Santiago with a donkey

[rupertbyng]

I am planning the Camino from le Puy to Santiago next yearin two stages. Le Puy - St Jean May/June and St Jean - Santiago Sept/Oct.
I will be taking my two Jack Russell terriers, who have a few sins to atone for like their master.
The logistical problem is bringing enough dog food and water. 3 kilos of food every ten days plus 1 litre water daily. The answer seems to be a donkeyand I have already been training in leading a donkey.
One question is how fast will a donkey be led but more importantly I do not much like the idea of crossing Burgos or Leon in the traffic with two dogs and a donkey.
The upside is the donkey can handle 50 kilos of luggage, which would allow for a light weight tent etc when accomodation might not be available.

I know it is only June 2006 but May 2007 seems to rushing towards me

Rupert Byng

 

[William Marques]

You must have read Spanish Steps by Tim Moore. If not the answer to most of your donkey related questions are in there.

Buen Camino
William

 

[sulu]

I know this is well passed now and some means must have been found to sort the problems. :?:
Someone must have taken inspiration from you as this January a group of Spanish travelled the Via de la Plata with camels and donkeys but they had to send a car infront to organise accomodation. :lol:
Sue

 

[Rebekah Scott]

I wish we could hear how things turned out. Donkeys, as a rule, dislike dogs. I´d worry about the safety of the little dogs, even with a reliable "bomb-proof" donk.

Reb.

 

[Priscillian]

Dogs on the Camino: A Moral Dilemma?

A recent post about donkeys and dogs has made me ponder, and not for the first time, about the fairness of taking your pooch on the Camino. Dogs like to walk, true, but little dogs have little legs and a journey encompassing 25 ks a day might be a little bit too much to ask of "Man's Best Friend". If you have a working dog like a Border Collie, a Shepherd or a Husky, they might love you for it, but a smaller dog? I know Jack Russells have a big dog attitude, but they have little legs.
There might be a good reason why little old ladies carry their Yorkshire Terriers!
Just a thought...
Tracy Saunders
http://www.pilgrimagetoheresy.blogspot.com

 

[Portia1]

I encountered a man along the Camino with a donkey. It was so sad. There were bleeding blisters on the donkey's hindquarters from the leather straps and he was terribly loaded down. The man tied him up to a post while he went into the tienda (no effort made to unload anything to give the beast a little comfort) and the poor thing just wimpered. Town's people walked by and tisked. While other pilgrims were picking up lightweight food, the man purchased bottles of wine, canned foods and other heavy items. Didn't see anything that would approach food for a donkey. Several of us wanted to saddle the man up and load him down.

 

[Dogwalker4]

I too wonder how the trip went with the Jack's. We are going with ours, hopefully Fall 2014, on the Francais Camino. I am having great success finding lodgings that will accept our Thor along the way. We will not, however, be employing the use of a donkey.
In answer about the little legs of Jack Russell's. Believe me Thor is a hard nosed Colorado hiker who can do 20 km or more a day easily on rough trail or tarmac (put our shepherd mix to shame). With our time frame we will be taking our time and not be rushing to complete this journey, so we are not planning on doing 20 or more km per day. Also plan 2 or 3 day stops as the need or desire arises.

 

[SYates]

I too wonder how the trip went with the Jack's. We are going with ours, hopefully Fall 2014, on the Francais Camino. I am having great success finding lodgings that will accept our Thor along the way. We will not, however, be employing the use of a donkey.
In answer about the little legs of Jack Russell's. Believe me Thor is a hard nosed Colorado hiker who can do 20 km or more a day easily on rough trail or tarmac (put our shepherd mix to shame). With our time frame we will be taking our time and not be rushing to complete this journey, so we are not planning on doing 20 or more km per day. Also plan 2 or 3 day stops as the need or desire arises.

Two more things to consider is how you will get back home from Santiago. Dogs, apart of guide / assistance dogs, are not allowed on any public transport in Spain. And the next thing is that the dogs that live in the villages on the Camino normally dislike other strange dogs that walk through their territory. How does your Jack R. react when he is suddenly barked at, or worse, by a pack of village dogs?

 

[Dogwalker4]

"Two more things to consider is how you will get back home from Santiago. Dogs, apart of guide / assistance dogs, are not allowed on any public transport in Spain. And the next thing is that the dogs that live in the villages on the Camino normally dislike other strange dogs that walk through their territory. How does your Jack R. react when he is suddenly barked at, or worse, by a pack of village dogs?"

http://www.renfe.com/EN/viajeros/info/animales.html
We will take the train of course. Thor is a stalwart and very used to other larger dogs who may or may not be aggressive. We also can pick him up quite easliy and will always have our walking staffs, just in case.