Our second day of walking more than 30km. This has been necessary because the albergue in Albergueria is currently closed for a major refit. When we passed through the village we were able to visit the owner – Luis – who showed us the accessible bathroom that he has had installed downstairs. The work has taken longer than he had hoped but he’ll be opening the albergue to pilgrims again soon. I’m relieved.

I found today’s walk on pleasant tracks between dry stone walls a little easier on my feet than yesterday’s marathon on asphalt. For Michael, however, the repeated downward slopes give rise to pain in his thigh. He handled the long climb to Albergueria without any problems but every step of the descent into Xunqueira was a trial for him. Fortunately we have a less demanding 23km walk to Ourense planned for tomorrow – with a hot spring bath at the end.