The reality of camping on beaches and sleeping rough is that so far I reckon I’ve averaged less than 6 hours sleep a night. Today my dexcom low alarm woke me at 5 am and after I’d eaten some bread, I packed up and got paddling. .

I paddled alongside a sandy beach that stretched to Marina di Pisa, the waters calm, the sun soft. The coast became more wild and there quite a few people camping, just waking up and rekindling fires from the night. I wished I’d camped there too.

Hundreds of harmless Barrel jellyfish were pulsing by, and I couldn’t help but bump in to them. Less harmless was a weaver fish I caught. As I unhooked it, one of its poisonous barbs drove in to my thumb, and for the next hour it felt like a nail had been driven through it. Fishing has not been successful so far.

I reached the mouth of the river Arno, which flows through Florence, and set up a shade shelter with my tent and a few bits of driftwood from the piles littering the shore. I wasn’t going to paddle to Florence, but I did plan on going 10km up to Pisa.

After a few hours of writing and eating I set off up the river. I’m not convinced paddling early is the way to go. Sure, it’s cooler, but I miss out on sleep and then have to sit through the heat of the day. I’ll probably just keep varying what time I paddle.

The breeze died as I paddled up the river, and it became airless and sweaty. I was happy then, when a motor boat came past with a lovely wash that I could surf without taking a single paddle stroke.

Arriving in Pisa I left my boat at a rowing club and walked to the leaning tower, because, well what else is Pisa famous for? By the time I’d got some food, most of the tourists posing with the tower between their legs had left, and I sat on the grass admiring the tower, which is actually the bell tower for the adjacent cathedral. If you didnt know, it started leaning in the 12th century whilst being built due to an unstable foundation, and now has a 4 degree lean.

Walking back to my boat I saw a kayak club with a party on the roof,  and i decided to paddle up to it. I walked on to the roof wearing my full kayaking kit and was met by some surprised looks. After a shower I joined the party, which was celebrating a race the club had put on today. Any other Sunday night it would’ve been closed. I had a great time meeting everyone, thanks for the pizza and warm welcome guys!

Diabetes

My levels were pretty good during the day. I lost another dexcom sensor and have put the next one on my arm where hopefully it will stay on better. The skin under the last sensor had gone raw and was starting to get infected so probably good that it came off. I went high again after the party, more levemir maybe?