What can you say about driving 2,000 km to Italy and staying for over a month?

Well, simply that it was incredible. Like any good adventure it had its ups and downs - car trouble, expenses and the unpredictability of a long trip; but it also had incredible moments with incredible people, food, experiences and adventures.

Shortly after arriving in Monaco, my 20 year old Touareg experienced a fuel pump failure that started a string of issues almost causing us to send the car home on a tow truck.

Luckily with help from one of our trusted friends, “Tuff Tracks” we were able to rig up a temporary inline Bosch diesel pump to bring fuel from the tanks all the way up to the engine.

It was pretty ghetto, hose clamped fuel lines, a button to turn the pump on and off and the added factor of opening the hood for every stop and start.

Starting the Touareg became more like a military procedure than the simple task we normally perform.

Unfortunately the Bosch pump heavily agitated the fuel being delivered to the injectors and left the Touareg running very rough. Tuff tracks sent out a bunch of spare parts and I got straight to work swapping out the intake fuel pumps, re wiring the fuse box and rebuilding my pd injectors from ground up.

Being left without a car for about 3 weeks left us heavily dependent on public transportation. Fortunately buses, trains and taxis work quite well in Italy and even with the added inconvenience I am quite happy things worked out as they did.

Riding the trains around Italy provided unique experiences and opportunities for filming while also causing me to meet several incredible people.

Surfers were easily identified on the trains - carrying boards and surf gear amidst the crowds of tourists and regular train goers.

It was easy to strike up conversations, meet new people and make good friendships.

While we traveled quite a bit around northern Liguria, I spent most of my time in Levanto. Probably the surf capital of Italy. While Varazze and Rome provide very high quality surf on a good day, Levanto fits into the category of a place like Peniche - providing consist conditions for surfing with various wave type choices.

Whilst in Levanto I spent a lot of time with Gabo Raso (owner of Surfin Levanto surf shop). Gabo is an absolute surfing legend and in between the few days of waves, he kept me entertained with good stories and his awesome vibe.

Though the surf was quite small, we were able to experience a few fun days in Levanto’s premier breaks - giving us just a taste of the potential this place has.

Whilst not surfing, we did our best to try every Italian dish in reach and I have to say it’s very hard to find something bad to eat in Italy. If you avoid the obvious tourist traps - you can eat pretty much anywhere very well. The focaccia in Liguria is one of a kind and was my daily choice for breakfast and even a snack.

While in Levanto we had the opportunity to interview a few awesome people, including Gabo, Eleanora - A local Mstine biologist and Mattia - Owner of Da Domé Focacciaria.

Whilst Gabo fed our inner surfers with his story of growing up in Italy and learning to surf in a country starved of surf equipment in the early days, Eleanora taught us about sustainable tourism and protecting the environment and incredible ecosystem that is the Mediterranean Sea.

I was generally shocked at the clearness of the water in Italy and the large presence of fish. I hadn’t been snorkeling for fun since a young kid and I fell again in love with the underwater world.

Mattia showed us the secrets behind his delicious focaccia at Da Domé and we also learned of his commitment to no plastic and to sustainable ingredients.

Outside of the people we filmed, the whole community in Levanto completely embraced us; It was refreshing to meet happy and passionate people.

In the last few days of our trip, we thoroughly enjoyed the freedom the fixed Touareg provided. We visited Milan and many other famous places including the 5 terre- but I have to say the small coastal towns unbeknownst to tourists really brought the charm.

Traveling for a month without consistent daily surf was new for me, but for some reason I didn’t feel my usual need to chase waves. The good company, excellent food and daily swims were more than enough to keep me entertained and I have to say I am in for a repeat very soon!

This trip became a much bigger adventure than originally planned but next time I will definite to visit places farther away, like Rome and Florence. It is with a certain sadness our final days here in Italy come to an end - but at the same time we are driven forward with great passion towards the next adventure.

For now so long Italy and until next time on Chasing Portugal.