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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!
IMG_20190515_135350841.jpg

Getting closer to the ponies
IMG_20190516_093320067.jpg

Almost there
IMG_20190516_093353868.jpg

Now close enough to pat
IMG_20190516_093405764.jpg IMG_20190516_093413082.jpg

The famous chicken that saved a Pilgrim (well maybe not the exact same one)
IMG_20190527_115236526.jpg

Warmth and comfort from the stones plus a bit of shade from the sun (Hotel San Anton Abad in Villafranca Montes de Oca)
IMG_20190529_190807130.jpg

Not an animal but a place to park your horse while you are in the area. San Juan de Ortega, opposite the church.
IMG_20190530_100608967.jpg

Maybe an Andalusian? Just past Santovenia de Oca
IMG_20190530_110515565.jpg IMG_20190530_110543557.jpg
 
Get a spanish phone number with Airalo. eSim, so no physical SIM card. Easy to use app to add more funds if needed.
One of the smaller animals that I met
IMG_20190605_102927627.jpg

A Stork nest up on high. I hope that it improves the reception!
IMG_20190608_081707313.jpg

Another friendly albergue mouser in San Martín del Camino
IMG_20190609_145441975.jpg

Mother and daughter, Foncebadon
IMG_20190612_091331022-EFFECTS.jpg

Free range chicken, Hospital da Condesa
IMG_20190629_111820587.jpg

This plump Tabby was definitely a good mouser, she had just swallowed one whole! Triacastela.
IMG_20190630_145344565.jpg

These beauties (in an open paddock) were just past Triacastela
IMG_20190701_104739477.jpg

A working (Police) horse in Rivadiso. They were patrolling the Camino
IMG_20190719_103352165.jpg IMG_20190719_103354737.jpg
 
Technical backpack for day trips with backpack cover and internal compartment for the hydration bladder. Ideal daypack for excursions where we need a medium capacity backpack. The back with Air Flow System creates large air channels that will keep our back as cool as possible.

€83,-
St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
A selection of Camino Jewellery
Ideal sleeping bag liner whether we want to add a thermal plus to our bag, or if we want to use it alone to sleep in shelters or hostels. Thanks to its mummy shape, it adapts perfectly to our body.

€46,-
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.
Technical backpack for day trips with backpack cover and internal compartment for the hydration bladder. Ideal daypack for excursions where we need a medium capacity backpack. The back with Air Flow System creates large air channels that will keep our back as cool as possible.

€83,-
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!
View attachment 71308

Getting closer to the ponies
View attachment 71309

Almost there
View attachment 71310

Now close enough to pat
View attachment 71311 View attachment 71312

The famous chicken that saved a Pilgrim (well maybe not the exact same one)
View attachment 71313

Warmth and comfort from the stones plus a bit of shade from the sun (Hotel San Anton Abad in Villafranca Montes de Oca)
View attachment 71314

Not an animal but a place to park your horse while you are in the area. San Juan de Ortega, opposite the church.
View attachment 71318

Maybe an Andalusian? Just past Santovenia de Oca
View attachment 71321 View attachment 71319
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!!DSC_0327 mod.jpgDSC_0467.JPG20180924_104507.jpg20180923_114435.jpg20180920_131326.jpg
 
Last edited by a moderator:
A selection of Camino Jewellery
Technical backpack for day trips with backpack cover and internal compartment for the hydration bladder. Ideal daypack for excursions where we need a medium capacity backpack. The back with Air Flow System creates large air channels that will keep our back as cool as possible.

€83,-
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:
Donkey at Terradillos de los Templarios.jpg

A very trusting chicken who ate right out of my hand!
Me with chicken.jpg


A gentle horse who came to say hello:
Me with horse.jpg

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:
Pigs going to slaughter.jpg

Trying to keep pace with the surprisingly nimble-footed cows on the Camino:
Me walking with cows 2.jpg

Seemingly happy cows grazing in a field:
Cows in field happy.jpg

And then the part we don't often see: unhappy cows, chained up behind bars:
Cow locked up beef cow.jpg

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.
Calf who wanted to suckle.jpg

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.
 
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