Phew, what an effort finding internet cafes here! Weÿve been island hopping and volcano watching (yes, we did see smoke coming out of Etna!), firstly to Corsica, a bikers paradise with fantasic scenery, great roads (but a tad `rustic`) and we both fell in love with the relaxed attitude and azure beaches....

Midsummers eve was spent in traditional style nighttime skinny dipping in the Med (yes, IM is trying to swim!) and checkling out the myriad of prehistoric sites.

Bike issues included a new tyre after the hammering it got in Morocco (the guy asked us if we had been going up escalators!) and our top box being used as target practise (and we have the air rifle hole to prove it, right in the Spanish sticker!) and a new inner tube after James`s excellent gaffa tape repair held for only 1000 miles of hard hammering!

Sardina was a tad odd and we didn`t quite get it together there, so we skipped onto Sicily where we arrived in a heat wave (42°) which turned the hills into giant bonfires, we watched the flames coming closer and closer to the campsite as the sky turned orange and we were covered in ash, all very apocalyptic!

Met some fab bikers en route, mostly Maltese (!) so a big Pierat thumbs up to Conrad, Laurence and the gang heading to Amalfi, and the two that rescued Imogen from a near squashing incident at a petrol station after an oil change.

More rules of camping: any beach on a Saturday will be a party zone, so our free camping spots, incl one on a beach surrounded by what can only be described as tribbles, and one where IM shined her torch into the undergrowth and was greeted by many eyes glinting back at her (eeeek).

We blatted through Italy (too expensive!) but made a pit stop at Pompeii, where we also hit 10,000 miles, and nearly a spell with the Carabinieri after our last free camping spot was spotted, but a mixture of miming and smiling saw us making a clean getaway (phew).

The last few days have been spent in the lush green of Slovenia, a gorgeous part of the world where everyone is friendly and the bikers wave (hoorah), all a little bit Northern Exposure.

Now in Croatia and planning a route through the former Yugoslav republics..sorry for lack of photos, internet caff not too well equiped!

Any ideas about ticks gratefully received as IM picked one up in her armpit (!) after a beautiful camping spot in the woods (did see fireflies tho, so maybe it was all worth it!)