Day 13: Midnight visitors

Dear traveler, 

I open my eyes and around me it's just yellow. Yellow? Where am I?

Heeey, I'm in a bale of hay. Finally! I don't know how come dad let me do this but actually I'm much more curious to find out why I slept here. But until then, I enjoy this fluffly and...stingy yellow?! It's not that fluffy as I expected and i cannot stop scratching myself. I scratch with both hands and when I move, the bale squeaks from all its hinges with a metallic sound. Whaaat?

Hey, this yellow fluff should have been fun but it's actually not. I continue to scratch myself and when I reach my eyes I open them and find myself in my sleeping bag, in a pale headlamp light.

Pfff..I escaped! It was just a dream and for sure I'll never want to jump in a bale of hay again. Let's sleep some more. 

But my skin continues to itch and this bed is squeaking from its hinges when I scratch myself. What the hell?!

I wake up and see my dad getting the backpack ready. Are we leaving in the middle of the night again?

-"Dad, my skin is itching! Really baaaad."

-"I know, marmot. And it's not just you. The beds were filled with flees."

I look around to see two other pilgrims scratching their skin off.

Ok, I blamed the poor bale of hay for no reason. I take my words back. But now I feel so grumpy and tired. 

We hit the road quickly, only to get out of here. We'll be eating later. Should be fine..

The morning's chill wakes me up a bit, but I am still tired. What a rough night.

We walk in the dark for a while until the horizon starts to color itself in lighter shades.

A climb follows on a more rocky area and I barely crawl.

I really need to eat something. Until then, dad takes me on his shoulders and we continue walking.

On the top of the hill, dad shows me something which he claims to be a rocket. Hmm..it really looks like one! But isn't it quite a crowded place for a rocket? I think dad is just trying to take my mind from my itching skin and from my belly which is calling for food now. We take a small snack break with what we still have left in our backpacks. That should be enough for me until the next town.

Feels a bit better..so, where to today?

Mamarmot tells me that we'll be reaching a big city today, which we'll be visiting on the go as most likely we will not be staying there. I'll sleep anywhere, but no flees please.

In our way, a bale of hay appears. I'm not holding any grudge anymore, but after last night's dream, I have no wish to jump in it. 

Our steps take us in the first city where we have breakfast and I already feel muuuch better. Even the itching has faded. Now I have energy to walk further. Not that much energy as the cyclists that pass us in a hurry, but I have a bit aboard too. I play some stories in my headphones so I'll walk better. 

As we walk, the sights start changing, becoming more crowded. It seems we're getting closer to the city. 

On a building I see a funny drawing, with a pilgrim that dreams he is at home, lying in his armchair.

Mmm, I wouldn't want to be at home, in my armchair, although I really miss my cats. But otherwise, I really like this trail. Maybe if I had my cats with me, it would've been nicer.

Before entering the city, we cross a big park, with forests and lakes, Here I find a place to play for a while. There's enough time, as we left before dawn.

We finally reach the city my folks were rambling about. The path takes us right trough the city center where we find a carnival. People dressed in princesses and dragons, children running around and looking at a stage where a theatrical performance takes place. Soap bubbles and cotton candy. It's quite nice. We also reach a gigantic monastery which raises beautifully in the city center. 

I like this place very much, and even more since we take a longer break here to enjoy what's around us. 

Time comes to leave the city behind, as we have much walking to do up to the place where we'll be sleeping tonight. 

Goodbye Burgos!

We keep on following the shell up to a small town and we find our place in an albergue that used to be a school.

We eat something tasty and now that I can finally rest, I feel a lot better. My skin is not itching anymore, so I'm not holding any grudges on the flees as well. Maybe they needed to get to Santiago also, and with their small legs, they would've walked forever. Maybe they thought they could get inside one of the backpacks.

I am so tired, that I lie in my bed before sunset. The bed is soft and it doesn't squeak like the one from last night. I do hope I won't have any midnight visitors. I tuck in better in my sleeping bag, just to be sure. I wonder if that rocket was for real. Who could tell. If the flees would get on board of the rocket, they would've reached Santiago in a second. I wonder what my cats are doing right now..