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

[DoughnutANZ]

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

 

[DoughnutANZ]

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

 

[TD Justus]

 

[MickMac]

 

[Delphinoula]

did you mean this one? About 40 km from Cadiz?

 

[jefferyonthecamino]

 

[Delphinoula]

Corcubion

 

[Purky]

That one is epic, @jefferyonthecamino!

 

[Peter Fransiscus]

Carion de los Condos ,

 

[Peter Fransiscus]

Before Navarette ,

 

[Pinker to]

Lovely selfie jefferyonthecamino.
Just wondering where it could have been taken.

 

[Kanga]

The grass is always greener on the other side....

 

[jefferyonthecamino]

Lovely selfie jefferyonthecamino.
Just wondering where it could have been taken.

thanks, near Ponte de Lima, Camino Portugués

 

[kdespot]

 

[gmag]

 

[Former member 69452]

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!!

 

[jungleboy]

I'm sure I've posted this on the forum before, and it's not on the Francés, but I'll post it again anyway as it's one of my favourites: @Wendy Werneth in the rain with a new friend on the Camino Primitivo.

 

[Delphinoula]

about 10 km from Muxia

 

[Anna Sar]

 

[robproct]

This one was my favourite. On the Portuguese near Gurgullón in Galicia.

 

[KJFSophie]

We were told by the locals the horses belonged to "Princesses" that were riding on the Camino, being followed by horse trailer and attendees.....

 

[OTH86]

I was having a rest and cafe con leche at Amanecer when this guy came snuggling in beside me. Being chased by the geese? Or cold? Who knows, but he was very quiet and polite!

 

[McSherry]

Relaxing in the sun with a stick near Sarria.

 

[Wendy Werneth]

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.

 

[Michael Gray]

I forget where I saw this in October 2016.

 

[Bad Pilgrim]