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Slaughter house on route concerns

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Thanks @GettingThere. I remember another 'Embutidos' establishment on the left of the road out of Molinaseca but, obviously, remained oblivious to Frimols. I think I recall simply walking down the road as the 'tennis court' diversion seemed a fairly pointless one. Its strange the way our heads reconstruct The Way isn't it.
 
The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
Imagine if people who go on normal vacations read this thread. The main thrust of the debate is 'Was that factory we cut down the back of an abattoir or not?'
 
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So true. We pilgrims get to see life in Spain from a different perspective. Far more interesting than normal vacations!

There was a police recruitment campaign here a few years ago with the slogan "Get better work stories" (ie by joining the police). We can say "Walk the Camino and get better (or more interesting) vacation stories"!
 
Annie, maybe in Portland, but please don't put us all in the same boat of denial , where I live there are 3 private owned "slaughter houses" that process wild game , and home raised livestock of all kinds, plus I know several, myself included, that process our own game and farm raised pork, goats and lamb,


Which is why I said, "Many people, not "all people." ;)
 
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
One early morning I walked by a large barn full of loud, bellowing cows. My walking companion thought they were being slaughtered, but I am pretty sure they were just anxious for their daily release into the field. That being said, yes, if we eat meat, we should be cognizant of the fact that our food is indeed slaughtered. The hardest part of the Camino for me was seeing a small enclosure at the far end of a field with one lonely dog in it. It reminded me of my dogs at home and I was sad for the rest of the day.
 
The first edition came out in 2003 and has become the go-to-guide for many pilgrims over the years. It is shipping with a Pilgrim Passport (Credential) from the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela.
isn't 15 anymore so she probably does not need any education about where meat comes from
Never say never. Its the English language that permits people well in their 50ies who can't be called naive in any sense to be surprisingly innocent in this matter. I still remember the culture clash when I in my 30ies stared open mouthed at my american boss who was over 50 and just had this revelation. You call the animal pig, the meat from it is pork, calf - veal, etc. Other languages are simpler and there is pig meat, calf meat etc. No confusion.

I know that not all livestock for consumption is processed at a slaughterhouse. It could be a barn. A tree. Anything.
Under EU law it has to be in a slaughterhouse - for food safety, there even was a debate if the small slaughterhouses should be closed (because they couldn't implement all the standards) or they should get an exemption as traditional way of life, cultural heritage etc.. Possibly a farmer may do a quick work but then only for family consumption as none of the meet can be sold, so no point of doing it too often. Basically any piece of meat out in the market should be able to be traced back to the farm and the individual animal.

P.S. Salami is horse.
 
The usual ingredients for salami (which is the italian name, not Spanish) are beef, pork or veal.

In Spain, chorizo is made from pork, paprika, salt and garlic. Cecina (cured, dried, aged meat) can be made from either beef or horse. It is a highly specialised dish, a delicacy, and expensive.

In Spain horse is eaten, but the consumption is in very, very small quantities compared to pork, beef, and lamb.

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The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
LOL - edited. Pork, pig, cerdo!
 
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I don't think Spanish people have any problem knowing where cuts of meat come from. I asked my friend what he ate at Christmas and he said 'little pig, mmmm'.
I really wonder about this idea that people don't understand where their meat originates. Do we really think that parents are so protective and children so naive? I know that from a very early age, my grand-daughter would point out the lamb chops and beef steak while they were still on foot. She still thought little lambs and calves were cute, but had no illusions about where they might go in the end. (As an afterthought - she is in the first generation of my family that did not have regular access to a farm in her early childhood.)
 
I used to work on a community farm on the outskirts of London. The animals were sent for meat but people coming to the farm with their kids used to think they were pets and ask their names. We had names for only a few of the sheep, and those usually didn't bear repeating in front of children (Mrs Prolapse was a ewe whose uterus had to be held in with a spoon, Lady Boy was a cuddly castrated ram, and there was a ewe that was horrible to lambs we called Bitch Face). When they went to the abattoir we had to tell kids they were going on holiday or the parents got antsy.
 
I distinctly remember the slaughterhouse on the road before Ponferrada, because they were slaughtering pigs.
Yes, this is the matadero (slaughterhouse) of Ponferrada. However, it's along the river and not on the Camino Frances. The Camino takes a turn to the right, over the bridge on the river and up towards San Andres church and the castle well before the matadero (which, by the way, is on Calle Matadero):eek:
 
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One can only hope that @Jules67 participating in local hunts as a "beater" (I think it's the correct word; it just means that one had to walk around as told and sometimes make noises)
I've done that too, here in the US on deer hunts, except here I think we called it a "driver". Driving the deer to the "stander" who is posted at a spot and doesn't move. We had on bright orange vests (it was actually quite safety conscious and choreographed) and I had a shotgun slung on my back, but my main task was walking in the direction of a driver making as much noise as possible. I had a walking staff which I thrashed around as I moved forward.
 
The 2024 Camino guides will be coming out little by little. Here is a collection of the ones that are out so far.
Ah Doug, parents do their best and their worst while trying to do it right. Mine told me 'Pikey' was just the name that people used for us. They told me we got moved on, and bricked and kicked because people were jealous of our freedom (maybe that was true). They told me that one day I would have land of my own in a land of our own (they nearly got that one on the nail). And they told me that Pigeons and Rabbits and Pheasants and Wild Duck were called "dinner" - and they never hid from me where "dinner" came from or how it was obtained. And they never lied to me. They just tried to give me enough time to grow up and understand the difference between "Pikey" and "Dinner".
 
Ah Doug, parents do their best and their worst while trying to do it right.
I do understand that, and I know that I had explanations for my children of that kind about a variety of things that evolved as they grew older. Pets had to be put down, as did old farm animals. Small animals got killed on the road, skinned, and fed to the dogs. And much to the disgust of one of my daughter's teachers, at one time the eyes of a rabbit were frozen and taken to school for show and tell! It might not have been the grizzly details of my wife's 30+ year old mare coming back in the pet food when they were younger, but I just don't think I every resorted to the fantasy of animals going on holidays, or wanted anyone else to engage in such a fantasy on my behalf.

Now the Easter Bunny and Santa - sacrosanct, although my recollection is that from a very early age, all three of my children knew that expressing disbelief in either was bound to have unfortunate and unimaginable consequences that they did not wish to explore in anticipation of the event.
 
I think that slaughterhouses will become a new item of interest. Think of all the pilgrims approaching Ponferrada and asking locals where the slaughterhouse is! The camino may need to be re-routed to pass it.
Nothing would surprise me. Everything is being packaged and turned into an 'experience' these days. In the municipal Jamon Iberico museum in Monasterio there's a very serious video about a pig being slaughtered. But the sombre voiceover tells you that the actual moment of sacrifice is not shown, for respect of the pig. Next thing it's being shoved in the sausage maker.
 
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The 2024 Camino guides will be coming out little by little. Here is a collection of the ones that are out so far.
I distinctly remember the slaughterhouse on the road before Ponferrada, because they were slaughtering pigs. The sound is enough to make you cry, which I did. I walked and cried right along with the screaming pigs.
The smell is bad too.
But I eat meat.
And I was one of those Americans you mention that try to tell myself it comes in the little plastic package and there was painless death involved. After a long and joyful life of eating chrysanthemums dipped in honey and sleeping peacefully each night in a giant doggie bed in a warm barn full of animals that talked to each other and a spider that wrote "Some Pig" in silk above his head, the large hog was distracted by chocolate and died with one shot to the temple and a smile on his snout.
So the Camino can be a slap in the Truth Bone, not very gently, to those of us who obscure reality for the sake of sleeping better at night.
Pigs are stunned by electrocution. They usually just give out a shocked squeak. No blazing guns etc
 
This thread is classic.
I should point out that pigs squeal to high heaven when they are about to get fed. And piglets make the most terrifying screaming when you even pick them up. Here are a couple of clips of 'normal' pig squealing, as a reference for those who haven't hung out with our curly tailed friends. Brace yourself....
You might think the pigs in the last clip are starving or something, but I looked after pampered porkers on a city farm and they made the exact same racket.
So true and look how clean everything was. Pigs are the cleanest animals. Bed in one corner, toilet in another.
 
What a great thread. I have not seen any slaughterhouse along the Camino Frances. In fact, considering how pork-centric Spain is, I did not see pigs at all. Very weird.
Maybe it had something to do with noticing other things.....
Now poop......there were days when the smell was neverending and near the end of the Camino we got sprayed with liquid manure by a farmer. We were sooooooooo mad as it was a location where literally over a hundred thousand pilgrims pass each year.....but that was his farm and turning off the applicator for us wasn't on the cards for him.
The OP trying to control discussion in a semi-public Internet forum is amusing but, just as the Camino reflects real life, the forum does too. You ask a question and you may get answers you don't want.
Walking the Camino may assist with future tolerance of that. Seriously.
But no slaughterhouse that was noticeable.
 
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Hi to all those who have done this route before.

This will be my first which will be the Franćes Camino. I've youtubed some pilgrims experiences for inspiration and ideas. On youtube, as its not mentioned in any guide book I've read, that the path is so close to a slaughter house that you can hear everything!!!!! Screams and shots etc... Does anyone remember this? What town its in? Is there a way to avoid it besides using head phones? Or is it in fact true?
Hi Jules having done the Frances twice and going back in June for my third , I have never heard or seen any slaughter houses, most of the Camino I found on the walk to be nice and peaceful ,until I got to Sarria then it seemed to turn into Party time (would be a good time for the ear phones) with all the part time Pilgrims starting from there, making plenty of noise and racket,,Good luck, PS as for the weight of your backpack its not that bad and it will get lighter as you walk.
 
I certainly don't recall walking close to any meat processing facilities on the Frances route. But I am sure they exist.
The Spanish enjoy meat as part of their diet. Certainly the day I walked through the daily fresh market in Santiago was ample evidence of this. The amount of meat/fish/poultry was a little staggering.
Also after three years and many early mornings on the trail and having seen only 1 deer in those three years, they must be avid hunters as well.
My career was in the packaging industry and some of our biggest clients were meat processing facilities. Rest assured no animal is shot in any modern plant. They are as humane as possible and attempt to the best of their ability to cause as little stress to the animal as possible. Larger facilities are rigidly controlled with government inspectors on site with huge financial penalties for non-compliance.
For those of us that eat meat as part of our diet, there is the reality that animals die.
Speaking to some pilgrims that were either vegan or vegetarian, Spain can be challenging at times, but not impossible to follow their preferred diet.
To the original poster, I would not get worked up about this at all. Keep in mind in certain parts of the Camino you are walking close to or at times almost through some cattle farms with all the sounds and smells of those operations.
Rather than judge, keep in mind these people are just trying to scratch out a living while we as pilgrims are merely visitor's to their country.
 
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The 2024 Camino guides will be coming out little by little. Here is a collection of the ones that are out so far.
Honestly though (...), I hope we can avoid these cruel slaughtering houses. I don't see the need for them; they simply kill innocent animals just for food. We don't need them at all, since all shops sell meat in sanitary sterile packings. That way we don't need to kill real animals. Peace & love.

I am assuming some sarcasm here? You don't think meat 'magically' ends up in the neat little packages we buy at the supermarket without the death of an animal?
 
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Hi to all those who have done this route before.

This will be my first which will be the Franćes Camino. I've youtubed some pilgrims experiences for inspiration and ideas. On youtube, as its not mentioned in any guide book I've read, that the path is so close to a slaughter house that you can hear everything!!!!! Screams and shots etc... Does anyone remember this? What town its in? Is there a way to avoid it besides using head phones? Or is it in fact true?
I remember going past farms where animals were housed inside but the sounds were always happy animal sounds. I walked with others and alone but never heard anyone talk of ba slaughter house. Hope you have a great Camino
 
Hi to all those who have done this route before.

This will be my first which will be the Franćes Camino. I've youtubed some pilgrims experiences for inspiration and ideas. On youtube, as its not mentioned in any guide book I've read, that the path is so close to a slaughter house that you can hear everything!!!!! Screams and shots etc... Does anyone remember this? What town its in? Is there a way to avoid it besides using head phones? Or is it in fact true?


It's true. A little village somewhere after tricastella or sartia. There was blood running down the street - we kept walking. But this is rural Spain - of course there are slaughter houses.
 
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I know I will not make myself popular with this post but I do not think there is anything wrong with a slaughterhouse close to the Camino.
The Camino is not a walk through a garden of roses but a walk through the good , the bad & the ugly. A metaphor of "Life as it is". Yes, there are the rolling hills of La Rioja, the grandeur of the cathedrals of Leon and Burgos, the shared wine or coffee in the albergues, the stunning views at O'Cebreiro but also the industrial estates walking into the bigger towns and yes maybe also a slaughterhouse...
Don't worry too much about it....It is all part of the experience.

Ultreïa!!
I agree This is not a sanitised resort holiday. This is an opportunity to encounter all that life is, all we are part of and all we contribute to. This is not about arranging things so we are always comfortable and unchallenged. If we are challenged or confronted it can be a opportunity to look at the questions that arise within us. Our Camino will change us if we allow ourselves to be touched deeply by the unknown and not insulated and cotton wooded. Be open to the challenge. Welcome the strange gifts on the Camino.
Another aspect is that we are moving through a rural landscape of primary production. As pilgrims we help support the economy and also exert a greater demand and pressure on the land, animals and people that support us and make it possible. I see great benefit in being aware of our impact on the land we are guests in.
Walk in awareness on your Camino
 
We stayed in a place in Galicia that let us put our bikes in the barn. We had to be sure they weren't dripped on ---hanging from the rafters was a freshly slaughtered lamb, skinned, but with a head with bulging eyes.
 
The 2024 Camino guides will be coming out little by little. Here is a collection of the ones that are out so far.
Not quite true. Last November/December we had to walk through hunts often. Public hunting takes place along a lot of the camino. For instance, after Castrojeriz up on the Alto there were hunters on both sides of the way, often even on the way shooting. We had to walk through them, but to be honest they were very careful around us. Another time was descending to Cee and we were surrounded by shotgun blasts with hunters and dogs crossing the way often (they offered to give us a lift into town as it was raining)! This happened so frequently it became normal.

In 2015 a whole pack of wild boar, with young, ran across the Way around and through us pilgrims, they were being chased by hunting dogs and hunters with guns. This was in July on the Primitivo.

Davey
When my wife and walked last winter we met hunters, who were not hunting near the way but were walking into the hills. A place were one said he had been hunting since childhood.
 
Hi to all those who have done this route before.

This will be my first which will be the Franćes Camino. I've youtubed some pilgrims experiences for inspiration and ideas. On youtube, as its not mentioned in any guide book I've read, that the path is so close to a slaughter house that you can hear everything!!!!! Screams and shots etc... Does anyone remember this? What town its in? Is there a way to avoid it besides using head phones? Or is it in fact true?
only done camino once but I did not hear a thing, I think someone is pulling your leg!
 
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Hi to all those who have done this route before.

This will be my first which will be the Franćes Camino. I've youtubed some pilgrims experiences for inspiration and ideas. On youtube, as its not mentioned in any guide book I've read, that the path is so close to a slaughter house that you can hear everything!!!!! Screams and shots etc... Does anyone remember this? What town its in? Is there a way to avoid it besides using head phones? Or is it in fact true?
Absolutely not true -forget about it!
 
Hi to all those who have done this route before.

This will be my first which will be the Franćes Camino. I've youtubed some pilgrims experiences for inspiration and ideas. On youtube, as its not mentioned in any guide book I've read, that the path is so close to a slaughter house that you can hear everything!!!!! Screams and shots etc... Does anyone remember this? What town its in? Is there a way to avoid it besides using head phones? Or is it in fact true?



Not so much a slaughter house, but one sunny day I walked by a back yard chop shop. A few hogs were hanging there, but nothing to gruesome. I did post a pic here somewhere.
 
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Hi to all those who have done this route before.

This will be my first which will be the Franćes Camino. I've youtubed some pilgrims experiences for inspiration and ideas. On youtube, as its not mentioned in any guide book I've read, that the path is so close to a slaughter house that you can hear everything!!!!! Screams and shots etc... Does anyone remember this? What town its in? Is there a way to avoid it besides using head phones? Or is it in fact true?
A la
Run Away! Run Away!
LOL Vintage Monte Python i presume. Love it. i must have watched The Holy Grail no less then 10 times.
 
Hi to all those who have done this route before.

This will be my first which will be the Franćes Camino. I've youtubed some pilgrims experiences for inspiration and ideas. On youtube, as its not mentioned in any guide book I've read, that the path is so close to a slaughter house that you can hear everything!!!!! Screams and shots etc... Does anyone remember this? What town its in? Is there a way to avoid it besides using head phones? Or is it in fact true?
If nothing else this thread you started is a good study in human behavior/interaction. All you did was ask a simple question " Does anyone know if this 'slaughterhouse thing is true? If so how can i avoid it." Very sane and straightforward. Then man did we EVER run that up the flagpole. Tales of butchering our own animals...people telling you to suck it up, ethics, morals...lol. Unreal... i hate it when i post something to a group and feel like i have to hold up a garbage can lid to keep from being pelted... sorry... you are a brave soul and i hope you got your answer.. if not you could use this thread to write a book...we humans are pretty wierd animals.. blessings on you my child.
 
If nothing else this thread you started is a good study in human behavior/interaction. All you did was ask a simple question " Does anyone know if this 'slaughterhouse thing is true? If so how can i avoid it." Very sane and straightforward. Then man did we EVER run that up the flagpole. Tales of butchering our own animals...people telling you to suck it up, ethics, morals...lol. Unreal... i hate it when i post something to a group and feel like i have to hold up a garbage can lid to keep from being pelted... sorry... you are a brave soul and i hope you got your answer.. if not you could use this thread to write a book...we humans are pretty wierd animals.. blessings on you my child.
Almost forgot about the squealing piglet video..lol..I think this borders on TMI...
 
The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
Tell that to @tyrrek who picked up some flesh wounds thanks to a Quail hunter while out litter-picking in the wilds of Palencia. The track through the Montes de Oca is a favourite stand for Boar hunters while the dogs work the forest. Happily they are all very Peregrino aware - and quite happy to share some coffee on a frosty morning.
Encountered many hunters with their rifles and dogs, especially on Sundays. Face to face they were friendly and not scary at all. However, once we experienced the gravel rocks hit us after someone shot at the road right behind us. I'm pretty sure the shot was not aimed directly at us but more like "Let's have a little fun and make them jump and walk a bit faster."
 
Hi to all those who have done this route before.

This will be my first which will be the Franćes Camino. I've youtubed some pilgrims experiences for inspiration and ideas. On youtube, as its not mentioned in any guide book I've read, that the path is so close to a slaughter house that you can hear everything!!!!! Screams and shots etc... Does anyone remember this? What town its in? Is there a way to avoid it besides using head phones? Or is it in fact true?
Yes. The slaughterhouse is in Puente Villarente. It's about 14kms before Léon.
 
I don't recall a slaughterhouse at Puente Villarente. Just the medieval bridge.
 
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Almost forgot about the squealing piglet video..lol..I think this borders on TMI...
LOL! Pigs sound like they are being killed half the time, just saying! It explains why people thought they had walked past a slaughterhouse but apparently didn't. Probably just piggy teatime. I used to feed pigs and it made my ears hurt.
 
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Thank you for your replies. I've heard it mentioned now on 2 different YouTube videos. Hopefully they were mistaken. I think I'd be traumatised ..
Yes, I remember it well. I was walking alone that day. I began hearing cows wailing, banging sounds and a very deep sadness came over me. I knew what I was hearing. The atmosphere was rife with grief. It was as if even the angels were crying.

I'm sorry, I cannot tell you where it is at. But it is most definitely after Ponferada. There are no signs and it's sits far off the road in a valley of sorts. Pray you go by on a day they are not killing. If not, pray for those animals as you walk by.

I had forgotten about this until I read your post. I never mentioned it to anyone else but those minutes walking by there were painfully sad. Burn Camino
 
LOL! Pigs sound like they are being killed half the time, just saying! It explains why people thought they had walked past a slaughterhouse but apparently didn't. Probably just piggy teatime. I used to feed pigs and it made my ears hurt.
No, I was raised on a farm...definitely not pigs. Definitely wailing cows and then large bangs. Rather disconcerting really.
 
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Yes, I remember it well. I was walking alone that day. I began hearing cows wailing, banging sounds and a very deep sadness came over me. I knew what I was hearing. The atmosphere was rife with grief. It was as if even the angels were crying.

I'm sorry, I cannot tell you where it is at. But it is most definitely after Ponferada. There are no signs and it's sits far off the road in a valley of sorts. Pray you go by on a day they are not killing. If not, pray for those animals as you walk by.

I had forgotten about this until I read your post. I never mentioned it to anyone else but those minutes walking by there were painfully sad. Burn Camino

I hope you mean Buen Camino and not Burn?..now that would be painful...;)
 
Other than the "dung" I think there may be a little "poetic license" involved here.
I experienced this as well. Cows literally wailing and then load bangs. I knew what it was...I felt a sadness come over me as I walked by. Never have I mentioned it until now. I didn't even bring it up when I reached my destination that night. I guess I just decided to push it back outside my mind.
 
From a pilgrim blog a few years ago:

i was working on this post and another peregrino just came and took me by the hand to go show me something, saying he was taking me TO EAT... he led me over to a bulldozer...that had a dead pig with its throat slit hanging upside down. he thought it was really funny that he took me there. i am so traumatized. im vegan because i hate animals getting killed. it totally kills me to see stuff like that. argh. ARGH..... which means that the reason the guy next door was pulling his bulldozer out this morning was to go do that and the ruckus ive been hearing outside was probably from/for killing the pig as well. or maybe they killed it before and its just been hanging there, but i dont think so. ARGH. ok i SO want to leave this village right now. ack. my warm fuzzy feelings about rest days here are quickly dissipating at the moment. argh. im glad i wasnt aware of what was happening as it as it was going on at least....except i think i can hear another pig squealing. gosh i hope they are done for the day. oh my god i wish i had earplugs right now to at least block out the potential screams, if there are any. makes me feel SO sick. there is a herd of sheep just brought in next door, i hope to god they dont start in on those too...so so cruel. so cruel. grab a living creature by its back leg with a chain and bulldozer, turn it upside down, and slit its throat. SO CRUEL. i just dont get how people can do this, and be so unaware and disregarding of the beauty of the life of the creature for itself, in its own being, as a being worthy of being allowed to live, and the worth of the life of that creature to that creature itself. Every creature in the world struggles and fights to preserve its life, perhaps as much as we do. Let it live.
 
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Hi to all those who have done this route before.

This will be my first which will be the Franćes Camino. I've youtubed some pilgrims experiences for inspiration and ideas. On youtube, as its not mentioned in any guide book I've read, that the path is so close to a slaughter house that you can hear everything!!!!! Screams and shots etc... Does anyone remember this? What town its in? Is there a way to avoid it besides using head phones? Or is it in fact true?

I do recall a hog slaughterhouse. It was in the latter part of the Frances, maybe ten days out of Santiago. I don't recall the name of the village, but I remember we had to walk off the trail for some distance. I kept asking my walking partner if she could hear what sounded like screams. As we drew closer, it was obvious that hogs were being butchered.

The village had a very nice albergue, with a full bar and restaurant. That evening we dined on bone in center cut pork chops. It was a real treat.

Be prepared to have your senses assaulted, especially the olfactory. In the latter part of your walk on the Frances, you will walk for days with the smell of cow manure in the air. Cows are walked daily through small villages from one area to another.

Enjoy the experience. Why argue with reality. You lose, but only 100% of the time.
 
So we have established that there is a slaughterhouse. This is clear progress, on this epic thread.

Could someone publish GPS co-ordinates or a Zip code or something, so that people can have the earplugs/ipod ready?
 
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If nothing else this thread you started is a good study in human behavior/interaction. All you did was ask a simple question " Does anyone know if this 'slaughterhouse thing is true? If so how can i avoid it." Very sane and straightforward. Then man did we EVER run that up the flagpole. Tales of butchering our own animals...people telling you to suck it up, ethics, morals...lol. Unreal... i hate it when i post something to a group and feel like i have to hold up a garbage can lid to keep from being pelted... sorry... you are a brave soul and i hope you got your answer.. if not you could use this thread to write a book...we humans are pretty wierd animals.. blessings on you my child.
Thank you Chuck
I actually stopped following this thread that I'd started because some people were just being stupid and insensitive. My question was answered sincerely by most who put my mind at rest and prepared me but unfortunately some, disappointingly, answered with uneducated answers.. Maybe it's just that they don't know any better, but yes as I say I stopped reading replies as it wasn't helping.. I just pop by every so often to see if the haters have moved on to another thread to offload their stupidness. But hey thank you for your opinion and I'm glad to say these silly people have not put me off...
 
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I love Spain, a relationship that started thanks to my parents when I was just a toddler, but it is a country of bullfighting and meat eaters. If slaughterhouses are not for you then perhaps Spain is not the country for you. Yet.

I didn't hear, nor get any hint of being close to a slaughterhouse on my Camino but that's not to say there wasn't one there. I suspect... don't look for one and you will not find one...
 
I love Spain, a relationship that started thanks to my parents when I was just a toddler, but it is a country of bullfighting and meat eaters. If slaughterhouses are not for you then perhaps Spain is not the country for you. Yet.

I didn't hear, nor get any hint of being close to a slaughterhouse on my Camino but that's not to say there wasn't one there. I suspect... don't look for one and you will not find one...
I didn't either and there isn't one...on the Camino (Frances). This thread (zombie) is quite amusing in its naivete. I'm assuming the confusion is by city folk. No offense.
The screams and wails lol ( :D ) of the animals being slaughtered are just animals like hogs and cattle making the normal noises they do while being moved about. They can be stubborn and complaining. I think it's already been said and shown here that hogs are just plain noisy. The "bangs" being heard are not gunshots, but probably just farm equipment and such being moved about.
Hogs and cattle don't scream out prior to being put down for slaughter. They don't look at the barrel of a gun, know their impending doom and future as chorizo, jamon and steaks and scream out "noooooo!" just before the cruel human on the other end of the gat pulls the trigger. ha ha. They are simply alive one moment and dead the next. Trust me, I've done it. I seen it.
Besides, in a slaughterhouse they in all likelihood use a pneumatic bolt gun to put the animal down. Not a firearm. A lot of hazards involved in discharging a firearm in a barn or a building like that.
Also, all the cattle I saw on the Frances appeared to me to be of the dairy variety, not beef. I don't think dairy cows are offed on a daily basis. You would quickly have no mas leche to sell. I could be wrong. There are members of this forum who have grown up on cattle ranches and such and know.
 
I agree, Sabine. Many people in the USA have come to believe that meat comes in nice plastic wrapped packages.
The Camino, in many different ways, is a peek into the reality of farm life.
I'm afraid I am stepping over the line here as well. My son when four years old was inconsolable when in a mercado in Mexico when he asked why the animal was hanging upside down by its feet. It was a year before he would eat chicken again as it was "supposed to" come in a plastic wrap. This is life folks. We simply are NOT all vegetarians!! Vegetables are also grown in a garden, they too do not reproduce in a grocery store! The Camino is life! Spirituality, humanity, a peak into cultural similarities and differences! One does not have to agree with everything! Disagree with me if you like, it's my opinion.
 
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I heard wailing and banging around inside big barns on the Frances and I believe it was impatient livestock, busting to be taken out in the sun for the day. My chickens balk and run head first again and again against the wire door to their coop in the morning, wanting to be let out.

Just wanted to say that I absolutely love this quote from Tunablue5150: "Enjoy the experience. Why argue with reality. You lose, but only 100% of the time. "

It will be my new mantra. I often walk through life, annoyed and frustrated by all the things (and people) that should be different than they are. My walking companions on the Camino laughed at me, always having a better idea about how the world should work. I left a rock, representing my "shoulds" at Cruz de Ferro, but it's hard to teach an old dog (or bombshell, in my case) new tricks.

I WILL, however, continue to be an activist for positive change when I can be, but then there's that other quote about accepting what cannot be changed and changing the things that can, etc. The issue comes when you use up all your energy fighting reality.

¡así es la vida!
 
Thank you Chuck
I actually stopped following this thread that I'd started because some people were just being stupid and insensitive. My question was answered sincerely by most who put my mind at rest and prepared me but unfortunately some, disappointingly, answered with uneducated answers.. Maybe it's just that they don't know any better, but yes as I say I stopped reading replies as it wasn't helping.. I just pop by every so often to see if the haters have moved on to another thread to offload their stupidness. But hey thank you for your opinion and I'm glad to say these silly people have not put me off...
Ouch!! A little over the top here with the name calling.....not quite in the Camino spirit. Opinions, everybody has one. Accept it and respect it.
 
I know I will not make myself popular with this post but I do not think there is anything wrong with a slaughterhouse close to the Camino.
The Camino is not a walk through a garden of roses but a walk through the good , the bad & the ugly. A metaphor of "Life as it is". Yes, there are the rolling hills of La Rioja, the grandeur of the cathedrals of Leon and Burgos, the shared wine or coffee in the albergues, the stunning views at O'Cebreiro but also the industrial estates walking into the bigger towns and yes maybe also a slaughterhouse...
Don't worry too much about it....It is all part of the experience.

Ultreïa!!
Agreed! If the Camino is going to be a metaphor for life, the you NEED those "ugly" places. They might not be the prettiest, but often they are the most useful. I recall a woman who praised her magnesium supplements for relieving her joint pain, but remarked at how ugly the open pit near Ziburi was. That pit of course was a magnesium mine...

There is one section of the Camino though... and I'm sure what they do is very useful and is good for the local economy. I forget the exact town, but it's after Porto Marin. I'm talking about the manure processor. The night before, I'd stayed up too late, had too much wine... I was pretty hungover. For about a mile before and a mile after, I was gagging. I would have gladly toted a gas mask across Spain had I know that foulness waited for me.
 
Down bag (90/10 duvet) of 700 fills with 180 g (6.34 ounces) of filling. Mummy-shaped structure, ideal when you are looking for lightness with great heating performance.

€149,-
Thought I'd point out that I just noticed this thread was started a year ago and most of the posts are from mid 2017. It recently got resurrected.
Well there's a learning lesson! How does a resurrection like this start? And why? Note to self; check dates on all posts!
 
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