View across the estuarine harbour in front of the hostel

I set out about 8am along the coast route. It's lovely to see the sea again. I have breakfast at a picnic area on a headland with the sound of the waves all around me. Very therapeutic.

It's a grey day again but dry; the track takes me through a small fragrant pine wood which always reminds me of holidays in Greece.

In Muros de Nalon it's market day and the cheese and vegetable stores are stupendous. I just wished I had a big lunch to prepare.

I rejoin the main Camino route and bump into the German girls, the American guy plus two other pilgrims at coffee time- where's there's a bar there a pilgrims! I'm trying out a tuna 'empanada' which is like a pasty, but it has too much pastry for me.

The Camino today is a mix of roads with glimpses of the sea and stoney forestry tracks through Eucalyptus plantations. I have a coffee and picnic lunch by the beach at El Rellajo and watch children playing on the sand.

The walking is hilly with several stiff climbs up from sea-level. The most spectacular was after lunch when the path travelled underneath the spectacular Viaducto 'Concho del Artedo' which is at an elevation of 1200m (4,000 feet)

Its beautiful sinuous form snakes through the hills but it takes a lot of walking around

I arrive at Soto de Luiña about 4.30pm and book into a hotel that has a hostel attached; a room with adjacent shower for 15€. I'm exhausted and have a cup of tea with an American girl in the lounge.

Then a hot shower at supper at 8pm. The receptionist kindly puts my nearly-dry washing in the tumble dryer. The food is expensive and awful, but I was just too tired to walk up the road to the bar.... I go to bed early but wake up after a couple of hours. I've switched the fluorescent ceiling light off, but it flashes on again every 5 seconds. Arghh. I don't sleep well.