Day 21: First page of chapter three

Dear traveler, 

I open my eyes and I immediately get out of bed. 

We're on the Caminoooo!

I already know how it goes. I get up, I get ready, I wake up my folks and I help them with what's left to be done. 

Today we were the only ones in this small room so we woke up a bit later..I think. I still didn't learn the clock very well, but if I look at how much light it's outside, it's actually later than usual. 

-"The sun rises earlier during this time of year, Marmot."

Ah, ok, this could explain it.

We eat fast and we hit the road in the fresh morning air. 

We now have the opportunity to see the city in all its beauty, lit up by the sun and full of spring flowers. 

We walk a while until we get out of the city. The shell guides us out of León and in the corner of my eye I notice the bus station from where we left last time. 

Oh well, I am very proud to know that I'll be walking all this distance we made by bus. 

Then, the shell takes us to a place where we find some small houses in the ground, resembling the hobbit houses. Did we reach Middle Earth? I saw The Hobbit only once with my folks and these houses seem very similar. 

Hey, but this is not their story, it's mine and today we are at the first page from journal number three. 

We leave the hobbit houses behind and we marvel at the poppies from the side of the road. I really like poppies and during springtime we usually go to look for them at the seaside. This spring, however, our destination is different.

We reach a place where the trail splits in two directions. Mamarmot checks the map and says we could walk an alternate route, that takes us far from the asphalt. 

-"But Mamarmot, where do we have to go?"

-"To be honest, Marmot, we don't need to go anywhere. This time, we'll walk as much as we can, as much we enjoy and as long as we feel good."

Wow, something's strange with Mamarmot. But what she says sounds good!

The trail is different than I remembered. Maybe because of the season. The colors have changed. The yellow of the field have turned into raw green. From time to time you can spot a field of yellow flowers. The sky, however, kept the same shade of blue, with fluffy clouds. Although it's a sunny day, the wind blows strong so my folks wrapped me from my head to my toes. 

I like it. I'm a ninja pilgrim. 

Since we left late but also because we are on an alternate route, you can't see a single human around here. Just us, the path, the shell and the snowy mountains in the distance. Oh, and the wind. It's a must.

The clouds are not missing either. Although they seem a bit grey, they don't scare me. Nothing scares me actually. I'm so excited that we are here again that nothing bothers me. Well, maybe the fact that I'm an onion kind of annoys me but I started to get used to that too.

I've been waiting so much for this moment and I'm not sure what I've missed the most. I think though that the first thing I'll do when I reach the albergue will be to eat a potato pie. Oh yes! But I wonder where we'll be staying.

We pass trough some more or less remote villages until we find out where we'll be sleeping. 

I wonder sometimes if Mamarmot actually chose the correct trail. I don't even know when was the last time I saw a human. Just a lost dog or cat. 

The next village seems much more remote than the first ones. A yellow painted fence can be seen from afar. If I didn't look closely, I would've said it's a field.

Still, a big fence in the middle of a field seems strange. We get closer and I see the shape of a boat. Hm, it can't be. Did I return in the hobbits story? Wait, that one was not with ships. Pirates of the Caribbean was. Yes, I've seen this too but it kind of scared me, Come on, I'm very curious what's out there. 

Well, it's actually a boat. In a yard. Of an albergue. They even have a place where we can stay and beat my folks in a game of cards. And drawings all over the walls. For sure this is the place for us. 

-"Can we stay here, Mamarmot, can weeeee?"

-"Yes, Marmot, we can stop here today."

I like it. If they have potato pie as well then this is my luckiest day.

Well, they don't have it, but I like to jump around here. And my folks noticed that this place is not that remote as it seemed so we'll be go explore the surroundings and I enjoy my most wanted potato pie somewhere else.

-"A good day, isn't it, Marmot?"

-"Let me first beat you at some games of cards and we'll talk after."

In the evening, I still feel energized. maybe because of the enthusiasm throughout the day or from the chocolate cake I ate at desert. One out of these two. 

I look at the drawings on the walls. A path that leads to the mountains. A princess and some critters. A pilgrim on his way to Compostela. A human with eyebrows made out of trees. And a shell from which poppies are growing. I think the person that drew it walked the Camino during springtime as well. 

I tuck in my sleeping bag and I hug Ursulic. A bice thought floats into my mind. 

If the first page of the story was that spectacular, I have the feeling that an unforgettable journey awaits. Isn't that so, Ursulic?

The season changed. With it, the colors. With them, us. With us, the story. I wonder what's next.