Day 17: On the trails of templar knights

Dear traveler, 

I don't know how I did it but I was the first one to wake up today. I think we were all a bit tired and we didn't even noticed when the pilgrims next to us got their backpacks ready and left the room.

I wake up my folks and we go in a room where two nuns, busy as bees, are greeting us with coffee, tea and bread with jam.

Looks like a great start in the day. 

Hitting the road, it takes us a bit to pass the rock buildings, bathing in the sunrise light. 

But, with patience, we reach back to our deserted paths, shrouded in yellow.

Look, there's us, merging with the landscape. 

-"Where to today?"

-"Weeell, I think we'll be going to a village known by the name of Terradillos de los Templarios. "

Templarios, templarios, where have I heard that before? Aaaa, templars. Wait..dad started to tell me about templars yesterday, I even saw a sign, like a red cross.

-"Dad, will you tell me again about the templar knights?"

Dad is very passionate about history and once you start him, he's like a tv. And me, I really want to know about the templar knights, and I'll be paying attention this time.

Our steps take us on the path while I'm listening to dad's tales and I'm trying to imagine how the knights of the order looked like, how was their life back then. Somehow, I think it resembled a lot with what we see now, as I haven't seen any houses or piece of asphalt lately. Just the clear sky, trees and from time to time, an animal or a bird.

-"And the templar knights had also a very important role. To protect the way and the pilgrims that walked it."

Wow, I didn't expect that. I wonder if this is why I was never scared on this trail. 

The path takes us to the first settlement where I find some sheep that are chatting with a wolf disguised in a sheep. They are not real, of course, but anything is possible on the Camino apparently.

Here we eat the classical potato pie and I'm wondering for how long has this pie existed. 

-"Dad, do you know the history about this pie?"

-"No, marmot, this is something I really don't know."

Okay, okay, I'll be looking for some more information when we return back home. Until then, I'll enjoy this delicious taste.

We continue walking next to a not very crowded highway. Two bikers greet us as they continue riding. Did they knew my parents are bikers too? Or are they knights from this century? Maybe they traded their horses for bikes and they continue to protect the way from their saddles.

We continue our stories and, since in the meantime Mamarmot searched for some information too, she tells me some legends about the place we are going to.

It has been said that there is a hill where the templars buried the hen of golden eggs. Goooolden eggs? I can't wait to get there! Let's go faster!

We get into the small village where we will be sleeping, which is not actually a village, but a small place with two or three buildings. I've got an eye out for hills but, until that, we go to find ourselves a bed.

At the entrance, the statue of a knight is watching over the garden and the pilgrims that come and go.

And in the garden, who can it be? It's really Berndt. I'm so glad to see him again. We plan to have dinner together and in between we go in search of the hen of golden eggs. I only find a small hill. This must be it. But regardless of how much I'm searching, I don't see any signs that something might be buried here. I give up eventually, because I'm hungry. Let's go to dinner!

We have dinner together with Berndt and I tell him about the legend of the hen. 

We talk about what we did in the past days, where we've been and what we've seen. Mamarmot shows him dozens of pictures from the past days and she tells him that she would like to spend less time on taking pictures and more time being present and paying attention to what's around her. 

-"I would like to stop checking the news while I'm on the Camino. Every morning and evening I check what has happened in the worlds, sometimes even when I'm having breaks on the way", says Berndt.

-"Well then, what if at least for one day, you'll stop doing that", says Mamarmot. 

Pfff..as if Mamarmot could stop taking pictures for one entire day. Ha ha, such a good joke. 

-"Let's make a deal. Tomorrow, neither you nor me will be using our phones. 24 hours. That's it. Not even for checking the weather. And when we meet next time we'll talk about how it went, okay?"

-"Deal", said Mamarmot.

I can't believe it! We'll see about that. 

We laugh around a bit and then we go to bed. Tomorrow will be a hard day. For Mamarmot, of course. We're watching her so she won't touch her phone. It will be haaard. But I'll prepare some funny games for her and she'll forget about it. 

With my koala bear and Fulgeraș, I tuck in my sleeping bag and the image of a hen with golden eggs comes back into my mind. Two wheel knights are watching the hill and no one is allowed to get closer. The treasure is never to be found.