[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.
Hey… I tagged u with one of those meme’s. Check my blog for the details.
The first picture of the “Kitten in Ciraqui” looks JUST like my new little baby! He’s a bit more grown up now, about four months, but that’s exactly what he looked like about two months ago. Thanks for reminding me how sweet he was before he started to grow in to his ears.
What an amazing experience that must have been. I’d love to hear more about that. It’s supposed to be a very spiritual journey. How long did it take?
That’s on my list of 50 things to do before I die.
Congratulations for doing that.
Hey Sarah-hope, my family is from Galicia! I used to spend summers there all through growing up. We are from La Coruna & surrounding countryside.