Camino de Santiago - the last 100+ KM

I dun told Suzanne and warned her to watch out for the creature ..but somehow we still came smack dab face to face with him 😳

The Legend of the Vákner is a medieval myth from Galicia, Spain, about a terrifying, gigantic beast—often described as an enormous wolf or a werewolf—that terrorized pilgrims walking the Camino de Santiago toward the "end of the world" at Fisterra.

The Historical Origin
The only known written record of the creature comes from the 15th century. Between 1491 and 1493, an Armenian bishop named Mártir (or Mártiros) made the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. In his personal manuscript, he wrote about the harsh terrain of the Costa da Morte and warned future travelers of a dangerous, mythical beast he called the Vákner.He noted that the beast was so fearsome that local villagers were shocked he had survived, claiming that even armed groups of 20 people could not pass safely through the area without being attacked.

Theories About the Beast
Historians and biologists are unsure exactly what the bishop encountered, but popular theories include:
A Rabid Wolf: Some biologists believe it may have been a real wolf infected with a virus, which drastically altered its behavior and made it act with extreme, unnatural violence.
A Mythical Monster: Folklore suggests it was a shapeshifter or a demonic werewolf representing the spiritual and physical dangers of the untamed wilderness.Читать далее