[Today’s guest blogger is Melissa.]
Last year I walked across Spain on the Camino de Santiago. Along the way I took lots of photos of churches, cathedrals, glorious windswept plains, and fellow pilgrims. But of course, being a certified crazy cat lady, I also took photos of some of the cats I met along the way. Since today is the one-year anniversary of my arrival in Santiago, I thought it fitting to present my gallery of gatos espanoles:
Cat door in Ziriegui:
No cat here, but I love the fact that many of the churches and other old buildings along the way had built-in cat doors. No wonder I like Spain!
Kitten in Ciraqui:
This little guy greeted me as I entered this hilltop village, which I described in my journal thusly: “Ciraqui is a charming village with many cats.”
Logrono cat:
This lovely lady was taking in the early morning sun as I walked into the city of Logrono.
Cat on a wall:
A farm cat just past Hospital de Orbigo popped up to see who was walking by.
Gato Peregrino:
Oh, I so fell in love with Gato Peregrino.
A tiny little kitty with a voice like a trumpet and the heart of a lion. He snuggled with me all afternoon in the village of Riego de Ambros as I sat soaking in the afternoon sun after a particularly cold, windy, rainy walk. And the next morning he followed me for 4 miles along the Camino, until we reached a point where we could see the next village. What could I do but carry him back to his home? If I could have figured out a way to take him all the way to Santiago and on to California, I would have.
Laguna:
My first Galician cat.
O Cebreiro:
O Cebreiro had particularly handsome cats in residence.
Cat in barn:
His canine companion protested loudly, but I took his picture anyway.
Black cat outside of Santiago:
This cat reminded me of my cat Archy, who, thanks to the useless catsitter, had managed to run away and get lost, and had been missing for almost 3 weeks at this point. I asked this cat to send a message to Archy via the international cat telekinesis hotline, to let him know I’d be home soon. It worked. Archy returned home the day before I did.
Cats in Love:
These two cats in Santiago LURVED each other. They rubbed, and purred, and rubbed, and purred.
