Goat Bathing In Tenerife

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Travel

Goat Bathing In Tenerife

Photos of goat herders dunking their goats in the sea.

Every June on the island of Tenerife, goat herders from the mountain villages gather in the harbour of Puerto de la Cruz at dawn to celebrate the Fiesta de San Juan (St. John the Baptist Day) by dunking their livestock in the sea.

I'd like to say that this has something to do with how John the Baptist once tried to drown ("baptise") Jesus in the Jordan river but I can't be bothered to google this that thoroughly, so let's just say it's an ancient tradition meant to symbolise fertility and rebirth.

Annons

Other than that, the event provides a good excuse for people to start getting drunk together early in the day. Which is a good enough reason for me.

Zoltan Karpati is a pretty good photographer. You should check him out.