What is the allure of vending machines? I need to know. Miles gets very excited when he sees one and Spain has no shortage of them it seems. Every time we see one, he has to buy something. Anything. A cola. A waffle. Candy.
It reminds me of a blonde joke (sorry to all the blondes out there). Here’s my best attempt to tell the joke via writing (it’s much funnier in person): A guy sees a blonde at a vending machine. She puts in her coins, presses what she wants and starts to jump up and down. She repeats this a couple more times — puts in the coins, presses what she wants and jumps up and down, very excited. He finally asks her, “Why are you jumping up and down?” She replies, “I’m winning!” Cue the laughter. I doubt Miles views his treats from vending machines as “winning,” but based on how excited he is, I’m left wondering about my son. He’s not blonde, but still. Vending machines are quite interesting here. You can find all sorts of things for sale for a few euros — the typical candy, soda, and chips, but then you may see condoms, disposable masks, lighters, and most recently, we saw a vending machine selling raw meat. Yes. Raw meat. Keeping Miles fed was a concern of mine when we started this walk. He’s 17 — tall, thin and eats a lot. It was relatively easy when we were on the Camino Frances because of the many services available. I cannot say the same thing for the Camino San Salvador. Many towns lack bars (cafes) and grocery stores. We walked 50 km without a grocery store and when we finally came to one, it was more like a convenience store that closed at 3:30 pm. I was able to buy a couple of things to tie us over but it was slim pickings. On day 5 of our walk on the Salvador, we finally had a quality breakfast — cafe con leche and croissants. We even stopped at a town a couple hours later and had a great chicken sandwich. It actually had vegetables on it (very rare here). This was enough to get us through the rest of walking for the day. Miles, with his penchant for junk food, said the other day that he’s learning about Spain through junk food. He picks weird gummies, cookies, and other treats to fully understand Spanish culture? Hmmm…. He’s requested, upon our stay in Oviedo (a very large city), that we find a good place to eat dinner. I had to remind him that the Spanish eat quite late at 9:00 or 10:00 pm, just when we are going to bed. I promised I would scope things out and see what I can find. I may make us dinner since we’ll have access to a kitchen. Or maybe he can find a vending machine that has a full dinner for 2 euros. You never know what you’ll find in one. Bon Appetite!
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About Marcy I wear many hats. First, I'm a wife to an amazing husband, Joe. Second, I'm a mom to 2 incredible kids, Caitlynn and Miles. Professionally speaking, I am a chef, dietitian, and writer working as an instructor in Hospitality Management at Montana State University in Bozeman. Photos: See InstagramMarcy's other Site |