Menu peregrino: a close call

[Rob the Slob]

This afternoon, walking from Tres Cantos to Manzanares on the Camino de Madrid, I decided to take a break on a hilltop. The sun was shining, I was tired, and I found a concrete slab where I arranged my pack as a pillow and lay down. I put on some relaxing tunes on my iPod and pulled my cap down over my face.

I must have dozed off at some point. I started awake, looked around and saw five huge eagles circling right overhead. Not quite on the scale of The Lord of the Rings, but not far off. Obviously they were sizing me up for dinner.

They lingered for a few minutes, but once I got going they turned their attention elsewhere. Nothing like drawing the interest of the local wildlife to motivate you to keep walking!

 

[Bradypus]

Crossing into Spain on my very first day on the Camino Frances I had company - a pair of griffon vultures circling overhead. I was hot and sweaty and a little nauseous with dehydration. Such an auspicious start

 

[rometimed]

... jealous. No eagles tried to eat me today.

 

[Wokabaut_Meri]

Wow!

Buddhists would term it a Sky Burial

 

[HeidiL]

I think we had lunch on that concrete slab...

 

[Stivandrer]

Close Encounters of the Bird Kind !??

 

[naplesdon]

Did you see the news report from Australia today? A young camper was dragged from his tent by a hungry crocodile.

 

[Bradypus]

Did you see the news report from Australia today? A young camper was dragged from his tent by a hungry crocodile.

Not good. I am setting off to walk in Sweden and Norway next week. Planning to camp most of the time. Far too chilly for crocodiles but just this morning I read that "northern Jämtland is the most densely populated brown bear habitat in the world." Exactly the sort of information to cheer me up...

 

[Joodle]

Close Encounters of the Bird Kind !??

Ha Ha. I needed that. I am in full anxiety mode this morning. I leave in exactly 2 weeks. I need to laugh to keep myself sane.

 

[Stivandrer]

This afternoon, walking from Tres Cantos to Manzanares on the Camino de Madrid, I decided to take a break on a hilltop. The sun was shining, I was tired, and I found a concrete slab where I arranged my pack as a pillow and lay down. I put on some relaxing tunes on my iPod and pulled my cap down over my face.

I must have dozed off at some point. I started awake, looked around and saw five huge eagles circling right overhead. Not quite on the scale of The Lord of the Rings, but not far off. Obviously they were sizing me up for dinner.

They lingered for a few minutes, but once I got going they turned their attention elsewhere. Nothing like drawing the interest of the local wildlife to motivate you to keep walking!

Last year a young man from Greenland who had just served his military service in Denmark undertook the Camino at Xmas. He had a good thread on Facebook that told about his travel around Xmas and New Yar. At one point he bivuaked in a field, he being such a hardened individual and all, and woke up as an eagle landed to explore what might be assumed to be some delicious carrion. (No don´t say the obvoius joke; Carrion des los Condes ??)
It soon took off as the apparent booty started to yell his head off, and he got no more sleep!
Some people have all the fun !

 

[jmcarp]

From a 2013 news article: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/hiker-falls-death-eaten-vultures-article-1.1336000

 

[soozansings]

This afternoon, walking from Tres Cantos to Manzanares on the Camino de Madrid, I decided to take a break on a hilltop. The sun was shining, I was tired, and I found a concrete slab where I arranged my pack as a pillow and lay down. I put on some relaxing tunes on my iPod and pulled my cap down over my face.

I must have dozed off at some point. I started awake, looked around and saw five huge eagles circling right overhead. Not quite on the scale of The Lord of the Rings, but not far off. Obviously they were sizing me up for dinner.

They lingered for a few minutes, but once I got going they turned their attention elsewhere. Nothing like drawing the interest of the local wildlife to motivate you to keep walking!

I love your title lol!

 

[Kanga]

When I walked the Route Napoleon in 2003 with my daughter it was a very hot day. At one point we thought we were both about to expire. The flock of griffin vultures circling overhead kept us moving.

 

[Angie94]

From a 2013 news article: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/hiker-falls-death-eaten-vultures-article-1.1336000

some sites cannot be 'unseen' and some articles cannot be unread.
I wish they could be...

 

[Isca-camigo]

Two friends walked through the picos last April on the ruta vadiniense. On one of the days on a high section one of them was having a really tough day and started lagging behind, the other one told me afterwards that he would keep looking back and checking and evey time a vulture was directly above the struggling pilgrim but it would go when it was aware the other person was looking at it, this lasted a couple of hours.

 

[nellpilgrim]

In the old days the shepherds and farmers used to leave any stock that were terminally ill/weak/old etc to died out on the hills-knowing that the vultures and other scavengers would deal with the remains. But EU regulations now require that dead stock be collected and disposed of at specific approved centres……so the poor old vultures have had one of their traditional food sources cut and being smart birds are looking for a new 'supplier'. The good news is that scavengers, even the largest, try to make sure their carrion is well and truly dead before tucking in…...

 

[Rob the Slob]

I think we had lunch on that concrete slab...

It's a popular place. I had a look at the reservations book:
"HeidiL, party of 2"
"Eagle family, party of 5 (one diner lactose intolerant)"

 

[Pangloss]

Are you sure they weren't vultures, much more likely than eagles to be in such numbers together. I had a similar experience on the Via de la Plata last year. I sat down on a rock in the heat of the afternoon and noticed them starting to circle overhead. So I set off to walk. They started to come a bit lower so I banged my poles together above my head to let them know that I was well alive and armed !

 

[Richard A Stead]

This afternoon, walking from Tres Cantos to Manzanares on the Camino de Madrid, I decided to take a break on a hilltop. The sun was shining, I was tired, and I found a concrete slab where I arranged my pack as a pillow and lay down. I put on some relaxing tunes on my iPod and pulled my cap down over my face.

I must have dozed off at some point. I started awake, looked around and saw five huge eagles circling right overhead. Not quite on the scale of The Lord of the Rings, but not far off. Obviously they were sizing me up for dinner.

They lingered for a few minutes, but once I got going they turned their attention elsewhere. Nothing like drawing the interest of the local wildlife to motivate you to keep walking!

 

[Richard A Stead]

Not Eagles.almost certainly Griffon vultures. Very common in that area.

 

[Cheryland don]

This afternoon, walking from Tres Cantos to Manzanares on the Camino de Madrid, I decided to take a break on a hilltop. The sun was shining, I was tired, and I found a concrete slab where I arranged my pack as a pillow and lay down. I put on some relaxing tunes on my iPod and pulled my cap down over my face.

I must have dozed off at some point. I started awake, looked around and saw five huge eagles circling right overhead. Not quite on the scale of The Lord of the Rings, but not far off. Obviously they were sizing me up for dinner.

They lingered for a few minutes, but once I got going they turned their attention elsewhere. Nothing like drawing the interest of the local wildlife to motivate you to keep walking!

Hi
We are about to start walking from Madrid, leave NZ today, start on 10 th May. How is the walk going? We are not expecting to meet many/any other walkers, as we hear it is very quiet, will be interesting if you do. Have fun!

 

[psychoticparrot]

I kept a large, cantankerous parrot for 15 years, and I have the scars to prove it. Bald eagles nest near my boat. Ospreys circle overhead every day. Bring on the vultures. I fear no bird!