In early June while on a Dances, Dragons and Magical Lakes trip from Bali to Flores, we were all sitting on Pink Beach in Komodo enjoying a bit of snorkelling, swimming and a cool refreshing beverage or two, a foreigner in a sea kayak pull up at the beach and thought to ourselves, “how strange”. Presenting this parched mariner with an icy cold can of beer, we found out that this was Australian Alan Silva, recently retired and that this was day 110 of his paddling trip home from Singapore to Darwin! Yes, you read that right, paddling home to AUSTRALIA! We invited him on board the SeaTrek Sailing Adventures' Ombak Putih that evening for dinner and a few drinks in exchange for his story, and he regaled us all with tales of his adventures: climbing Everest twice in one week, (and once of those without oxygen), summiting the Seven Peaks, Antarctic crossings, and an all-round life of extreme living. We were all entranced by his tales, and everyone thought one of the major highlights of the trip. Thanks Alan, and the best of luck with the rest of the voyage. If you’d like to know more about this extraordinary ‘ordinary’ guy or to follow his journey, visit his website here.