Future plans

Since my part of Kayak Island Quest got blown off course in late October, I have thought about what to do. I knew immediately that I wanted to finish the journey at some later time, the only problem was when and how.

When Wendy and I first started, my wish was to paddle around Sicily. Sicily has held a special place in my heart for over 15 years, since I first travelled there in 1992 and later during my studies and writing about the Sicilian mafia. Wendy wanted to paddle in Sardinia, so we joined the two projects under the name Kayak Island Quest.

My journey in Italy this autumn has been marred with bad luck since the very beginning. First I manage to lose all my personal and vehicle documents on my way through Germany towards Italy. That left me in Venice without wallet, passport, driver's licence, two credit cards, motorcycle registration papers and medical insurance papers. I only had one credit card left, my mobile phone and a group of paddlers to guide in Venice. Within a few days my last remaining credit card died too. At that point I started to feel a bit of stress.

The lack of personal documents kept me in Venice for much longer than anticipated, until the local Danish consulate issued a temporary passport and I had my last remaining credit card sent down to me. At that point I had missed our rendezvous in Palermo, and Wendy came to Venice instead. We then had loads of problems getting two kayaks transported to Civitavecchia on a rented car. The 600 km trip took five days, a prolonged encounter with the Bologna police, a fine, two rented cars and an unplanned day visit in Rome before we could board the ferry to Sardinia. In all expenses of over €800 just for that little journey.

Once in Civitavecchia Fortuna Mala lost her precision. My camera almost died on me, Wendy's Nokia Nseries Internet Tablet almost got stolen and our kayaks almost got crushed under a truckload of wood, but we did arrive unscathed and could start our kayak journey the same day with only a few hours delay.

The demise of our partnership was just the icing on the cake after such a series of incidents :-)

Seen in a larger picture, the journey in Sardinia was probably the most beautiful and wonderful adventure I have ever been on. Sardinia has a coastline beyond belief, which no photo can render full justice. Paddling in crystal clear water, under towering mountain walls, in deep caves, along white sandy beaches, with flocks if little fish fluttering around the kayak, has all made it an unforgettable experience.

In any case, I'm not of a type that gives up easily, and I hate leaving things unfinished, so I will finish what I have started, sooner or later. It always was just a matter of when and how.

Naturally, there are many uncertainties in life, but I have decided to work towards a return to Sardinia in late April or early May to finish the circumnavigation of Sardinia. If possible, I will then continue to do the circumnavigation of Sicily. I expect to travel alone this time.

If I'm lucky, this will also allow me to participate in other kayak or paddling related events in Italy. I would dearly love to participate in the 34th Vogalonga in Venice on May 11, and in the Elba Mare Maratona on the island of Elba.

The journey continues...