Day 8: How long until infinity?

Dear traveler,

Our day on the trail started... at night. I'm not bothered too much about this, especially because this morning I'm not sure if anyone could've slept more under the light of the headtorches and the rustling sound of backpacks. 

The town is as empty as yesterday during siesta time and the yellow light of the lamps is flooding the streets. Step by step, we make way out of the town until we find the first milestone that shows around 100 kilometers left to go.

-"Wow, it's not really that much left to go! How much does that mean?"

-"Well, marmot, around four days... now it depends on how we feel."

Well I feel excellent now! But I wouldn't really want our vacation to end that soon! I like it here, where my only problem is what should I choose from the multiple options of desert.

Outside it's slowly getting brighter but a thick layer of clouds is hiding the sun away from us. From time to time, it would treat us with some raindrops, as if just to annoy us, because we need to put on and take off our jackets several times. 

By the time we reach the next town, I don't need it anymore as it seems we'll be leaving the cloud blanket behind. Here, the sun started to break through the clouds.

Mamarmot is ahead as usual and takes advantage to photograph all the plants filled with waterdrops, that create kaleidoscope like shapes in the sunlight. I guess photographers have a specific word for it, she told me, but I forgot. For me it still looks like a kaleidoscope.

We finally reach her and she suggests a coffee and cake break at a coffeeshop she found a bit ahead. Ooh yes!

I don't know about the coffee but my strawberry cheesecake is something to dream of.

We walk further through tall pine forests filled with ferns, with wide trails where I can easily walk alone, so it happens to either go a bit ahead or stay behind because I stared for too long at a flower or a strangely shaped rock. 

From time to time we would reach the outskirts of a medieval town, whose streets disappear again in the heart of the forest.

We get to a bigger town where we'll not be stopping today, but we'll stay just for lunch. Honestly, I wouldn't have enjoyed staying here, I must admit that I started to like those smaller towns where you can't tell where it begins and where it ends.

We continue through the pine forests that started to scatter and open up views towards blue waters. I like it!

I'm enjoying the view and as usually, I'm getting hungry. The first thing that comes into my mind is a huge ramen bowl.

-"Mamarmot, I want ramen!"

-"Marmot, you'll have to wait for a little longer. I don't think that in these small towns we're crossing we've got any chance of finding something like that. Perhaps at Santiago de Compostela we co..."

But I can't hear a word she's saying anymore. Now I've got a new goal. Not that I didn't want to reach Santiago too. Last time we got there it was rainy and we didn't get the chance to wander around. But now I've got other priorities. To ramen!

Milestone after milestone, the distance to Santiago shrinks and obviously, the distance between me and the delicious ramen. 

90, 88, 82, infinity, Whaaat?

I rub my eyes just to make sure I'm seeing well, but that tilted 8 is still there. My folks are laughing of my reaction but I'm not amused... if this is for real then it means that it's a long, long time until I'll be reaching my bowl steaming with flavors.

Really now, how long until infinity? Are we there yet?

I realize someone wrote that by hand. Whoever did that, they must know that I don't like such jokes. I'm hungry. I said that before, didn't I?

Our trail continues on the shore of this beautiful water until we reach a small town. My folks say we'll be staying here tonight so shortly after entering the town, we find a small albergue. 

To my surprise, the beds here look like the capsule hotels in Japan. Each bed has a separator and inside you've got a power socket and a light bulb. Niiice. And that's not all. In the backyard we have a small pool. Aaaaaa!

But now, I'm hungry! We find a nice place that looks like something out of a video game. Could it be related to the fact that this town's name is Arcade? Maybe... but when the burger I ordered is brought by a cat-faced robot, it's crystal clear. We are in a video game!

After this hearty meal, a swim in the pool is more than welcomed. I challenge Mamarmot to a volleyball game and that's how we manage to chase away the other pilgrims that were relaxing their tired legs in the water. A pool just for uuus! Splash!

In the evening we go out for a stroll along the waterfront. Here I find some walls I can climb and when I get bored of that, we all relax our legs in this water which seems more like a lake as there are no waves and I can see the other shore. 

Back to the albergue, we spend our time playing card games, at which, surprisingly, I kind of get my ass kicked. That's a bit odd as I remember I was always winning at these games...

It's not easy to win, but losing can get exhausting, therefore, I'm hungry again. Luckily for us, here at the albergue, they have the most humongous tortilla con patatas I've ever seen so far, served with crunchy bread. It couldn't have been better than that.

Today was quite a busy day and if usually I'm not to eager of going to sleep so early, the thought of snuggling in my Japanese capsule sounds nice. I feel like drawing something, but once I'm in my bed my eyelids feel very heavy. I realize I completely forgot about the ramen but, honestly, there are a lot of goodies here as well. Even so, my new objective for the end of the trail still stands. Really now, how long until infinity?