Walkingman

This was written yesterday, October 13th, but not posted until today due to lack of a good internet connection. It rained during the night, and was still drizzling slightly when I got up this morning. The pension did not serve breakfast, so I got a good breakfast at a local café before going to the…

The place where I was staying last night did not do breakfasts, so I was up early to make sure I would get something at a local café. And sure enough, when I came out of the Pension at 07:30, there was a café already opening up just a few doors down the street. After…

I have come to expect capriciousness in the weather, and today it was capricious. “As flies to wanton boys are we to the gods”, wrote Shakespeare, and the weather gods seemed to be playing today. I awoke to find that it had been raining during the night, but it looked like stopping soon, so I…

The weather was pretty awful when I was leaving Bilbao. I had arisen early, and when I looked out the window, although the streets were wet, people were not using umbrellas. But by the time I had breakfast, packed everything, and was on my way out, it had worsened. Everyone had umbrellas and raingear. While…

I have been in Bilbao throughout the day. I had always planned a day in Bilbao, so this is not an unplanned stop as was Zarautz. My accommodation is in the old part of the city, in a hotel with character, if not so many amenities. The building is old, and I am sure that…

What a difference a day makes. I awoke and looked outside to see dry streets. With enthusiasm, I got everything ready, and I was soon on my way. Gernika, as I mentioned yesterday, is a modern city, with very few remnants of the old town from before the bombing. So I did not spend time…

I am struggling a little to keep up to date, with a short delay in posting this account of Wednesday, October 7th. After my stay in the old iron smelting works, now a very nice hotel, I was ready to set forth. The weather forecast was promising, so what could go wrong? Well, quite a…

This post was written on October 6th, but is only being posted on October 7th. I left Deba just as dawn was breaking over the town. The town is almost entirely on the eastern side of the river, with just a handful of buildings on the western side. This minimizes the effect of the loss…

I left the accommodation in Zarautz shortly after 08:00. As I mentioned yesterday, I was hoping to visit the church there, but once again, it was completely closed. It was raining, and I was able to stop in the shelter of the church overhang to put on my raingear. And then I was on my…

After yesterday’s hike in the wind and rain, I had decided on a rest day today. Everything is comparative, so while it was a rest day compared to recent days, it was not a day of indolence. Staying in Zarautz does not mean doing nothing. First of all, after seven days on the trail, I…