I wasn’t on the trail an hour this morning before I was lost in the rain. I hadn’t seen a way marker since I left the albergue at 6:30, and my guide book was a poor resource to put me back on track. I checked my map on my phone, which it turns out is no small feat in the pouring rain.
It took a while to figure out where I was and then much longer to find even a single town along the way that was also indicated in my guide book. When I finally got my bearings, I realized that if I failed to find a way marker, I could still get to my destination by highway if I had to.
I was reunited with the way markers in Larrabetzu, where I learned that I actually hadn’t lost the trail at all that morning. It had just been poorly marked.
In the end, all tension was relieved after a cafe con leche and a chocolate pastry with Greg and Kaitlin in the village of Lezama.
There was plenty of road walking today, but I didn’t mind because of the rain. The few sections of forest trail were thick with mud, and one had to be careful not to slip on the steep downhills. Indeed, one of our French companions went for a spill and later proudly showed us the mud stain on his backside.
I arrived in Bilbao after descending stone steps for 800 meters. I was glad to be going down them instead of climbing them. In the giant courtyard at the bottom of the steps, I sat in the emerging sun and people-watched for a couple of hours until Sylvia arrived, followed shortly thereafter by Greg and Kaitlin. Our friend, Birte, seems to be AWOL. She didn’t show up at coffee, so I suspect she somehow passed me in the morning when I was floundering around lost.
Sylvia has an interesting story. She’s walking to Santiago de Compostela, having started her Camino way back in her hometown near Freiburg, Germany. She walks for a couple of weeks every year during her vacation and expects it will take her eight years to finish the Camino. We struggle to communicate, but manage somehow with a smattering of English and German.
I’m in Bilbao for the night now. The city is huge, with about a million residents in the metropolitan area. It’s the largest city in Basque Country. So far, however, the city has been uninspiring. The cathedrals I have passed have been locked and gated, and the convent that looked interesting is not only inaccessible, it cannot even be seen from the street. The city is very industrial, supported by iron mining, forestry, water power, steel mills, and shipping.
So far, it seems like the best entertainment options in Bilbao are to walk along the Ria de Bilbao to enjoy the local architecture and to sit and watch interesting people walk by. Walking and people-watching – two of my favourite activities in any city.