Another restless night. The next morning I try to explain why to Maria, the Czech girl.

I pack up and go the restaurant for a slice of tortilla for breakfast and then on the road. It's much easier walking today, with just a few steep paths to get over motorways. Deciduous woodland and pine plantations as well as the eucalyptus which is a welcome change. Eucalyptus makes an untidy woodland to my eyes; the bark peels off in long strips and the leaves don't rot down to the same soft consistency of mould, nor does it filter the light in the same way. On the upside- the smell is lovely on a hot day.

The local vernacular architecture has changed; the old roofs are black slate instead of terracotta tiles and the granaries are usually raised up on top of houses or barns, rather than being free-standing. Perhaps they are drier or more secure.

I pass a small sawmill; the oak planks neatly stacked on the roadside.

I come across a small saw mill in one village. The huge oak tree trunks are piled up at one end an neat stacks of timber at the other. Three men in blue overalls seem to be the team and the equipment is just a larger version of the saws in a normal woodworking workshop.

I catch up Maria a couple of times and we walk some stretches together, but she's much fitter than I am and disappears up the hills and out of sight. She's planning to sleep rough tonight.

The Camino winds through a lovely grassy plain

I arrive at Luarca about 3pm and stop in a bar on the outskirts to have a beer and Russian Salad - which is ok but expensive. It's a nice seaside town with two beaches and the private albergue is new, light and comfortable. I'm planning to spend a couple of days here as there probably won't be many be more beaches to lounge on.

I spend a couple of hours asleep in the sun on the town beach surrounded by the sound of crashing waves. Lovely. Then off for a stroll around town which is charming and undeveloped; it's bisected by a small winding river that flows out at the town beach and is crossed by several small bridges.

I pass a Physio clinic and make an appointment for a massage tomorrow. My poor calves are as stiff as boards and my Achilles' tendons are feeling the strain and need some attention.