Most of the cats and dogs roam free, despite strict laws about leashes, tags and microchips. Of course, when was the last time you met a law-abiding canine? They just don't seem to be bothered, so why should the humans mind?
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This dog was very friendly, and had a nice way of biting to show how much he liked you. Shortly after this picture, he set his teeth on S's t-shirt and the smiles faded quickly.
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This little dog was tiny - barely bigger than a chihuahua - and was trying so hard to run with the big boys but just couldn't keep up.
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Most of the houses in Canillas were named after girls (Casa Nina, CasAnnette) but this one reminded us of our buddy Hank: 'hi, marmot!'
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After a particularly long, hot day of walking, we trudged up the goat path back to the hotel, just in time to see these show-offs bound out of their hut and prance away bleating down the hill in mere seconds. Sheesh.
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We bumped into our host, Gustavo (in the glasses), escorting his daughter and a friend on a pony through the neighboring town of Cómpeta one evening just after sunset. We also saw a variety of horses, donkeys and mules in the area.
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This poor kitty eagerly chased a bird up a tree outside the Alhambra, and then could not figure out how to catch it. For a minute it also looked like she might not make it back down again - she did, but not gracefully. Two French women sitting on the bench next to ours shared our laughter and gasps as we watched the scene play out.
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Fish pond in the Alhambra. They were quite well-behaved until a little girl started feeding them bread.
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Perhaps the least expected animals we saw - these sad ostriches live behind two sets of chain linked fences in a compound that is barely big enough for a few chickens.
They are kept next to a construction zone on the path that connects Canillas to Cómpeta, so we saw them a few times during the week. The female ostrich had lost most of her feathers (were they plucked and sold? was she molting? sick?) - it was quite disturbing. The male obligingly posed for pictures when he wasn't poking his beak through the fence and defending his territory.
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Not photographed were the lizards, birds, bats, grasshoppers, wasps, and flies that we also saw. Apparently our guide saw a snake on one of the trails as well - is it any wonder that I stayed toward the back?
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