Bovine Intervention

We were trudging up the hill on the Camino that leads from Asturias to Galicia when we inadvertently became part of a bovine parade. A herd of holstein cows were entering the trail from an adjoining field and we found ourselves inserted into the center of the herd. The cows were not in the least concerned with our presence but we were a little put off by being surrounded by their very large bodies and the potential for cow pies at any moment. We managed to sneak by a couple of cows who obligingly stayed to one side. There were probably a dozen cows on either side of us so we resigned ourselves to moving at their pace and, after a couple of hundred yards, saw a lady ahead directing the lead cow into a field, that was followed by each cow in turn. When we reached the lady, instead of turning into the field, we proceeded on our way up the trail, soon crossing the height of land into Galicia. We like to think of this as our “farewell parade” from Asturias.

We have now reached the halfway point of the Camino Primitivo and will spend the rest of our time in Galicia. By now we have come to know most of the group of pilgrims we are travelling with, about thirty in all. We pass each other on the trail and end up in the same restaurants in the evenings. As I have said before, “there are no chance encounters on the Camino.” We have made good friends with Daniel and his daughter, Vanessa, from Red Deer, Alberta, John and Allison from England, as well as Stephanie from Quebec. All of these people have something to tell or show us and we have somrthing for them by the time we resch Santiago.