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Animals that I met (and was quick enough to get their photo)

DoughnutANZ

Ka whati te tai ka kai te tōreapango
Time of past OR future Camino
2019, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026, 2027 & 2028.
Animals that I met along the way from the Pyrenees ponies to Albergue mouse catchers

Ponies, always a joy, just a bit far away to see clearly!


Getting closer to the ponies


Almost there


Now close enough to pat


The famous chicken that saved a Pilgrim (well maybe not the exact same one)


Warmth and comfort from the stones plus a bit of shade from the sun (Hotel San Anton Abad in Villafranca Montes de Oca)


Not an animal but a place to park your horse while you are in the area. San Juan de Ortega, opposite the church.


Maybe an Andalusian? Just past Santovenia de Oca
 
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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.

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One of the smaller animals that I met


A Stork nest up on high. I hope that it improves the reception!


Another friendly albergue mouser in San Martín del Camino


Mother and daughter, Foncebadon


Free range chicken, Hospital da Condesa


This plump Tabby was definitely a good mouser, she had just swallowed one whole! Triacastela.


These beauties (in an open paddock) were just past Triacastela


A working (Police) horse in Rivadiso. They were patrolling the Camino
 
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Altus Poncho (ATMOSPHERIC H30)
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Camino Inglés Walking Holiday - UK
St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
2024 edition: The Brierley Camino Frances Guide
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.
Walking Tours of the Camino!
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What a great idea and distraction from the woes of the world! Here's to keeping the Camino alive in our spirits and filling our hearts with smiles!!
 
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We were told by the locals the horses belonged to "Princesses" that were riding on the Camino, being followed by horse trailer and attendees.....
 

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Altus ANDES 400 H30 sleeping bag
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,-
Thank you @Doughnut NZ for this thread recognizing the non-human animals of the Camino. And thank you to @jungleboy for sharing the photo above of me with the horse in the rain.

Here are some more snapshots of moments I've shared with Camino animals, some happy and some not.

A sweet donkey chained up at Terradillos de los Templarios:


A very trusting chicken who ate right out of my hand!



A gentle horse who came to say hello:


Innocent pigs pleading for me to save them. Have you ever wondered why, with so much pig flesh eaten in Spain, you hardly ever see pigs that are still alive? It's because most of them are kept locked up inside concrete buildings with tiny windows. The only time you'll see them is if you happen to pass by, as I did, when they're being loaded on the truck to go to the slaughterhouse:


Trying to keep pace with the surprisingly nimble-footed cows on the Camino:


Seemingly happy cows grazing in a field:


And then the part we don't often see: unhappy cows, chained up behind bars:


A calf on a dairy farm, who's been separated from his mother and locked in a cage so small he can barely move around. He's trying to suckle my arm, because he's desperate for his mother's milk. Which he's not allowed to have, of course, because his "owner" wants to sell it to humans who will drink it instead.

And since he's a male and will never produce milk when he grows up, he won't be allowed to grow up. Instead, he'll be slaughtered as a baby and turned into veal.


The sad reality is that most of the animals in these photos have already been killed and eaten. I wasn't able to save them, but I'm doing everything I can so that others like them don't have to suffer needlessly.

Be kind to every kind.
 
Camino Inglés Walking Holiday - UK
St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
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