Lone wolf

[rae zamarippa]

Very nice, George.  I'm sure that was a beautiful moment for you to be that
close to a wolf.  The reason i was asking about bears... I was reading about
small black bears in Spain, now...I'm not sure of the region, but I was just
really curious.  I'm sure there are some bird watchers on this thing.  Any
stories???
Rae


>From: George Greenia <gxgreeaWM.EDU>
>Reply-To: Road to Santiago Pilgrimage <GOCAMINOapete.uri.edu>
>To: GOCAMINOapete.uri.edu
>Subject: Lone wolf
>Date: Mon, 17 Sep 2001 08:41:35 -0400
>
>
>Not to make anyone apprehensive but I had the really delightful experience
>of crossing paths with a wolf on the Camino.  It was when we were biking
>from Paris to Santiago in June, 1998 and I was alone for the moment, Tom
>having fallen behind a couple of kilometers to take some photos of the
>Galician countryside just beyond Ligonde and heading north toward Vilar de
>Donas.  When it emerged from the underbrush and trotted across the road
>ahead of me, I thought it was just another of the large dogs the local
>farmers keep, but as I kept staring at the muzzle, lack of collar and lean
>look I was sure it was a wolf.  Looking pretty lean and dry myself from
>weeks of biking, it hardly gave me a sidelong glance before vanishing into
>a field of tall scrub.
>
>I had pretty much talked myself out of having seen a real lupus ibericus
>until we visited a museum of natural history in Santiago and I unexpectedly
>crossed paths with a stuffed relative of my lone wolf, this time in a glass
>case.
>
>That said, the native Galician wolf, the only species you'll ever run into
>on pilgrimage, is a very small wolf and as with most wild animals more
>scared of us that we are of them.  Wolves, bears, wild boars and even lions
>flourished along the Camino in medieval times but domestic dogs are the
>only thing to worry about now.  If your water bottle has a nozzle, squirt
>it into a barking dog's mouth; it will choke on the water but be otherwise
>unharmed and back off.
>
>george
>
>
>At 02:45 PM 09/16/2001 -0400, you wrote:
>>Ida -  Definitely go.  I would not worry about terrorists in France or
>>Spain and the rail lines are safe.
>>Rae - This is the first I heard of bears on the Camino. I never saw a wild
>>dog, snake or mosquito in the month I walked from SJPDP to Santiago. I was
>>worried about "wild dogs" after reading stories and hearing rumors.
>>My advice is to put all your usual apprehensions about travel aside and
>>enjoy the experience spiritually and otherwise.  Yes, there are some
>>pretty wild, uninhabited areas along the way, but usually you are fairly
>>close to populated places and other pilgrims if you need help.  Howard
>>Mendes
>
>
>George D. Greenia, Editor, La corónica
>Director, Program in Medieval & Renaissance Studies
>Dept. of Modern Languages
>College of William & Mary, PO Box 8795
>Williamsburg, VA  23187-8795
>gxgreeawm.edu
>tel     757-2213676
>fax     757-221-3637


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