| For 2024 Pilgrims: €50,- donation = 1 year with no ads on the forum + 90% off any 2024 Guide. More here. (Discount code sent to you by Private Message after your donation) |
|---|
It’s all downhill from here, Margaret.December 12, 2011
near Pontevedra
View attachment 139771
. It is perhaps the oddest object I have ever seen while walking in Spain…
Not the only dino, remarkably. There is another on the Camino Inglés. Though to the best of my knowledge the only verifiable remains of the beasts (namely their footprints) is in the area of Burgos and up on the Norte in Asturias (if I remember correctly).
Though to the best of my knowledge the only verifiable remains of the beasts (namely their footprints) is in the area of Burgos and up on the Norte in Asturias (if I remember correctly).
For me, it was that ugly exhausted old devil staring at me frequently in the mirrorWhat is the strangest thing you saw on your Camino?
For me, it was probably the pilgrim I saw walking with a live chicken in his backpack.
What about you?
Just curious.
THAT GUY SURE GETS AROUND!For me, it was that ugly exhausted old devil staring at me frequently in the mirror
Samarkand
If he was the one taking them it would have been wise to make sure to walk in front of him....I saw a young person walking with a toilet seat around the neck. Didn't make sense until later down the CF when I realized seats were gone from most bathrooms.
Walking the Shikoku 88 temple circuit. A forest area hundreds of feet above sea level. And there was this "beware of the crabs" sign at the roadside. I saw some later. Odd!It was on the Camino Portugues (just coming out of Fortaleza), walking on a paved road in a neighborhood. There was no water near, no swamp. There was a crawfish crossing the street. It was doing this weird "I'm going to get you" dance. Funny but odd.
We stayed at the ant albergue and had a great time!I saw the dino footprints on the San Olav, and a wonderful fuente at a church about 5k away made almost entirely of Ammonites:
View attachment 139781
Those were more cool than strange.
But for non-human strange it's a tie. The dino on the Ingles or the giant ants on the Francés.
View attachment 139776 View attachment 139780
And, oh wait! The ostrich. Definitely the ostrich.
View attachment 139779
Your link isn't working for me. Can you upload it to the forum using the "Attach files" button at the bottom of the message box?It was on the Camino Portugues (just coming out of Fortaleza), walking on a paved road in a neighborhood. There was no water near, no swamp. There was a crawfish crossing the street. It was doing this weird "I'm going to get you" dance. Funny but odd.
https://www.amazon.com/photos/all/gallery/_iIeuJkWToqnZ0Qzo2t0Ng?tag=casaivar02-20
I'm glad he was wearing a mask in 2021.That freaky display was there in 2006
View attachment 139820
and also in 2021
in the middle of nowhere, past a cattle farm
View attachment 139821
I recall sitting next to the trail with my husband, taking a break and having a snack, when we were approached by two unicycles. The best part was that as they got closer I happened to drop my apple which rolled along onto the path (I might add that it was a fairly uneven stretch of trail). One of the unicyclists easily dismounted, picked up my wandering apple and passed it back to me before heading back on his way. We shook our heads in disbelief!I've posted this before, but the chap on the unicycle south of Aire sur l'Adour still cracks me up. He'd come all the way from Paris - I often wonder if he made it to SdC?
Oh. No pictures. Too bad.And they checked themselves out in the car wing mirrors first
Made me think of these lines from "The Spanish Suitcase" - one of my favourite episodes of The Goon Show. Works best if you imagine Peter Sellers's voice.On the Madrid Camino...a matador and three of his 'helpers' (picadors?) in all their finery, emerging from a little hotel and cramming themselves into a very small car before driving off, presumably to a bull-ring.
A very shy Flash Mob.Outside an alberque in Rabanal. They danced for well over a half hour, then the dude in the hat leading got in a car and drove away. It was great.
View attachment 139840
Hi @amancio The whole scene looks really creepy - just the thing to make you get outta there! Were there any humans about?more and more things come up!
This is in Roales del Pan, Via de la Plata, just outside Zamora, a small private garden with lots of weird lifesize figures; the wicked wolf, little red riding hood, a half naked mermaid, a pilgrim, a few dwarves... just weird!
View attachment 139837
JennyH - it’s your friend the other JennyH here - I have seen photos of Spot before, but this one is great. You can really get a good feel for how Spot is put together and how it all works.Walking out from Zamora on the VDLP last May near the industrial area I spotted an old military tank and stopped to take a photo of it. I wondered how it ended up there.
Just after I took the photo a Spanish gentleman came by and asked me if he could do a short video of me with the tank and my trailer Spot. I had to tell him where I was from, who made Spot, where I’d started walking etc. He was really interested in Spot! He then took this photo -
View attachment 139832
Cheers from Oz -
Jenny
this is only a small part of the whole scene, about 40% maybe, I forgot to mention the giraffe, actually! There were lots of other characters, I was there on my own at 9 in the morning on a beautiful, cool Sunday morning.Hi @amancio The whole scene looks really creepy - just the thing to make you get outta there! Were there any humans about?
Cheers from Oz -
Jenny
La Bête?
Jenny, how does Spot work on descents and on ancient Roman roads? Please let us know a little more about your experiences using this.Walking out from Zamora on the VDLP last May near the industrial area I spotted an old military tank and stopped to take a photo of it. I wondered how it ended up there.
Just after I took the photo a Spanish gentleman came by and asked me if he could do a short video of me with the tank and my trailer Spot. I had to tell him where I was from, who made Spot, where I’d started walking etc. He was really interested in Spot! He then took this photo -
View attachment 139832
Cheers from Oz -
Jenny
Hi @El Cascayal - Spot goes anywhere that has a wide enough path for him. In places where the path is large boulders - eg some of those really rough Roman roads on the Sanabres - I’ve had to unload the cart and take the empty trailer over those large boulders, go back and collect the contents, then repack where the path is easier to navigate through. Not a problem - it never takes long.Jenny, how does Spot work on descents and on ancient Roman roads? Please let us know a little more about your experiences using this.
Aymarah
Wow! How interesting! Thanks, Jenny.Hi @El Cascayal - Spot goes anywhere that has a wide enough path for him. In places where the path is large boulders - eg some of those really rough Roman roads on the Sanabres - I’ve had to unload the cart and take the empty trailer over those large boulders, go back and collect the contents, then repack where the path is easier to navigate through. Not a problem - it never takes long.
Descents aren’t a problem either - for gentle descents my hands act as brakes as I lay my palms flat against the front of the handgrip and for steep descents I unhook myself from the waist belt and wheel the trailer in front of me supermarket trolley style in a zig zag pattern until I reach flat ground. For descents I always put my hiking poles under the bungee cords which keep the plastic cover and my umbrella secure.
For steep ascents, where there’s some “drag” I use my poles to get myself up the ascent. I take it slowly and it’s fine.
Here’s a close up of Spot last year on the VDLP - it was Banana Break time!
View attachment 139908
I’ve walked around 2,800kms with Spot since 2017. Walking with him is an absolute dream and certainly on the flat ground I’m hardly aware of him behind me - he pootles along happily. I have more energy as I don’t have a heavy weight on my back and I can easily take a lot of water as everything is stored in the cart.
As you saw in the photo with the tank, I do have a cross body bag and a very lightweight daypack that’s on my person - these contain my valuables, including an iPad mini. I never let these items leave me.
I’ve had fantastic experiences with Spot in tow, and at least one offer from another pilgrim to go into business with his creator! I have tons and tons of happy memories of caminos with Spot and will always feel very grateful to the friend who created him.
Cheers from Oz -
Jenny
Jenny, sounds like Spot has been a winner for you! Is your friend who built the trolley @david from the forum?I have tons and tons of happy memories of caminos with Spot and will always feel very grateful to the friend who created him.
Much better to have a live chicken in your pack than a dead one. ufff!What is the strangest thing you saw on your Camino?
For me, it was probably the pilgrim I saw walking with a live chicken in his backpack.
What about you?
Just curious.
Might deter a few light-fingered pilgrims too!Someone wanted to keep the birds away from the trees, so they hung stuffed animals and baby dolls from the branches. By their necks. With rope.
Yes, Chrissy - he is. I will always be so grateful to him as, in creating Spot, he gave me back my pilgrim life, after a fall from my mountain bike resulting in a pinned and plated collarbone prevented me from carrying a heavy pack.Jenny, sounds like Spot has been a winner for you! Is your friend who built the trolley @david from the forum?
His name is Fran. He carries his hatchet, or sometimes a pocket knife or a ball of string, which he likes to show to random people. (He wanders around picking up firewood, and binds it together to burn in the winter stove.) When he's in a raucous mood he sings Spanish pop hits from the 1960s. He can be scary, but he is harmless. Sometimes pilgrims complain, but they are passing by, and this is his home.Mine was an early, foggy morning on the Frances. The sun was still rising. Don't remember exactly where I was - but I think after the Meseta somewhere. No one else walking yet - at least - not near me. And I see in front of me, a man wandering/meandering with an axe! Of course - that put me on high alert - but at the same time, other than the fact that the was an axe in his hand and he seemed really out of place - I didn't feel unsafe at all. Cautious - yes - but he didn't bother me and I didn't bother him lol. I think he even took some steps away from the path before I passed him. He didn't seem to be watching me or anything - just meandering.
I think it's a cute doll; must be a girl with that pink hat and white ruffled collar...but she does have big feet.Scary doll on VDLP.
Thanks for the fun post, worth a good laugh remembering many of these strange appearances.What is the strangest thing you saw on your Camino?
For me, it was probably the pilgrim I saw walking with a live chicken in his backpack.
What about you?
Just curious.
Not the only dino, remarkably. There is another on the Camino Inglés. Though to the best of my knowledge the only verifiable remains of the beasts (namely their footprints) is in the area of Burgos and up on the Norte in Asturias (if I remember correctly).
I would put one in my yard too if I had the space, neighbors would love it!
Thanks for the background! I definitely found it odd - but like I said - he didn't do anything to scare me so I can believe what you say - that he is harmless. I could tell he was most likely local. Can you refresh my memory - what town was that? This is actually one of my best memories - I felt so safe on the Camino that I didn't let seeing him freak me out or anything - I just watched him enough to know my surroundings and kept on walking.His name is Fran. He carries his hatchet, or sometimes a pocket knife or a ball of string, which he likes to show to random people. (He wanders around picking up firewood, and binds it together to burn in the winter stove.) When he's in a raucous mood he sings Spanish pop hits from the 1960s. He can be scary, but he is harmless. Sometimes pilgrims complain, but they are passing by, and this is his home.
If it was Fran, it was Moratinos. But there are Frans in towns all around the Ways.Thanks for the background! I definitely found it odd - but like I said - he didn't do anything to scare me so I can believe what you say - that he is harmless. I could tell he was most likely local. Can you refresh my memory - what town was that? This is actually one of my best memories - I felt so safe on the Camino that I didn't let seeing him freak me out or anything - I just watched him enough to know my surroundings and kept on walking.
I (and my 3 companions) met Fran in Moratinos in September 2012! He did indeed show us his string. When I read your post, I had a sudden memory and checked my journal from that day - there he was. Nice to know his name now.If it was Fran, it was Moratinos. But there are Frans in towns all around the Ways.
I wonder if it was an emotional support animal or dinner!What is the strangest thing you saw on your Camino?
For me, it was probably the pilgrim I saw walking with a live chicken in his backpack.
What about you?
Just curious.
I saw them too! Same woman, same pig!!!I saw this woman walking her friend in the parking lot outside the supermarket in Santo Domingo de la Calzada (Camino Frances) in April, 2019. I wasn't sure if I was getting a preview of the next day's butcher's special.
View attachment 139817
That's the 3rd time that sneaky dino on the Ingles has managed to slip in here. I guess he wins.Second is on the Inglés, next to the flying tractor.
Love the look of you 'spot' Jenny. I can see what a wonderful contraption it is and how very useful for folk who can longer carry a pack. I need something so of like but, has to be able to be pushed rather than pulled. Hmm...will ask my very invevtive son and see what he comes up with. Hugs.Yes, Chrissy - he is. I will always be so grateful to him as, in creating Spot, he gave me back my pilgrim life, after a fall from my mountain bike resulting in a pinned and plated collarbone prevented me from carrying a heavy pack.
Camino hugs - Jenny
Hi dear peregrina Sue -Love the look of you 'spot' Jenny. I can see what a wonderful contraption it is and how very useful for folk who can longer carry a pack. I need something so of like but, has to be able to be pushed rather than pulled. Hmm...will ask my very invevtive son and see what he comes up with. Hugs.
Thanks! Yes - it was a good memory and just trying to remember where he was. I was telling my husband about it the other day again.If it was Fran, it was Moratinos. But there are Frans in towns all around the Ways.
In France I was having a coffee and a young guy walked by in complete pilgrim gear, like he had modeled himself after a medieval engraving - the hat, the robe, the staff, etc. The odd thing was that he wasn't dusty or sweaty at all, and it was a very hot day
Is that @Turga?
Kaz, I think they are Tazmanian devils.@Camino Chrissy, I don't know what on earth the blobby thingsin your first photo are but I hope they didn't give you nightmares! Perhaps balanced out by the cute factor of the window sill pots?!
Really enjoying your daily dispatches.
Happy trailsxox
An unfriendly Canadian.What is the strangest thing you saw on your Camino?
For me, it was probably the pilgrim I saw walking with a live chicken in his backpack.
What about you?
Just curious.
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?