The day began with a hot, flat slog across the bay to Cape Palinuro, but I had faith the wind would start blowing. I’d just had a swim when a swordfish leapt from the water in front of my boat. It kept jumping and I managed to get a video of this amazing creature.

I reached the headland and just sat floating there taking in the coastline. I think it’s easy to become desensitised to the beauty of planet earth. As a children we walk around wide-eyed, looking at the world around us in awe. But somewhere along the way, a tree becomes just a tree, the sea just the sea, a fish just a fish. We give these things names, and then before the brain has a chance to stop, observe, look deeper, it just says ‘that’s a tree’ and moves on.

For me, staying in one place is like looking at a picture, but travelling is like watching a film, and what’s playing on the reel is the beauty of the earth. I’m trying to see the world like a child again, to look at a tree blowing in the wind and appreciate how amazing and beautiful this living thing is. It’s not just visual either – it’s the taste of the sea when it sprays up from my boat, the smell of the dirt baking in the sun, the sound of a moth buzzing in my ear, the sensation of surfing down a wave, of the sun on my skin, sand between my toes. Neither my words or pictures can do it justice, but it’s all just wonderful.

Downwind did come and the 50kms to Policastro flew by. Mariano, who I met in Gaeta at the sailing regatta last week, met me on the water and we paddled to his club together.

Mariano is in the Navy and works on Sicily so perhaps we’ll meet for a third time when I get there. We sat in the tranquil shade next to the river and I ate a feast of roast chicken, potatoes, meatballs, bread, watermelon and plums, all cooked by Mariano’s mother. Nothing like home cooking!

Mariano had to head back to Sicily, but left me with the club as my home and an invitation for dinner at Coco Bongo, where I had a delicious tuna steak and salad. Thank you Mariano, and I hope we meet again.

Diabetes

That’s what a my blood sugars look like on low carb – a beautiful flat line in the range of a normal person – 4 to 8 mmol/L. If I do go low, I’ve got such a tiny amount of insulin in my system that it takes only a few grams of glucose to bring me back up. I had a little spike after lunch, but got back on track nicely.

You can see my dexcom sensor failed at around 5pm, it only had 2 days left anyway. I’m not sure why they’re being so unreliable, usually I get the full 10 days out of each sensor. Perhaps the salt water and heat? Anyway, I’ve got 5 sensors left – 50 days worth – so easily enough to get me to August when I’ll resupply at in France at insulin360.