro, in León, the solemn moment when the pasos of Saint John and La Dolorosa meet in Plaza Mayor.

So, what happens during Semana Santa? 

• Celebrations begin on Domingo de Ramos (Palm Sunday). There’s a procesión reenacting the arrival of Jesus in Jerusalem. People carry a palm or olive branch to be blessed.

• Although there are procesiones all week, the most important ones take place on Jueves Santo (Maundy Thursday) and Viernes Santo (Good Friday).

Both jueves and viernes santo are festivos (public holidays), so make sure you plan your shopping ahead.

• Domingo de Resurrección (Easter Sunday). The procesiones on this day are less solemn and more festive than those on Thursday and Friday, as people celebrate Jesus’ resurrection.

• Lunes de Pascua (Easter Monday) is the last day of Easter. It is a public holiday in some regions, including Navarra, on the Camino Francés. So keep it in mind if you are in that area.

If you prefer to listen in Spanish, check the podcast.

What else?

But not all is about procesiones. Most Spanish people get at least a few days off work, so many use this opportunity to travel and enjoy their holidays. And, of course, food is part of the enjoyment.

There are several Easter treats that may tempt you; they vary from one region to another, but there is one you will find everywhere during Semana Santa:  torrijas.

Torrijas are similar to French toast. They were traditionally made with leftover stale bread. You slice the bread, soak it in milk and egg and fry it in olive oil. You then sprinkle it with sugar and cinnamon.

So, if you are in Spain doing your Camino during Semana Santa, I would advise you to take some time off and enjoy the celebrations. You don’t have to be religious to appreciate the culture, the art, the music… all that Easter involves.

Today’s Spanish words

¡Buen Camino!

One of the many benefits of travelling, in my opinion, is that it teaches you about the world. If you are open to the experience, you can learn a lot about a new place: history, traditions, celebrations, food… a new culture!

There are many different festivals and celebrations in Spain, both national and regional, and even local. Back in December I wrote about la Navidad (Christmas), which takes place between diciembre and enero. Febrero (February) is the month of el Carnaval (Carnival).

Unlike Navidad, el Carnaval has no fixed dates, but it is usually between the middle of febrero and the beginning of marzo (March). The duration can also vary a bit depending on the town, but it finishes on Miércoles de Ceniza (Ash Wednesday) and starts at least 3-4 days before that.

What should you expect?

• There are many different local traditions, but el Carnaval has some common characteristics: it is a period of fun, partying and excess in general. People dress up and wear masks, there are desfiles (parades) and, as I mentioned, a lot of partying.

So, if you are planning to walk during Carnaval, make sure you stay away from the noisiest areas in town (or that you have a good pair of tapones para los oídos aka earplugs!). Or… you could also take a break and join in the celebrations!

The desfiles will disrupt traffic and even general walking around town, so it might be a good idea to find out in advance if/when there will be one (mostly between Saturday and Tuesday and quite likely one on Ash Wednesday to finish off the celebrations).

• Apart from traffic disruptions, you may also want to keep in mind that there might be some festivos (public holidays). There are no national public holidays during the el Carnaval, so I can’t give you specific dates. But there is likely to be some local festivo here or there. Try to find out and plan (your shopping in particular) accordingly.

Food

If there is a celebration, there is comida (food) associated to it. El Carnaval is not an exception. As I mentioned before, Carnaval is a period of excess, and it’s right before the beginning of Lent. This excess is reflected in the food, too.

Traditions change a lot from one region to another, so I’ll tell you about the typical Carnival foods in Galicia. After all, all Caminos lead to Santiago. And Santiago is in Galicia. There are three main typical foods.

• The main example would be cocido (cocido gallego, if you want to be specific; most regions have their own variations of cocido). This is a very substantial stew with a lot of meat (pork, beef, chicken) and vegetables. This is not just a Carnival dish, but rather a winter one, although it’s very common during the Carnaval.

The other two typical foods are sweet:

• Filloas are quite similar to crepes and they are usually eaten with a sweet filling: a bit of sprinkled sugar, honey, whipped cream, chocolate spread…

• Orejas (literally, ears). They are fried pastries, so called because their shape resembles that of an ear.

In the pictures below you can see orejas on the left and filloas on the right.

So, will you join in the celebrations?

 And, if you’d like to listen to a Spanish version of this post, here’s the Spanish for the Camino podcast episode about el Carnaval.

In this other article you can learn about one very peculiar Carnival celebration. Well, 2 actually: 1 that happens in most towns and another one that happens in 1 place only. They involve either fish or a bird…. 

Today’s Spanish words

¡Buen Camino!