Its only day 3 since Genoa, but waking up in my tent, it feels like I never stopped, like I’ve been  doing this for months. I wasn’t sure whether to start this chapter as day 1 or continue as day 54, but I’m glad I went with the latter now, because this isn’t a new adventure, it’s a continuation of the original, and that’s what it feels like.

The night air was refreshingly cool and I slept between two wooden fishing boats near my boat. I caught up with some sleep, waking at 8, and scrambled eggs with lots of olive oil set me up for the day.

My arms were a bit sore the first hour, but then loosened up, and I was able to enjoy the rise and fall of the swell without a hint of sea sickness. I didn’t expect such swell here in Italy, but having some life in the water makes things far more interesting.

For the whole day I followed spectacular cliffs, first past a series of bays, and then on to Cinque Terre – five colourful fishing villages nestled on the hillside. A speed boat driven by a young boy and his mother came whizzing straight for me, and I thought perhaps they hadn’t spotted me, but they were just coming to say hello.

After six hours on the water I came to Palmaria, a small island with rugged beaches on one side and cliffs on the other, coated in pine trees with a fort at the summit and bunkers on every viewpoint. I had an explore and felt like I’d walked in to a Famous Five story – first I came across an abandoned quarry, with caves cut in to the cliffs and open shafts connected to the sea. The worker’s homes were crumbling, their gardens overgrown, and a heard of goats now inhabited the place. Apparently it was once used for the extraction of a precious black marble with gold streaks called portoro. I then walked in to a military camp and a soldier kindly filled up my water. Th

I was hoping for a good sleep but I woke at 2, my whole body itching madly from my peeling sunburnt skin, and didn’t really fall back to sleep thanks to the cries of the goats and hundreds of seagulls nesting above me in the quarry cliffs.

Diabetes

I injected through the night to derail my rollercoaster and had stable levels come the morning. Levels were stable all day, if a bit high. Still, I’ll accept an HbA1c of 55. I think my heart rate is so low while paddling (average 88bpm) that I’m not expending much energy and probably need a bit more insulin. Will try tomorrow.