The drive to Kontogialos is so steep I wonder how I’m going to get the car back up again. It’s not only steep, it’s narrow and incredibly windy, so by the time I park up I’m determined to get in the water and make it worth it.

The beach is busy and filled with sun beds. A beach bar blares out music and I wonder if it was worth the hair raising drive, but the sand closest to the water is empty and golden and the mountains are tall around me. I dump my stuff and wade in. Though the sand is busy the water isn’t, especially once you get out a bit. Waves wash in and rock me as I swim out toward the dark peaks in the water. The sun shines out from behind them turning them into silhouettes.I follow the base of the rocks round till I face open ocean. Underwater I can see rays of light filtering down, shoals of fish darting around the lichen encrusted base of the sea stacks. I don’t go far from shore and when I return to the shallows I sit on the shingle and watch the sun dropping further and further toward the horizon.

I’m raising money for the Alzheimer’s Society. Please sponsor me at http://www.justgiving.com/swimbonnieswim