- Time of past OR future Camino
- 2012
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So true. We pilgrims get to see life in Spain from a different perspective. Far more interesting than normal vacations!Imagine if people who go on normal vacations read this thread. The main thrust of the debate is 'Was that factory we cut down the back of an abattoir or not?'
So true. We pilgrims get to see life in Spain from a different perspective. Far more interesting than normal vacations!
Annie, maybe in Portland, but please don't put us all in the same boat of denial , where I live there are 3 private owned "slaughter houses" that process wild game , and home raised livestock of all kinds, plus I know several, myself included, that process our own game and farm raised pork, goats and lamb,
Never say never. Its the English language that permits people well in their 50ies who can't be called naive in any sense to be surprisingly innocent in this matter. I still remember the culture clash when I in my 30ies stared open mouthed at my american boss who was over 50 and just had this revelation. You call the animal pig, the meat from it is pork, calf - veal, etc. Other languages are simpler and there is pig meat, calf meat etc. No confusion.isn't 15 anymore so she probably does not need any education about where meat comes from
Under EU law it has to be in a slaughterhouse - for food safety, there even was a debate if the small slaughterhouses should be closed (because they couldn't implement all the standards) or they should get an exemption as traditional way of life, cultural heritage etc.. Possibly a farmer may do a quick work but then only for family consumption as none of the meet can be sold, so no point of doing it too often. Basically any piece of meat out in the market should be able to be traced back to the farm and the individual animal.I know that not all livestock for consumption is processed at a slaughterhouse. It could be a barn. A tree. Anything.
In Spain, chorizo is made from port
I really wonder about this idea that people don't understand where their meat originates. Do we really think that parents are so protective and children so naive? I know that from a very early age, my grand-daughter would point out the lamb chops and beef steak while they were still on foot. She still thought little lambs and calves were cute, but had no illusions about where they might go in the end. (As an afterthought - she is in the first generation of my family that did not have regular access to a farm in her early childhood.)I don't think Spanish people have any problem knowing where cuts of meat come from. I asked my friend what he ate at Christmas and he said 'little pig, mmmm'.
Yes, this is the matadero (slaughterhouse) of Ponferrada. However, it's along the river and not on the Camino Frances. The Camino takes a turn to the right, over the bridge on the river and up towards San Andres church and the castle well before the matadero (which, by the way, is on Calle Matadero)I distinctly remember the slaughterhouse on the road before Ponferrada, because they were slaughtering pigs.
I've done that too, here in the US on deer hunts, except here I think we called it a "driver". Driving the deer to the "stander" who is posted at a spot and doesn't move. We had on bright orange vests (it was actually quite safety conscious and choreographed) and I had a shotgun slung on my back, but my main task was walking in the direction of a driver making as much noise as possible. I had a walking staff which I thrashed around as I moved forward.One can only hope that @Jules67 participating in local hunts as a "beater" (I think it's the correct word; it just means that one had to walk around as told and sometimes make noises)
I find it a little sad that anyone thinks lying to children to hide a normal part of the way our world works is somehow acceptable.When they went to the abattoir we had to tell kids they were going on holiday or the parents got antsy.
I do understand that, and I know that I had explanations for my children of that kind about a variety of things that evolved as they grew older. Pets had to be put down, as did old farm animals. Small animals got killed on the road, skinned, and fed to the dogs. And much to the disgust of one of my daughter's teachers, at one time the eyes of a rabbit were frozen and taken to school for show and tell! It might not have been the grizzly details of my wife's 30+ year old mare coming back in the pet food when they were younger, but I just don't think I every resorted to the fantasy of animals going on holidays, or wanted anyone else to engage in such a fantasy on my behalf.Ah Doug, parents do their best and their worst while trying to do it right.
Nothing would surprise me. Everything is being packaged and turned into an 'experience' these days. In the municipal Jamon Iberico museum in Monasterio there's a very serious video about a pig being slaughtered. But the sombre voiceover tells you that the actual moment of sacrifice is not shown, for respect of the pig. Next thing it's being shoved in the sausage maker.I think that slaughterhouses will become a new item of interest. Think of all the pilgrims approaching Ponferrada and asking locals where the slaughterhouse is! The camino may need to be re-routed to pass it.
Pigs are stunned by electrocution. They usually just give out a shocked squeak. No blazing guns etcI distinctly remember the slaughterhouse on the road before Ponferrada, because they were slaughtering pigs. The sound is enough to make you cry, which I did. I walked and cried right along with the screaming pigs.
The smell is bad too.
But I eat meat.
And I was one of those Americans you mention that try to tell myself it comes in the little plastic package and there was painless death involved. After a long and joyful life of eating chrysanthemums dipped in honey and sleeping peacefully each night in a giant doggie bed in a warm barn full of animals that talked to each other and a spider that wrote "Some Pig" in silk above his head, the large hog was distracted by chocolate and died with one shot to the temple and a smile on his snout.
So the Camino can be a slap in the Truth Bone, not very gently, to those of us who obscure reality for the sake of sleeping better at night.
So true and look how clean everything was. Pigs are the cleanest animals. Bed in one corner, toilet in another.This thread is classic.
I should point out that pigs squeal to high heaven when they are about to get fed. And piglets make the most terrifying screaming when you even pick them up. Here are a couple of clips of 'normal' pig squealing, as a reference for those who haven't hung out with our curly tailed friends. Brace yourself....
You might think the pigs in the last clip are starving or something, but I looked after pampered porkers on a city farm and they made the exact same racket.
Hi Jules having done the Frances twice and going back in June for my third , I have never heard or seen any slaughter houses, most of the Camino I found on the walk to be nice and peaceful ,until I got to Sarria then it seemed to turn into Party time (would be a good time for the ear phones) with all the part time Pilgrims starting from there, making plenty of noise and racket,,Good luck, PS as for the weight of your backpack its not that bad and it will get lighter as you walk.Hi to all those who have done this route before.
This will be my first which will be the Franćes Camino. I've youtubed some pilgrims experiences for inspiration and ideas. On youtube, as its not mentioned in any guide book I've read, that the path is so close to a slaughter house that you can hear everything!!!!! Screams and shots etc... Does anyone remember this? What town its in? Is there a way to avoid it besides using head phones? Or is it in fact true?
Don't mean to derail this thread, but isn't that our beloved @Sagalouts participating in the conversation where the mention of the slaughterhouse comes in? RIP, amigo.
Honestly though (...), I hope we can avoid these cruel slaughtering houses. I don't see the need for them; they simply kill innocent animals just for food. We don't need them at all, since all shops sell meat in sanitary sterile packings. That way we don't need to kill real animals. Peace & love.
I remember going past farms where animals were housed inside but the sounds were always happy animal sounds. I walked with others and alone but never heard anyone talk of ba slaughter house. Hope you have a great CaminoHi to all those who have done this route before.
This will be my first which will be the Franćes Camino. I've youtubed some pilgrims experiences for inspiration and ideas. On youtube, as its not mentioned in any guide book I've read, that the path is so close to a slaughter house that you can hear everything!!!!! Screams and shots etc... Does anyone remember this? What town its in? Is there a way to avoid it besides using head phones? Or is it in fact true?
Hi to all those who have done this route before.
This will be my first which will be the Franćes Camino. I've youtubed some pilgrims experiences for inspiration and ideas. On youtube, as its not mentioned in any guide book I've read, that the path is so close to a slaughter house that you can hear everything!!!!! Screams and shots etc... Does anyone remember this? What town its in? Is there a way to avoid it besides using head phones? Or is it in fact true?
I agree This is not a sanitised resort holiday. This is an opportunity to encounter all that life is, all we are part of and all we contribute to. This is not about arranging things so we are always comfortable and unchallenged. If we are challenged or confronted it can be a opportunity to look at the questions that arise within us. Our Camino will change us if we allow ourselves to be touched deeply by the unknown and not insulated and cotton wooded. Be open to the challenge. Welcome the strange gifts on the Camino.I know I will not make myself popular with this post but I do not think there is anything wrong with a slaughterhouse close to the Camino.
The Camino is not a walk through a garden of roses but a walk through the good , the bad & the ugly. A metaphor of "Life as it is". Yes, there are the rolling hills of La Rioja, the grandeur of the cathedrals of Leon and Burgos, the shared wine or coffee in the albergues, the stunning views at O'Cebreiro but also the industrial estates walking into the bigger towns and yes maybe also a slaughterhouse...
Don't worry too much about it....It is all part of the experience.
Ultreïa!!
They left the eyes in, to see them through the week.hanging from the rafters was a freshly slaughtered lamb, skinned, but with a head with bulging eyes.
When my wife and walked last winter we met hunters, who were not hunting near the way but were walking into the hills. A place were one said he had been hunting since childhood.Not quite true. Last November/December we had to walk through hunts often. Public hunting takes place along a lot of the camino. For instance, after Castrojeriz up on the Alto there were hunters on both sides of the way, often even on the way shooting. We had to walk through them, but to be honest they were very careful around us. Another time was descending to Cee and we were surrounded by shotgun blasts with hunters and dogs crossing the way often (they offered to give us a lift into town as it was raining)! This happened so frequently it became normal.
In 2015 a whole pack of wild boar, with young, ran across the Way around and through us pilgrims, they were being chased by hunting dogs and hunters with guns. This was in July on the Primitivo.
Davey
only done camino once but I did not hear a thing, I think someone is pulling your leg!Hi to all those who have done this route before.
This will be my first which will be the Franćes Camino. I've youtubed some pilgrims experiences for inspiration and ideas. On youtube, as its not mentioned in any guide book I've read, that the path is so close to a slaughter house that you can hear everything!!!!! Screams and shots etc... Does anyone remember this? What town its in? Is there a way to avoid it besides using head phones? Or is it in fact true?
Absolutely not true -forget about it!Hi to all those who have done this route before.
This will be my first which will be the Franćes Camino. I've youtubed some pilgrims experiences for inspiration and ideas. On youtube, as its not mentioned in any guide book I've read, that the path is so close to a slaughter house that you can hear everything!!!!! Screams and shots etc... Does anyone remember this? What town its in? Is there a way to avoid it besides using head phones? Or is it in fact true?
Hi to all those who have done this route before.
This will be my first which will be the Franćes Camino. I've youtubed some pilgrims experiences for inspiration and ideas. On youtube, as its not mentioned in any guide book I've read, that the path is so close to a slaughter house that you can hear everything!!!!! Screams and shots etc... Does anyone remember this? What town its in? Is there a way to avoid it besides using head phones? Or is it in fact true?
LOL good one!!I just can't resist.
As the saying goes, "those who respect the law and enjoy sausage should never watch either being made."
Buen Camino!
A laHi to all those who have done this route before.
This will be my first which will be the Franćes Camino. I've youtubed some pilgrims experiences for inspiration and ideas. On youtube, as its not mentioned in any guide book I've read, that the path is so close to a slaughter house that you can hear everything!!!!! Screams and shots etc... Does anyone remember this? What town its in? Is there a way to avoid it besides using head phones? Or is it in fact true?
LOL Vintage Monte Python i presume. Love it. i must have watched The Holy Grail no less then 10 times.Run Away! Run Away!
If nothing else this thread you started is a good study in human behavior/interaction. All you did was ask a simple question " Does anyone know if this 'slaughterhouse thing is true? If so how can i avoid it." Very sane and straightforward. Then man did we EVER run that up the flagpole. Tales of butchering our own animals...people telling you to suck it up, ethics, morals...lol. Unreal... i hate it when i post something to a group and feel like i have to hold up a garbage can lid to keep from being pelted... sorry... you are a brave soul and i hope you got your answer.. if not you could use this thread to write a book...we humans are pretty wierd animals.. blessings on you my child.Hi to all those who have done this route before.
This will be my first which will be the Franćes Camino. I've youtubed some pilgrims experiences for inspiration and ideas. On youtube, as its not mentioned in any guide book I've read, that the path is so close to a slaughter house that you can hear everything!!!!! Screams and shots etc... Does anyone remember this? What town its in? Is there a way to avoid it besides using head phones? Or is it in fact true?
Almost forgot about the squealing piglet video..lol..I think this borders on TMI...If nothing else this thread you started is a good study in human behavior/interaction. All you did was ask a simple question " Does anyone know if this 'slaughterhouse thing is true? If so how can i avoid it." Very sane and straightforward. Then man did we EVER run that up the flagpole. Tales of butchering our own animals...people telling you to suck it up, ethics, morals...lol. Unreal... i hate it when i post something to a group and feel like i have to hold up a garbage can lid to keep from being pelted... sorry... you are a brave soul and i hope you got your answer.. if not you could use this thread to write a book...we humans are pretty wierd animals.. blessings on you my child.
Encountered many hunters with their rifles and dogs, especially on Sundays. Face to face they were friendly and not scary at all. However, once we experienced the gravel rocks hit us after someone shot at the road right behind us. I'm pretty sure the shot was not aimed directly at us but more like "Let's have a little fun and make them jump and walk a bit faster."Tell that to @tyrrek who picked up some flesh wounds thanks to a Quail hunter while out litter-picking in the wilds of Palencia. The track through the Montes de Oca is a favourite stand for Boar hunters while the dogs work the forest. Happily they are all very Peregrino aware - and quite happy to share some coffee on a frosty morning.
Yes. The slaughterhouse is in Puente Villarente. It's about 14kms before Léon.Hi to all those who have done this route before.
This will be my first which will be the Franćes Camino. I've youtubed some pilgrims experiences for inspiration and ideas. On youtube, as its not mentioned in any guide book I've read, that the path is so close to a slaughter house that you can hear everything!!!!! Screams and shots etc... Does anyone remember this? What town its in? Is there a way to avoid it besides using head phones? Or is it in fact true?
LOL! Pigs sound like they are being killed half the time, just saying! It explains why people thought they had walked past a slaughterhouse but apparently didn't. Probably just piggy teatime. I used to feed pigs and it made my ears hurt.Almost forgot about the squealing piglet video..lol..I think this borders on TMI...
Yes, I remember it well. I was walking alone that day. I began hearing cows wailing, banging sounds and a very deep sadness came over me. I knew what I was hearing. The atmosphere was rife with grief. It was as if even the angels were crying.Thank you for your replies. I've heard it mentioned now on 2 different YouTube videos. Hopefully they were mistaken. I think I'd be traumatised ..
No, I was raised on a farm...definitely not pigs. Definitely wailing cows and then large bangs. Rather disconcerting really.LOL! Pigs sound like they are being killed half the time, just saying! It explains why people thought they had walked past a slaughterhouse but apparently didn't. Probably just piggy teatime. I used to feed pigs and it made my ears hurt.
Yes, I remember it well. I was walking alone that day. I began hearing cows wailing, banging sounds and a very deep sadness came over me. I knew what I was hearing. The atmosphere was rife with grief. It was as if even the angels were crying.
I'm sorry, I cannot tell you where it is at. But it is most definitely after Ponferada. There are no signs and it's sits far off the road in a valley of sorts. Pray you go by on a day they are not killing. If not, pray for those animals as you walk by.
I had forgotten about this until I read your post. I never mentioned it to anyone else but those minutes walking by there were painfully sad. Burn Camino
I experienced this as well. Cows literally wailing and then load bangs. I knew what it was...I felt a sadness come over me as I walked by. Never have I mentioned it until now. I didn't even bring it up when I reached my destination that night. I guess I just decided to push it back outside my mind.Other than the "dung" I think there may be a little "poetic license" involved here.
Hi to all those who have done this route before.
This will be my first which will be the Franćes Camino. I've youtubed some pilgrims experiences for inspiration and ideas. On youtube, as its not mentioned in any guide book I've read, that the path is so close to a slaughter house that you can hear everything!!!!! Screams and shots etc... Does anyone remember this? What town its in? Is there a way to avoid it besides using head phones? Or is it in fact true?
Thank you ChuckIf nothing else this thread you started is a good study in human behavior/interaction. All you did was ask a simple question " Does anyone know if this 'slaughterhouse thing is true? If so how can i avoid it." Very sane and straightforward. Then man did we EVER run that up the flagpole. Tales of butchering our own animals...people telling you to suck it up, ethics, morals...lol. Unreal... i hate it when i post something to a group and feel like i have to hold up a garbage can lid to keep from being pelted... sorry... you are a brave soul and i hope you got your answer.. if not you could use this thread to write a book...we humans are pretty wierd animals.. blessings on you my child.
I didn't either and there isn't one...on the Camino (Frances). This thread (zombie) is quite amusing in its naivete. I'm assuming the confusion is by city folk. No offense.I love Spain, a relationship that started thanks to my parents when I was just a toddler, but it is a country of bullfighting and meat eaters. If slaughterhouses are not for you then perhaps Spain is not the country for you. Yet.
I didn't hear, nor get any hint of being close to a slaughterhouse on my Camino but that's not to say there wasn't one there. I suspect... don't look for one and you will not find one...
I'm afraid I am stepping over the line here as well. My son when four years old was inconsolable when in a mercado in Mexico when he asked why the animal was hanging upside down by its feet. It was a year before he would eat chicken again as it was "supposed to" come in a plastic wrap. This is life folks. We simply are NOT all vegetarians!! Vegetables are also grown in a garden, they too do not reproduce in a grocery store! The Camino is life! Spirituality, humanity, a peak into cultural similarities and differences! One does not have to agree with everything! Disagree with me if you like, it's my opinion.I agree, Sabine. Many people in the USA have come to believe that meat comes in nice plastic wrapped packages.
The Camino, in many different ways, is a peek into the reality of farm life.
Ouch!! A little over the top here with the name calling.....not quite in the Camino spirit. Opinions, everybody has one. Accept it and respect it.Thank you Chuck
I actually stopped following this thread that I'd started because some people were just being stupid and insensitive. My question was answered sincerely by most who put my mind at rest and prepared me but unfortunately some, disappointingly, answered with uneducated answers.. Maybe it's just that they don't know any better, but yes as I say I stopped reading replies as it wasn't helping.. I just pop by every so often to see if the haters have moved on to another thread to offload their stupidness. But hey thank you for your opinion and I'm glad to say these silly people have not put me off...
Agreed! If the Camino is going to be a metaphor for life, the you NEED those "ugly" places. They might not be the prettiest, but often they are the most useful. I recall a woman who praised her magnesium supplements for relieving her joint pain, but remarked at how ugly the open pit near Ziburi was. That pit of course was a magnesium mine...I know I will not make myself popular with this post but I do not think there is anything wrong with a slaughterhouse close to the Camino.
The Camino is not a walk through a garden of roses but a walk through the good , the bad & the ugly. A metaphor of "Life as it is". Yes, there are the rolling hills of La Rioja, the grandeur of the cathedrals of Leon and Burgos, the shared wine or coffee in the albergues, the stunning views at O'Cebreiro but also the industrial estates walking into the bigger towns and yes maybe also a slaughterhouse...
Don't worry too much about it....It is all part of the experience.
Ultreïa!!
Well there's a learning lesson! How does a resurrection like this start? And why? Note to self; check dates on all posts!Thought I'd point out that I just noticed this thread was started a year ago and most of the posts are from mid 2017. It recently got resurrected.
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