23: Leaving Zarautz

Sure enough, it started raining after I had only slept for about an hour. I wrapped myself, my guitar and my backpack into the plastic coverings I had brought, and tried to get back to sleep. But after about another hour I realized that nothing would come of this. I was lying on the beach, in the rain, in a plastic bag, in the middle of the night.

I took my things from the beach to one of the buildings along the beach promenade. There was an overhanging roof, and a bench. The place was littered with broken glass and the smell of alcohol. I wasn't about to spend the rest of the night here, tired as I was.

A little ways away, someone was sleeping under a bridge. Maybe this was even another pilgrim.

Hmmm. Concrete floor.

I decided I'd just start walking again. It was 4 AM. I would not be able to keep on the trail on a rainy night like this, but I could walk along the carretera. The beach promenade seemed to continue for a while along the road out of town. It was well-lit and there was hardly any traffic.

I put on a raincoat, then the guitar and the backpack. I covered it all with the huge plastic covering that made me look like a spook, and set out walking on what I would remember as the most difficult day of the pilgrimage.