November 2024 - Mauritius - Del I

 Time for a new destination and new adventures. As we find our priorities and planning for travelling changes a lot with a kid, Mauritius is probably not somewhere we'd pick just for the two of us - however, given the kind-of-reasonable travel time (3h + 10h flights), lack of tropical diseases, and small time difference (3h), this is where we ended up to get a dose of tropical-ness and escape from the Swedish almost-winter. And, I will say it was a good choice!

In total we spent two weeks on the island, and this first part will be for week one. Probably on the shorter side since we spent many days just relaxing on the beach or by the pool. This first week we had booked a small hotel in the North West part of the island, in the area Grand Baie. While not the most touristy area on the island, there were still plenty of hotels and a bunch of restaurants to choose from, while the local street food was slightly more sparse. Our hotel offered a nice breakfast with some local food options such as crêpe with smoked marlin, omelet with shallots and chili and fresh fruits and juices. We had a nice ocean view from our balcony, a warm swimming pool and a path directly down to the beach. Plenty of cute lizards and geckos and some curious birds visited our balcony (and sometimes room) along with the occasional cockroach and spider (much preferred the lizards, but they didn't really bother us so it was okay).

"our" beach

local birds very interested in our breakfast

the breakfast in question

During the first couple of days, the weather was a bit unstable (rainy and windy) due to a cyclone which luckily got downgraded to a storm before it passed a bit off the coast of the island. It was still good enough that we could spend mornings and afternoons at the beach and by the pool. While A had been unfortunate to catch a fever the day before we left, when she recovered she absolutely loved going swimming in the warm water (ocean around 26 degrees, pool slightly warmer) as well as playing on the beach, so it was easy to enjoy the days and take the opportunity to relax and get some well-needed rest.

For lunch we usually either went to the local super market to get fresh baguettes, cheese, fruit and vegetables (and some croissants from the bakery next door) to make sandwiches, or went over to the public beach to buy something from the local food wagons. Common street food dishes included fried noodles (mine frites), boiled noodles (mine bouille), fried rice, samosas, magic bowl (bol renverse - rice, meat and veg in gravy, and a fried egg placed in a bowl and then turned upside down onto a plate) and more, with seafood, egg, chicken and lamb being the most common types of protein (often in combination). Depending on the day of the week, sometimes other specialty food wagons would open up to serve boulettes ( kind of dumplings) and farata (roti/flatbread with some filling and rolled up). 

boulettes

bol renverse

As you can tell from the food names, the heritage from being a French colony is apparent in being one of the main languages spoken as well as some food items, while one of the main food influences stem from the big immigration of Indian population during the 1800s. As it was for a while a British colony as well, they are driving on the left side of the road which of course takes some getting used to.

During this first week we mainly did one excursion, to the Pamplemousses area where we visited the national botanical gardens, a big park with lots of different kinds of trees, as well as water lilies and lotuses. As with most nature areas trying to attract tourists on the island, there was also an enclosure for giant tortoises, once native to the island but now seemingly imported from Seychelles. While A appreciated any kind of animal we would show her, me and Valle were more excited about the (wild) chameleon which came walking across the path and we had the opportunity to admire briefly before it was unfortunately spotted by a guided group of tourists and then put on display on a stick.

Another rainy day, we drove along the North coast but didn't find any particularly amazing sights. We also spent an afternoon in the capital, Port Louis, where we went to the famous Central Market and walked around for a bit. The market was quite nice in that it felt like we were in South East Asia again with a very similar vibe. It did however feel like they sold almost exactly the same things, with the exception of all the dodo-related souvenirs as Mauritius is indeed the island where this bird existed once upon a time. When we walked around in the city, heading from the market up to the cathedral, there were a lot of local food places that looked very nice - if we hadn't already had lunch, we would have loved to explore these local eateries that felt much more authentic than the tourist oriented restaurants near the market and the waterfront.

For dinner in the evenings, we alternated between the available restaurants and had some very good Indian, Thai, and local food. We always opted for fish, seafood or vegetarian and had some really good curries.

That's about it for week one! Tune in for next post, where we did some more adventures and excursions being based on the East coast.

Januari 2024 - Teneriffa, Spanien - Del II

 On our transit day, we the spent the few hours in between check-out and check-in at Charco Verde. Our second accomodation was a cute little house in a village called El Palmar. It was much more spacious than the other place, perfect for A to crawl around and play, a very well-equipped kitchen, but then with a less cozy location and yard - not the lush and green of the finca. After having spent the first week in El Tanque and getting a bit familiar with the area, I think it would have been nice to spend the second week somewhere nearby or further east. El Tanque was the starting point for the highway on this side of the island and therefor a kind of gateway to all the beautiful places we had visited and wanted to see more of, like Anaga parque. With that said, we had a great week in El Palmar as well and there were certainly enough hiking trails nearby to keep us busy - including the one which turned out to be one of our favorites of the whole trip.

Our first day in El Palmar we went on a hike that started in the village and took us to another small village called Teno Alto. Once again we had spectacular views and very varying nature along the way. Teno Alto had two small restaurants, both filled with tourists hiking, cycling, or just driving there to look at the view from a bit further down the street. The one we picked turned out to also have some live music, which A loved. We tried escaldón, a chickpea stew with small pieces of meat, fries with fried egg, and the traditional smoked, fried cheese with mojos and blueberry jam. 

escaldón & smoked cheese

The next day was a bit cloudy and windy; we decided to do a hike which started in Teno Alto and ended by Punta de Teno, a rocky beach with a lighthouse, and a popular place to view the great cliffs of Los Gigantes. It is also possible to go there by bus, but you aren't allowed to drive yourself except early morning or late afternoon. I think we agreed that this was the least exciting hike - not at all a bad one, but not as exciting as the others - we were also a bit disappointed that we weren't able to get up close to the lighthouse, as it had been closed off. Perhaps on a less windy day, a swim here could have been nice.

Punta de Teno

Los Gigantes

Our third day, we drove to Buenavista del Norte, the closest larger village, by the coast, with plenty of charcos and beaches to choose from. We spent some time at a sandy beach for once for A to play a bit, but later moved to a rocky beach instead. The afternoon was cloudy as well, so we picked up some snacks before heading back to our house.

The next day we did one of the most, if not THE most, spectacular hikes of this trip. The hiking trail was on a ridge going out to a viewpoint on a mountain called Sima. The view both along the trail and at the viewpoint were indeed fantastic, and though we were very high up, we thought we could spot some dolphins as we saw the whale watching boat tours flock around spots where the water glittered just a bit more than anywhere else. On our way back, it looked like we could take another trail to arrive directly at a café, but the trail turned out to be overgrown and the sun had somehow become scorching, so we had to abandon that idea and get the car. Arriving at the café, Cruz de Hilda - a very popular spot for  tourists to look out over Masca Valley, we cooled off a bit with ice before heading back.

View from Cruz de Hilda

To rest our feet a bit, we took another day by the coast as we drove down to the Los Silos area and walked eastward. We stopped by some charcos for a dip in the water, but soon clouds filled the sky and we walked around the village waiting for a restaurant to open. It turned out to be a bit of a nicer place (although not too expensive), with many tables already reserved, especially the ones looking out over the water). We enjoyed (and A especially) croquettes and seafood paella, and the rain lasted about as long as our dinner.

Our last full day on Tenerife we drove to Cruz de Hilda to hike another ridge to another summit, Risco Verde. The temperature had dropped quite a bit and was around 14C and windy. We didn't mind much, but as we got close to the summit it quickly got very windy and cloudy, and unfortunately we only got a quick glance of the otherwise fantastic view all the way to the south coast. The way down to the car was cold, windy and rainy, so once we got back to the car we drove down to the coast to escape the rain. It was still quite windy, but we enjoyed watching the huge waves crash against the rocks for a while.

On the final day, we stopped for a quick walk in a pine forest before heading to the airport. In the forest, it was around 10C as the temperature had dropped further, but on the south side of the island near the airport it was sunny 25C. We were a bit out of luck as our flight got cancelled and we were crammed in on the plane to Oslo instead, where we had to go out into the snowy -15C to get to our next plane to Copenhagen, only to arrive with the message that the checked in bags had not made it. But, at least we got home only a few hours later than planned and our bag was delivered a few days later, so all in all, it went okay. A was not having a great time on the plane to Oslo (and therefore, neither was I) but we made it. 

And overall, we felt super happy with how the trip turned out. Fantastic nature, beautiful hikes and views, good food, and better weather than we expected on most days.

Juli/Augusti 2020 - Del I - Helgelandskysten, Norge

 This trip was probably the least well-planned so far - or at least, the least planned. We hadn't really given much thought to where we wanted to go when we rented a car - we just knew we wanted to go north, do some hiking, be in the nature. First we thought to go somewhere around the mid-Sweden "mountains" (fjällen) and do one longer or a few shorter hikes. But then Norway opened their borders, and an idea we had entertained at some point before covid suddenly became available again - to pick up where we left off last time and head north of Trondheim up to Lofoten. So we did.

We weren't even 100% certain we would be allowed to cross the border, but with ID in hand and a proof of residency of southern Sweden did the trick, and late afternoon we set up our first camp spot by a lake somewhere not too far from Oslo.

The weather quickly turned unstable, and for the next few days it wasn't uncommon to have bright sunlight while also seeing dark, heavy rainclouds, though most of the time it was just raining. As we drove on Kustriksveien along Helgelandskysten, one of the National Scenic Coastal Routes of Norway, we felt a bit beaten down by the cold and unwelcoming weather, dreading that all sixteen days would look like that. But then we were out camping in Brønnøysund, and we were woken up by the sun shining on our tent - we felt incredibly grateful and happy.

So the day started with an early morning dip in the very cold ocean to wash off some travel dirt. Then we headed straight to Torghatten, one of the famous sights along this coastal route, also known as fv17. Torghatten is a 258 meter tall mountain with a very photogenic tunnel, formed during the ice age, going straight through it - though according to the legends, the hole was actually made by a troll named Hestmannen. Getting there early meant we managed to get a bunch of pictures there before the crowds arrived. Since the weather was so nice, we wanted to spend as much time as possible outside, so we decided to walk to the top as well. We would however regret doing that hike in walking shoes rather than hiking boots, as it turned out to be steep, sometimes slippery, and at times had to be climbed with the help from a chain. Nevertheless, we were rewarded with an incredibly beautiful 360 degree view of the surrounding ocean, islands, and mainland mountains.

Driving along Helgelandskysten, there are some parts where you need to take ferries across. This first sunny day we took two of those. Lacking planning, again, we thought the ferries would run pretty often (some of them do, not all of them), and when at the second port we decided to just "take the next one" in order to drink some coffee from a local roastery, we didn't anticipate that it would be more than 1,5 hours until the next ferry. Although, while we were "stuck" in the tiny village Forvik, walking around the harbor and eventually settling down to read, we saw one small weasel (?!) and also some dolphins. So I can't really say we regretted that decision too much. Oh, and of course, the coffee was also great.

Then we reached the area with the famous Syv Söstre (the seven sisters), 7 mountain peaks around 1000 meters high. It was already late afternoon, so climbing to the top was not an option. Instead we opted for a walk that would only be a couple of kilometers, but which included going up to the rim of the southernmost mountain. It turned out to be more of an adventure than expected, as the first part of the walk was very steep. Once on the rim, the wind was so strong that it was difficult to walk in, though it was also kind of nice, as it was still around 20 degrees and I was sweating a lot. The second part of the trail was very beautiful and we really enjoyed it, even though the whole walk took nearly 2,5 hours - one hour more than we expected.

As it was getting late, we drove to a beach on the same island. Several others had also picked it for a nice camp spot, but we managed to find a spot a little bit further away from everyone else. Wanting to make the most out of this sunny day, we didn't mind having a late dinner, especially since the sunset was not until around 23. We also had a real treat that day - during our lunch break by the ocean, we found mussels on the rocks and picked a bunch - we cooked these in salt water from the ocean and had them as a pre-dinner snack. They were very small, but it still felt incredible to me to be able to handpick mussels and then have them for dinner! All in all, we had a great day filled with sunshine and adventure, and we regained some hope. During the night it was very windy (like loud windy) sowe didn't sleep that well, but the sun was shining again the next morning. And actually, we had sunshine almost every morning after that.

The next day, we had another three ferries to take, one of which took as across the arctic circle. We also drove past Svartisen glacier, which is the lowest glacier in mainland Europe and the second largest glacier in Norway. Though the best part of that day might have been the tent spot we found on Litlsanden - a bit further north of the big beach Langsanden on Sandhornøya on which there must have been more than twenty tents. Instead we got a small beach to ourselves as well as a beautiful evening view from a little hill where we found endless amounts of the biggest blueberries we'd ever seen.

The next day we were headed for Lofoten, which I'll tell more about in next post. Though I will say that we started the day with another ocean "shower" on our little beach, took a walk in a beautiful forest, and visited Saltstraumen, one of the worlds strongest maelstroms, before testing our luck at the Lofoten ferry terminal. To be continued...

November 2019 - Raja Ampat, Indonesien - Del II

När liveaboarden lagt till tillbaka i Waisai hade vi lite tid på oss att packa ihop alla våra grejer. Vi blev upplockade av en liten, smal båt som skulle köra oss till vårt första boende, Biryei Homestay på ön Batanta. Denna båttur tog nästan två timmar, och var tillräckligt skumpig trots att vi var väldigt tacksamma att det var strålande sol och nästan inga vågor.

Boendet bestod av tre bungalows. Vår hade en "riktig säng" (detvillsäga inte bara en madrass på golvet), men madrassen var väldigt nedlegad i mitten så det var inte höjden av bekvämlighet. Vi hade ett eget badrum som är utomhus men med lite tak - där fanns en toalettstol, ett torkställ och en stor behållare som man kunde fylla med sötvatten och en skopa så att man kunde duscha. Vi hade en liten veranda med två stolar och ett bord. Det fanns en solstols-stomme på stranden men ingen madrass, så vi hängde upp vår medhavda rese-hängmatta. Elektricitet hade man några timmar på kvällen.

Här hade vi en väldigt lugn och stillsam tid. Nästan för lugnt ibland. Vi fick frukost ganska tidigt, då vi vaknade av solen och var uppe kring sju de flesta dagar. Frukosten var ofta något friterat - bananer eller sötpotatis - men ibland kunde man få någon kaka eller pannkakor. Det var alltid väldigt sött. Sen kanske vi spenderade en liten stund på stranden innan det blev för varmt, var ute och paddlade med kajaken eller var ute och snorklade, eller läste. Lunch fick vi kring tolv/halv ett, och det var ofta ris, grönsaker, tempeh, omelett - en ganska bra blandning av olika rätter, och för det mesta väldigt gott.
På eftermiddagen fortsatte vi med samma aktiviteter som innan. De flesta dagar spenderade vi väldigt mycket tid med att läsa. Middagen serverades vid sju på kvällen, när det blivit mörkt, och därefter var vi ganska nöjda med att se ett serieavsnitt och sen sova.

Den stora fördelen med detta boende var att revet precis utanför stranden var väldigt fint. Simmade man en liten bit bort kunde man ofta se sköldpaddor och mindre revhajar (blacktips), blåprickiga stingrockor och ibland stim med stora papegojfiskar (bumphead parrotfish). När vattnet var riktigt lågt kunde man gå en bit längs stranden, och kunde då få turen att se väldigt små/relativt nykläckta revhajar i vattenbrynet. I detta området fanns också mycket sjögräs inne vid stranden, och har man tur kan man få se sjökor. Vi var ofta ute och spanade snorklandes eller paddlandes i gryning och skymning, men fick tyvärr inte så några under våran vistelse.

Vi åkte också på två utflykter. En dag åkte vi för att få se paradisfåglar. Vi var uppe före soluppgången för att åka med motorbåt bort till en ö. Där gick vi raskt upp för en väldigt brant backe genom tät djungel (och fullt med tusenfotingar och spindlar) för att tillslut kunna skymta fåglarna högt uppe i ett träd. Det var inte en fantastisk upplevelse (det hade vi dock inte väntat oss heller) och guiden från vårt boende sa knappt ett ord under hela turen. Däremot var själva båtturen dit och tillbaka väldigt trevlig. På eftermiddagen åkte vi iväg till ett annat ställe för att besöka ett vattenfall. Även där fick vi gå en ganska bra bit genom djungel, men i lite rimligare tempo. Vi var väldigt fuktiga och svettiga när vi kom fram ,så ett dopp i vattenfallet kändes verkligen fantastiskt!
En annan dag åkte vi på en snorkeltur till en närliggande ö, vilket vi tänkte kunde vara trevligt för att få lite "omväxling". Dock hade vi inte väntat oss att det skulle ingå en snorklingsguide! Det var lite udda att ha någon som snorklade med som man skulle följa, och som pekade ut precis allting (ofta saker som vi inte tyckte var så spännande) istället för att få simma i sin egen takt. Men överlag så hade vi det ändå trevligt.

Efter åtta hela dagar på boendet så var det dags för oss att flytta på oss igen. Ägarna körde oss till vårt nästa boende, Corepen homestay, som låg på "huvudön" i ett område som kallas Dampier Strait, och som har flera dyksajter i närheten. Efter att ha tagit det lugnt ett tag så var vi sugna på att aktivera oss igen, och beslutade oss för att åka ut och dyka redan samma dag. Resterande dagar gjorde vi två eller tre dyk om dagen - oftast två dyk på morgonen mellan frukost och lunch (och med paus på godtycklig ö med lite snacks) och ett dyk på eftermiddagen. Precis som när vi var ute med liveaboarden fick vi se mycket vackra rev, stora fiskstim, hajar, sköldpaddor, bläckfiskar och mycket mer. Och vi fick väldigt god mat och hade ofta tillgång till frukt. Boendet var också ganska simpelt. Vi hade en (bekväm) madrass på golvet och en stor veranda över vattnet med två stycken hängmattor. Duschar och toaletter delades med de andra gästerna. Vi trivdes väldigt bra där, men som bäst de första två dagarna när det bara var ett fåtal gäster på boendet vilket gav en mer mysig stämning.
Vi hade också turen att få se landlevande djurliv - en kväll såg vi en cuscus uppe i ett träd, en slags pungråtta som finns i Papua-området. Väldigt gullig!

Sista dagen försökte vi torka vår dykutrustning så gott det gick, för att sedan packa ihop allting. Vi blev återigen körda med en liten motorbåt tillbaka till Waisai, och för första gången under resan så regnade det på oss under en del av turen. I Waisai gick vi direkt och köpte biljetter till färjan som tog oss tillbaka till Sorong, och till sist kunde vi checka in på hotellet i närheten av flygplatsen och njuta av en ordentlig dusch och en ordentlig säng innan det bar av hemåt igen.

-----------------------------Text in English -----------------------------

When the liveaboard anchored back in Waisai we had some time to pack all our stuff. We were picked up with a small & narrow boat that would take us to our first homestay, Biryei, on the island Batanta. This boat ride took nearly two hours, and was bumpy enough even though we were very grateful that the weather was clear and the water calm.

Our first accomodation had only three bungalows (four when we left). Ours had a "real bed" (i.e. not only a mattress on the floor), but the mattress was very well-used, wo not peak comfort. We had our own bathroom though, which was outdoors with some roof - there was a toilet, a drying rack, and a big container with water and a bailer to use when "showering". We had a small porch with two chairs and a table. There was a sunbed-frame on the beach (without a mattress) so we put up the travel-hammock that we brought. Electricity was available a few hours during the evening.

Here we had a very calm and relaxed stay. Almost too calm at times. A lot of time was spent waiting for the next meal, as we were used to getting afternoon snacks or fruit. The breakfast was served early, and we were often awake with the sun, around seven. The breakfast usually consisted of deep fried bananas or sweet potatoes, but sometimes we would get cake or pancakes. Lunch was around 12 and usually had several dishes: rice, omelet, vegetables, tempeh and sometimes fish. We would spend our days kayaking, snorkeling, or reading in the hammock or on the beach, but the sun was still too hot to endure most of the time.
Dinner was served around 7pm, after dark, and after that we were ususally happy to just watch an episode of a series and then go to bed.

The main benefit of this homestay was the beautiful reef just off the beach. Swimming a bit further to the east we would spot turtles, black tip reef sharks, bluespotted stingray and sometimes schools of big bumphead parrotfish. When the tide was at its lowest you could walk a bit along the beach, and then sometimes be able  to spot some baby sharks and stingrays  in the shallows. In the general area there was a lot of seagrass near the beach, so you could be lucky to see some dugongs here. But even though we were often paddling or snorkeling at dawn and dusk we never managed to see any during our stay.

Too pass the time a bit we also went on two day trips. The first one, we got up before sunrise in order to take quite a long boattrip to a different island. Then we had to do a steep hike through the jungle (among centipedes and spiders) to finally get to the top of the hill and spot some birds of paradise high up in a tree. They were too far away too get any photos, and our guide barely said a word during the "tour". We hadn't really expected much, but I would definitely say that the boattrip in the serene morning stillness was the best part. In the afternoon we went to a different island and again had quite a trek through the jungle (though at a slower pace and without too many critters). We were both humid and sweaty when we arrived at the waterfall, so it was amazing to jump into the cool water!
Another day we decided to do a snorkeling tour to see a different reef than the one off our beach. But we hadn't really expected to get an actual snorkeling guide in the water with us, who would point out everything (including a lot off stuff that we weren't too impressed by), instead of being able to swim at your own pace. It was still a nice trip though.

After eight whole days at this accomodation it was time for us to move again. The owners drove us to our next place, Corepen homestay, which was on the "main island" in Raja Ampat, in an area called the Dampier Strait (which has several dive sites nearby). After spending more than a week intensely relaxing, we were eager to go scuba diving and decided to go already the same afternoon as we arrived. The following days we would do two or three dives every day. Usually two dives in the morning between breakfast and lunch (with a short stop on some island with snacks) and one dive in the afternoon. The food here was also really good, with several dishes and some amazing grilled fish. Like on the liveaboard trip, we had the opportunity to see some amazing underwater life during our dives, including reef sharks, turtles, octopus,nudibranchs and many other things.
The bungalow here was also quite simple. We had a (comfortable) mattress on the floor and a big porch over the water with two hammocks. Showers and bathrooms were shared with the other guests. We really enjoyed our stay at this accomodation, especially the days when there were fewer guests there, which contributed to a really cozy atmosphere. We were also lucky to see some landbased wildlife here - one evening we saw a cuscus up in a tree, which is a Papuan marsupial. Very cute!

On our last day we tried to dry our diving gear as much as possible and then packed everything into our backpacks once more. We were driven back to Waisai in another small boat, and this was I think the only time during our vacation when it rained on us a bit. In Waisai we went straight to buy tickets for the ferry that took us back to Sorong, and eventually we could check in to the hotel nearby the airport where we enjoyed a proper shower and a proper bed before starting the journey back home.