A dive in to the sea to the sea to open the eyes to the new day, coffee and porridge brewed, my kit packed up – my morning went like this. Damn I’m lucky to wake up in such a place in such a way.

Albania beckoned, and I set off across the glassy flat sea to position myself for the crossing. The mountains of Albania appeared as I rounded the north east tip of corfu, a line of dry, barren hills stretching in to the distance. Across the water I could see the town of Sarande, a cluster of ugly concrete blocks crowded together on the coast, hills rising up around it. It looked foreign and I wondered who the kind of people were who wandered those streets. Man, what an adventure to come!

Later on I stopped on the edge of Roda for food and water. Bored looking tourists ambled along the beach, wondering what they should do. What a different experience of Corfu I’ve had to them. Meanwhile men dug out concrete umbrella stands ready for winter storms coming, high season over now.

Kids cycled past with eyes looking for opportunity and I felt nervous leaving my boat. How am I going to do this in Albania? It will be a shame if I can’t explore any towns. I jogged over to the nearest shop, grabbed a few things, and ran back to my boat. All ok.

The other side of the bay I met a group of sea kayakers from Germany who weren’t interested in talking. The wind picked up and I had some downwind take me to my beach for the night, a pebbly horseshoe surrounded by forest, trees hanging over the beach.

Little red fruits I’d never seen before were scattered on the beach, soft with orange flesh. The fruits of strawberry trees, I gathered them and ate them after my pasta. Darkness fell and a strange object flashed white a few hundred metres off the beach. A boat arrived and picked it up, then started heading towards me. I turned off my torch, grabbed my passport, and ran in to the trees, imagining I’d just witnessed a drugs run which wasn’t meant to be seen. The boat roared off, I guess I’ll never know.