… contemplating cattle …

Another day of walking. Maybe not as intense as yesterday but even more exhausting in the long run. Most of our route lead through the burning sun and we were walking rather slow, steadily sloping upwards. The serpentine path seemed to be endlessly winding up. Every bend looked like the one before and I felt like we were moving in circles, walking the same stretch of way over and over again, without ever getting any further. However, at some point it became too hot for me to question what I was doing and I decided to just walk on, without thinking, trying to just be there, concentrating on my steps, my breathing and the sound of nature. Meditative walking. We went like that for five hours and nobody was talking much, sweating in silence. Kind of nice, after all.

Back at the lodge I made myself at home on the bench in front of the house, listening to the water and the crickets. It didn't take very long until I was surrounded by cattle again. These cows are quite curious, nosily inspecting everything new. One has to be careful and duck in time to avoid an ardent lick over the face … their rosy tongues are quite wet and maybe a tiny bit yucky when making sudden and unexpected contact with your skin. I get the impression that they just love salty, sweaty hikers after a long walk!
Have you ever really looked at a cow? I think they do not look stupid at all. They look peaceful, kind and indulgent, glancing somewhat knowingly at the world, almost wise. They have lovely eyelashes, long and silky, making them look kind of coy. How can anybody want to eat such a sweet thing …? The way they stood there beside me, munching away with that dreamy look in their big brown eyes, I felt almost ashamed, belonging to a species of 'beef-eaters' … I do not even eat meat myself and yet I felt like apologizing …

While I sat on that bench, contemplating cattle, I became aware that there are very few birds to be heard, neither at daybreak nor at nightfall. Isn't that strange? Maybe the local firs are just not very inviting to birds. Or maybe the birds are leaving earlier here in the mountains? I really wonder …