Camino with the most animal encounters

[David Tallan]

In discussing the Camino with my daughter, what is most attractive to her are the possibilities of animal encounters. You know the type I mean: cowherds and shepherds guiding their hers/flocks along the road (or just the road cows one encounters along the way. Or the horses, cows and sheep one walks beside. Or the friendly dogs and cats in villages, or that yard of goats and chickens near the entrance of Los Arcos.

So my question is, on which route are these animal encounters most frequent?

 

[Bradypus]

In my experience the Via de la Plata. Occasionally walking through pasture land rather than alongside it as you do on the Frances. The black Iberian pigs just after Almaden were memorable!

 

[Kiwi-family]

up close and really personal....it was the Primitivo that presented my husband with a dog bite!!
wild horses too

San Salvador for bulls

but I'd agree with Bradypus about the Via de la Plata/Sanabres that gave us pigs, horses, cows, deer, fox as well as the usual cats and non-biting dogs

(that said, I haven't walked every route - other routes might offer more, these offered us at that time plenty)

 

[Flog]

Via de la Plata comes to mind to me too.. wading through grazing cattle and sheep, black pigs in Extramadura munching on acorns, horses, dogs, cats, chickens and ducks. A few snakes, frogs and some humans too.. epic camino


Early days of the Ruta de la Lana, about 40,000,000 rabbits criss crossing the path early in the mornings, but not so many sheep..

 

[Former member 92300]

Well, I have done the Frances from SJPDP, Santiago to Muxia then Finisterre, and the Norte/Primitivo so far. Overall - I have had the best animal encounters on the Frances. From dogs and cats to goats ,sheep, cows, horses, and more! Can't tell you how many hours I spent listening to the cow bells (not only on cows lol), and I even got stuck behind a few traffic jams caused by locals moving their stock from one pasture to another. Even stood right next to a cow as it got rammed by another cow's horns (scared the pilgrim next to me as he jumped way back lol). Woke to the sound of chickens and roosters, listened to the critters at night, and boy were there a lot of snails and slugs on the path!

On the Norte I didn't feel the presence of the animals as intensely is I did on the Frances. But - I think it was the Norte where I encountered two "guard geese" that seemed to be protecting their property and then there was the tiny "ankle biter" dog that didn't like me on the road near his property (Yes - he nipped my shoes), and I also saw a few wild pigs. There were a lot more horses and a lot less cows/sheep/goats etc as I walked though.

And then on the Primitivo - I watched in shock in the pitch black pre-dawn darkness as the pilgrim who just passed me started hitting "himeself" with his poles and screaming - as two weasles ran up his legs and one got stuck in his pants! Thankfully the pilgrim was unharmed - and afterwards the situation was hysterical... but during the moment I wasn't sure whether to run towards him to help or run away for my own safety - it was too dark for me to see the animals. But otherwise on the Primitivo I had the least animal encounters.

 

[Rebekah Scott]

Camino de Madrid has some fun moments.

 

[Bradypus]

A few snakes, frogs and some humans too..

On my first VdlP I came across a small non-venomous snake coiled up right in the middle of the path. A very cold wet day and it was very sluggish. After watching it closely for a minute or two I gently prodded it with my pole to persuade it to move somewhere safer!

 

[wynrich]

And then on the Primitivo - I watched in shock in the pitch black pre-dawn darkness as the pilgrim who just passed me started hitting "himeself" with his poles and screaming - as two weasles ran up his legs and one got stuck in his pants! Thankfully the pilgrim was unharmed - and afterwards the situation was hysterical... but during the moment I wasn't sure whether to run towards him to help or run away for my own safety - it was too dark for me to see the animals. But otherwise on the Primitivo I had the least animal encounters.

Thanks for sharing this. It made me laugh so hard my eyes started tearing.

 

[VNwalking]

Camino de Madrid has some fun moments.

Can't say from experience of the Madrid. But this was an entertaining read, from @timr:

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/a-bovine-incident-todo-toro.47949/#post-885563

 

[lt56ny]

In my experience the Via de la Plata. Occasionally walking through pasture land rather than alongside it as you do on the Frances. The black Iberian pigs just after Almaden were memorable!

View attachment 145125

You took the words right out of my mouth!!!! WIthout a doubt the VDLP. At least among the caminos I have walked.

 

[alexwalker]

VdlP, CF in Galicia...

 

[peregrina2000]

Vdlp for me too. There were times when I felt like I was walking through Old MacDonald’s farm — oink oink here, moo moo here, baa baa here, etc. And then so many instances of having to cross fields with herds of livestock - it really did a lot to conquer my fear of these big animals. And the toro bravo ranches where you can see those fighting bulls from afar, so glad to see strong fences between us. I have seen lots and lots of evidence of wild boars/jabalís, but thankfully have never seen any up close.

 

[Icacos]

For reasons that are not important here, I took a taxi from Villafranca del Bierzo to Laguna de Castilla, just before O Cebreiro, and waited while my companions walked. While wandering around the tiny, little village and observing the dog hierarchy (that’s another story) I felt tempted to explore a narrow path heading down the steep hill, fenced on either side. Thank goodness I didn’t venture down that path because moments later a farmer came along herding his cows and he sent them barrelling - and I mean barrelling - down that very path. The outcome for me would have been grim. Lesson to be learned: Keep to the camino path.

 

[VNwalking]

wild boars/jabalís,

My experience of boars was on the Invierno, the last 100 km of which had frequent livestock encounters. Especially one morning.

Not far out of Monforte, right before A Corga, a deer jumped out onto the road and didn't immediately shy away. Then in A Corga there was a flock of goats a lady was herding through town. A bit farther along, three wild pigs crossed the road in front of me, and two more stopped short when they realized sonething was up, grunting nervously before making a break for it and crashing through the bushes in their haste to get away.They were way scareder of me than I was of them.

 

[Bradypus]

They were way scareder of me than I was of them.

Most of the wild boar I've met ran off very fast. I've seen them in Spain, Japan and Germany. The only one that didn't run was a huge sow in Bavaria. She walked out of a bush a few metres from me and just stared at me grunting. I just stood very still! Then she walked into the middle of the road I was walking along and stood there staring down an oncoming lorry until it stopped. Then she very casually walked away...

 

[Bexster]

In discussing the Camino with my daughter, what is most attractive to her are the possibilities of animal encounters. You know the type I mean: cowherds and shepherds guiding their hers/flocks along the road (or just the road cows one encounters along the way. Or the horses, cows and sheep one walks beside. Or the friendly dogs and cats in villages, or that yard of goats and chickens near the entrance of Los Arcos.

So my question is, on which route are these animal encounters most frequent?

The Camino Primitivo had many cows, horses, sheep, etc. Some were right on the Camino, and we had two horses follow us for a 100 feet while we walked.

 

[Bexster]

 

[Blackcountry pilgrim]

In discussing the Camino with my daughter, what is most attractive to her are the possibilities of animal encounters. You know the type I mean: cowherds and shepherds guiding their hers/flocks along the road (or just the road cows one encounters along the way. Or the horses, cows and sheep one walks beside. Or the friendly dogs and cats in villages, or that yard of goats and chickens near the entrance of Los Arcos.

So my question is, on which route are these animal encounters most frequent?

Got bitten by a dog in a cafe first day out of Porto...spent the day on casualty with a couple of stitches in my knee and two weeks worth of antibiotics hopefully my next camino will be a little more wildllife friendly

 

[austinpilgrim]

The VDLP in the Spring. Calves, lambs, piglets. Great fun.

 

[grdemedeiros]

Got bitten by a dog in a cafe first day out of Porto...spent the day on casualty with a couple of stitches in my knee and two weeks worth of antibiotics hopefully my next camino will be a little more wildllife friendly

This is exactly what I'm worried about, especially since the Camino I'm most interested in is the Portuguesa

 

[grdemedeiros]

In discussing the Camino with my daughter, what is most attractive to her are the possibilities of animal encounters. You know the type I mean: cowherds and shepherds guiding their hers/flocks along the road (or just the road cows one encounters along the way. Or the horses, cows and sheep one walks beside. Or the friendly dogs and cats in villages, or that yard of goats and chickens near the entrance of Los Arcos.

So my question is, on which route are these animal encounters most frequent?

Thank you for this question, the person I hope will join me is truly scared of dogs. (She was badly bitten as a child.)

 

[Blackcountry pilgrim]

This is exactly what I'm worried about, especially since the Camino I'm most interested in is the Portuguesa

I have had dogs as pets for most of my life growing up so this came out of the blue
This happened in a beachside cafe on our first day out and I must admit it really shook me up a bit
The dogs had recently been adopted by a portuguese family who were beside themselves with what had happened
I was very wary after that and couldn't believe just how many dogs I came across whilst walking after that..most were just barking behind fences but I certainly gave a wide berth to any strays we came across
It was bad luck on my part I'm sure it is a rare occurrence
Don't let it put you off !!

 

[Trekker One]

One thing that surprised both my wife and me was the lack of sightings of virtually any wild snimals...other than birds on our six Camino's.
We are early risers and typically are walking before sun up each day. We saw maybe two deer altogether, a rabbit or two a few squirrels, a hedgehog and that was about it.
Of course domestic animals were in abundance. Mostly mild mannered dogs, cats and of course sheep, cows horses and our favorite of all donkeys.
When we hike in the Canadian Rockies at home we see an abundance of wild animals, deer of various varieties, elk, moose, bears...mostly black ones and a grizzly once who had zero interest in us.
I suspect many of the wild animals in Spain end up in the stew pot...

 

[Madis]

I met around 30 snakes following the blue arrow trail through Fatima when doing Camino Portuguese. When reaching Porto those legless lizards seemed to disappear.

In general most animals I see in Galicia because so many locals are keeping cows. This is also what makes the region special for me.

 

[Vacajoe]

We found the French dogs on the Piemonte to be highly aggressive as they are generally working dogs and left alone to guard property and farm animals. Over a short time we had many negative and threatening encounters with them and although we escaped unscathed, an Italian pilgrim (who owns a farm and is used to such dogs) we encountered actually suffered a deep bite wound.

The Camino Frances through Aragon has plenty of cats, cows, sheep, birds, and more.

 

[Former member 92300]

Thank you for this question, the person I hope will join me is truly scared of dogs. (She was badly bitten as a child.)

This is hard. I only had one TINY dog actually come up and nip at my shoes. But there were many dogs that did aggressively bark at me - but they were the ones behind fences. There are lots of loose dogs too... but most of the time they might follow you but the loose dogs were better behaved than the dogs behind fences. The dogs behind fences were more territorial. Anyhow - my experience with dogs was always fine - but there were a few times they scared me (or maybe startled is the better word). I never actually felt unsafe. But then again - I have never been attacked by a dog (except the tiny nipping dog on the Camino - but one good kick would have gotten rid of him if I had actually felt unsafe - but wasn't necessary - I just continued walking away from the property)

 

[Pukiki]

Are there mice? I'm scared of mice and a friend said she had mice in her room in one place she stayed in when she walked The Way last year. I did not book that place for my own upcoming Camino, but I wonder if mice are common?

 

[David Tallan]

One thing that surprised both my wife and me was the lack of sightings of virtually any wild snimals...other than birds on our six Camino's.
We are early risers and typically are walking before sun up each day. We saw maybe two deer altogether, a rabbit or two a few squirrels, a hedgehog and that was about it.
Of course domestic animals were in abundance. Mostly mild mannered dogs, cats and of course sheep, cows horses and our favorite of all donkeys.
When we hike in the Canadian Rockies at home we see an abundance of wild animals, deer of various varieties, elk, moose, bears...mostly black ones and a grizzly once who had zero interest in us.
I suspect many of the wild animals in Spain end up in the stew pot...
View attachment 145205

That's an interesting point. I think it was the same for me on my Caminos. Whereas at home, our yard is visited by deer, foxes, rabbits, raccoons, squirrels, birds, etc.

 

[David Tallan]

Are there mice? I'm scared of mice and a friend said she had mice in her room in one place she stayed in when she walked The Way last year. I did not book that place for my own upcoming Camino, but I wonder if mice are common?

I haven't seen any myself, although in Galicia I saw a lot of feed storage designed to protect the feed from mice, so presumably they are out there somewhere.

 

[Tali]

I once got stuck in the middle of a herd of over 750 sheep just before Arcos. Nowhere to escape so scrambled up the cliffs on the roadside. That was wild

 

[David61]

Most of the wild boar I've met ran off very fast. I've seen them in Spain, Japan and Germany. The only one that didn't run was a huge sow in Bavaria. She walked out of a bush a few metres from me and just stared at me grunting. I just stood very still! Then she walked into the middle of the road I was walking along and stood there staring down an oncoming lorry until it stopped. Then she very casually walked away...

On the Chemin St Jacques (Camino de Santiago in France) we stayed at a lovely gites owned by a French couple and we were having dinner in the garden and the English ex pat from next door joined us. We had a lovely evening and the lady of the house told us how she had recently been returning home one evening when a songleur appeared in front of her and she hit it and her car was written off. I asked what is a "songleur" and the English guy replied wild boar, there are lots around here. I asked what happened to the boar and she said "He is in my freezer!"

​

 

[David61]

Are there mice? I'm scared of mice and a friend said she had mice in her room in one place she stayed in when she walked The Way last year. I did not book that place for my own upcoming Camino, but I wonder if mice are common?

As you walk through Spain, particularly Galicia you will see storehouses raised on legs called horreo. They are often quite large but many are in small holdings and even gardens. They are to keep the millions of rodents away from the grain. Sorry

 

[Icacos]

…. horreo. They are often quite large but many are in small holdings and even gardens. They are to keep the millions of rodents away from the grain. Sorry

And I always thought they were more to keep the rats away than the mice. Sorry

 

[TrvlDad1]

Well, I have done the Frances from SJPDP, Santiago to Muxia then Finisterre, and the Norte/Primitivo so far. Overall - I have had the best animal encounters on the Frances. From dogs and cats to goats ,sheep, cows, horses, and more! Can't tell you how many hours I spent listening to the cow bells (not only on cows lol), and I even got stuck behind a few traffic jams caused by locals moving their stock from one pasture to another. Even stood right next to a cow as it got rammed by another cow's horns (scared the pilgrim next to me as he jumped way back lol). Woke to the sound of chickens and roosters, listened to the critters at night, and boy were there a lot of snails and slugs on the path!

On the Norte I didn't feel the presence of the animals as intensely is I did on the Frances. But - I think it was the Norte where I encountered two "guard geese" that seemed to be protecting their property and then there was the tiny "ankle biter" dog that didn't like me on the road near his property (Yes - he nipped my shoes), and I also saw a few wild pigs. There were a lot more horses and a lot less cows/sheep/goats etc as I walked though.

And then on the Primitivo - I watched in shock in the pitch black pre-dawn darkness as the pilgrim who just passed me started hitting "himeself" with his poles and screaming - as two weasles ran up his legs and one got stuck in his pants! Thankfully the pilgrim was unharmed - and afterwards the situation was hysterical... but during the moment I wasn't sure whether to run towards him to help or run away for my own safety - it was too dark for me to see the animals. But otherwise on the Primitivo I had the least animal encounters.

On the CF in 2022, somewhere west of Sahagun, I ran across two what I thought were minks. One was unfortunately road kill and the other scampered hunchback-like across a road. It looked too plump to be a weasel, but perhaps it was.

 

[David61]

And I always thought they were more to keep the rats away than the mice. Sorry

Rats are rodents. Sorry

 

[Icacos]

Rats are rodents. Sorry

Yes, I realized that; still do. I said what I said more to tease (gently) @Pukiki, post 27 above, who is afraid of mice. I find mice rather sweet, except I guess if they come into my home looking for food. With rats, I’d prefer to keep my distance.

Sorry, @Pukiki.

 

[StayHuman]

In discussing the Camino with my daughter, what is most attractive to her are the possibilities of animal encounters. You know the type I mean: cowherds and shepherds guiding their hers/flocks along the road (or just the road cows one encounters along the way. Or the horses, cows and sheep one walks beside. Or the friendly dogs and cats in villages, or that yard of goats and chickens near the entrance of Los Arcos.

So my question is, on which route are these animal encounters most frequent?

I’m on Primitivo. Lots of cattle, horses, goats and CATS!