Januari 2024 - Teneriffa, Spanien - Del I

 In the windy and cold winter, we escaped to Tenerife for two weeks. This destination we hoped to be a good fit for our first time abroad with a little one of 11 months (A), with a not-too-long flight and not-too-warm temperatures, and a not-too-high flight price. With little experience of the Canary Islands, we picked Tenerife because of the plentiful hiking trails and green nature but though we didn't prepare much beforehand researching daytrips or destinations, it turned out to be a fantastic trip that really exceeded our expectations. In this post I'll do my best to summarize our first week which we spent at a guesthouse in El Tanque.

First, I'll have to mention our flight there which went smoother than expected. We were lucky that the plane wasn't fully booked, which meant that we had an extra seat to use. A was sleeping both at the start and end of the flight, and in between she was happy to sit on the empty middle seat and play, not so much with the toys we brought but rather with any non-toy she could find - the safety instructions card, the wifi instructions or a pack of tissues. After we landed we picked up our rental car (which included a child seat) and headed out to a grocery store to pick up some food, since we planned to mostly cook ourselves. However, we didn't take into account that it was Epiphany Day, and most of the stores were actually closed! Luckily we found a smaller store in one of the tourist areas in the south where we could stock up on some things before driving on to El Tanque. We arrived at Finca El Lance, an old winery turned guesthouse which we had booked on AirBnB. It was owned by an older Swiss couple who greeted us with a piece of a Three Kings cake and a bottle of wine. We had our own small cottage fitted with kitchen, bathroom, bedroom and a yard, but the main treat was the common area of the Finca. It was situated on a steep hill and there were several little places with chairs and tables where you could sit and enjoy the view.

Our first full day we did a hike which started in El Tanque and went up to Arenas Negras. Since El Tanque is on the mountain side it was a very steep uphill to start with, but we were soon treated with excellent scenery both in terms of surrounding nature and views. One of the things we loved about Tenerife was that a single hike could take you through so many different types of nature. As was the case with this one, we started in a village, entered a mossy forest, transitioned into a pine forest (with the largest pine cones we've ever seen) and finally reached the volcanic area with black sand and little vegetation. This was probably one of the longest hikes we did, but we were super happy with it. Since A doesn't walk yet, she was happy to be carried in our Ergobaby carrier, with some occasional breaks on the ground to explore. She loves being outdoors and really liked the forests where she could just reach out a hand to touch trees and bushes that we walked past.

The second day, we drove down to the coast for a change of scenery. We started off visiting one of the Charcos, natural pools where you can take a dip in the ocean while somewhat sheltered from the often rough sea and big waves. We walked eastward to a village San Juan de la Rambla with another charco which seemed quite popular to visit (Charco de la Laja). We took a dip in the crystal clear water which was around 22C perhaps, and then went searching for lunch. This small village didn't have many restaurants, but we found a bar serving drinks and smaller dishes tapas style. They didn't really speak any English and hardly surprising, they didn't have many of the dishes that were on the menu. So I did my best with my duolingo-Spanish to order lunch for us and what we ended up with was this: grilled cheese served with honey and blueberry jam - this turned out to be a local specialty that you could find at basically every food place (and very tasty), tuna in tomato sauce - for some reason the woman I ordered from suggested half a portion, I have no idea why, which was unfortunate since it was really delicious, and a huge plate of fries with shredded ham and cheese, and mayo (papas locas). After lunch we went back towards our car, and along the way stopped at yet another pool - Charco Verde. This one was at the end of a steep path, but we were rewarded with a quiet spot were we were almost alone. It also seemed to be a few meters above sea level, which left it mostly untouched by the waves, and also shaded by the surrounding cliffs - a perfect place to go with a little one for a calm afternoon.

Charco Verde

The next day, we went back to Arenas Negras but drove part of the way to park at one of the many camp/grill spots and just do a roundtrip hike. When google maps picked the most direct route, however, it was one that was extremely steep. In general, when driving on Tenerife, nerves of steel are to recommend, but this path I would not wish anyone to drive on ever, as it wasn't really wide enough for two cars and it was steep enough that you could barely see where you were going. Once we arrived though, we enjoyed a nice hike which was quite flat, and sandwiches that we had made for lunch. When we got back in the afternoon, we started a nice tradition of bringing some snacks to one of the areas at our guesthouse with chairs and table to enjoy some spanish cheese and other things while catching the last of the sun before it disappeared behind the hills.

Arenas Negras

Day four was again spent hiking along the coast, an incredibly hilly hike but with such dramatic landscape that left us in awe several times. Always the coastline ahead of us was shrouded in mist from the crashing waves. Our destination this day was Puerto de la Cruz, a popular place to go to watch big waves crash against the rocks and houses by the coast. We found an excellent lunch spot at a restaurant on one of the smaller streets in town where we ate papas arrugadas - another local specialty with potatoes cooked in saltwater (so they become "wrinkled") served with two sauces, mojo rojo and mojo verde. On top of that, grilled mussels and prawns in sauce. On the way back we stopped for a while in the shade on a wooden deck where A could go exploring and we could rest our feet for a bit.

The next day we felt like taking a break from the hiking and enjoy some time at a charco, so we drove to Los Silos, an area with desert like landscape and plenty of cliffs and charcos. We spent most of the days at a small rocky beach that was right next to one of the more popular charcos, Charco Los Chochos. As the charco caught most of the waves and the tourists, we could enjoy a quiet time and A even enjoyed taking a dip in the cool water. We went for a walk along the coast as well, but it was very warm. To finish off the day, we drove to Garachico, a popular visit on the north coast. It's a cute town, and we did a bit of city sightseeing and treated ourselves to some ice cream.

Day six, our last day in El Tanque, we decided to drive up to Parque Rural de Anaga in the north east corner of the island. This was one of the places where, as we found out, you might want to apply for a permit. Several of the places on Tenerife that attract a lot of tourists require a permit, which is often free but you have to apply online weeks or sometimes months in advance. In the case of Anaga, the permit is only required for a specific hiking trail but luckily there are plenty of other fantastic hiking trails to pick from. We were also happy to park a bit away from the main parking lot which seemed to fill up quickly. We picked out a route along PR-TF 10 which led us to a viewpoint Mirador Aguaide (view on AllTrails). Amazing views both along the trail and at the viewpoint, so we were definitely not disappointed and we would actually have liked to spend more time in this area to explore. Just the forest itself is also really nice, as this is a big chunk of mostly untouched nature and the oldest forest on Tenerife.

Here ends or first week on Tenerife, the next post I will write about our second week spent in El Palmar. Cheers!

Juli/Augusti 2020 - Del III - Abisko & Höga Kusten, Sverige

Driving to the north of Sweden from the (not completely) north of Norway was incredibly beautiful. Alongside the road we would see snowy mountains and lakes like mirrors. The idyll was however somewhat deconstructed as we stopped for lunch at we we thought to be the perfect spot, but where we (or at least I) were instantly attacked by mosquitoes and huge biting flies. Not much to do but put on mosquito-proof clothes, cover any exposed skin in repellent, and enjoy the nature. 

At one of the scenic photo spots along the way, we did our best to get a picture of the two of us together worthy to put on the wall, I don't think I need to tell you how many mosquito bites I got setting up the camera and posing for this photo...

In the afternoon, we arrived in Abisko by the entrance to the national park. Abisko is famous for being the place where the King's Trail (Kungsleden) begins, a 425 km long hiking trail, but you can also do shorter walks, or just enjoy the view of Scandinavia's largest alpine lake or the beautiful river Abiskojokk. We wanted to do some hiking here and after studying the map and talking to the staff of the national park, had a plan for a short 3-day route. We would walk the first 15km of the King's Trail, then take an unmarked but easy-to-follow path over the mountains, and then take another marked trail back.

We packed our camping stuff and enough food and snacks to last us three days and set off. The first part of the trail followed Abiskojokk and we really enjoyed the views. I was struggling a bit with back pain (probably hadn't adjusted my backpack correctly) but some breaks here and there on sunny rocks helped. A few hours later we arrived at the place we had planned to camp the first night. Like many other national parks in Sweden, you are only allowed to camp at certain areas, so we were expecting to have to share it with a bunch of other people.

What we had not expected, however, was that we would have to pay. Having passed one smaller tent area on the way which was free, and also not having really researched the King's Trail at all, we were a bit surprised to find the next tent area to have cabins, kitchens and staff - service for those who want it, unfortunately is was not possible to opt out. We decided to take a small detour and follow another small trail for about 2km in order to get outside of the border to the national park. As it was getting late and we were tired, we didn't walk to far after the border but put up our tent in the forest near a stream. Though again, we were surrounded by mosquitoes which rudely would even bite my face and scalp. In the end, we made a small campfire from damp wood and I stood in the smoke - despite knowing it would stick to my clothes and hair - in order to eat my dinner in peace.

The next day we had to walk back to the tent area where we had deviated from our planned route, and then headed towards the mountains. The steepness varied a bit, but we had about 700 meters in altitude to climb, so we just took our time. Despite not being officially marked, small human-made towers of rocks every now and then made it easy to follow. Getting higher up meant less mosquitoes and flies (thoug we were never completely rid of them) and more cooling winds. We had to cross some patches of snow as well, and at times the path felt long and winding - but the more rewarding it was to get to the highest point and look down over the valley where we would set up camp for the night. 

At some point during that day we realised that we would later have to cross a river where there was no bridge. I was up for the adventure but also a little nervous, not having done anything like that before and not knowing really what to expect more than it being cold. And it was. Very cold. We took off our hiking boots and tied them to our backpacks. The river was several meters wide, and the water came straight from the mountains where the snow was melting. However, if the cold was the only problem it would have been fine - but we had not expected the rocks on the bottom of the river to be so slippery. So Valle went first, holding my hand to help me keep my balance, as we slowly made our way across, stepping up on top of dry rocks as often as we could to keep our feet from going numb. It was wobbly and slow, but eventually we made it across - definitely an adventure I will remember!

We did have to cross a number of smaller streams as well after that, but luckily they did not have any slippery rocks, and it was easy to do, and also actually kind of nice to go barefoot a while. It was still early in the afternoon when we set up our tent, and we enjoyed a few hours reading and napping in the sun before having dinner. The next day we were heading back towards our car. Another 15 km or so enabled us to have lunch by the Abiskojokk river only a few hundred meters from the parking lot.

It was time for us to starting heading south, having a long drive ahead of us, and we only made a few stops along the way. Just looking at the map, I never really understood just how long it would take to drive, but at least we didn't have to stress or pull any 12-hour drives. Our first stop was in Kiruna, which is not that far from Abisko. We took a short walk around the small town and sat down for a fika at one of the cafés for coffees and a cloudberry cheesecake (!). Driving in this part os Sweden we also saw quite a few reindeer on the roads.

Our tent spot for the night was in Muddos national park, a bit further south. Near a big, quiet lake, still plenty of mosquitoes but just as plenty of blueberries. The next day we started heading towards the coast, and the long drive was even slower due to roadwork on a long section of the road. Eventually we arrived in Luleå, where we took a stroll around the Old Town (Gammelstaden), a world heritage site where you can walk among old, traditional houses - a very cute and cool place to see! 

We kept driving a bit further south before we set up camp by the water, about halfway between Piteå and Skellefteå. Valle discovered that there were berries growing along the seaside - small, ruby-colored berries that looked kind of like raspberries. Some quick research on google taught us that it was Åkerbär - a cross between raspberries and wild strawberries, typically found in arctic and alpine regions. They were super tasty and I spent a good part of that evening looking for these little gems.

The majority of the next day we spent driving, with our aim set on the High Coast (Höga Kusten) and Skuleskogen national park. When we arrived in the afternoon, around 4pm, the entire parking area was full except for one spot that luckily we could take. Most people seemed to be heading back when we set out on our walk, so it was not too crowded. We walked up to the top of the hill, then down to Slåttdalsskrevan, an impressive crevasse that you can walk through - and the finsihed with a long walk in the forest. Eventually we decided to stay in the national park for the night and set up camp at one of the dedicated tent spots, and we enjoyed a quiet evening by the water.

That was the last longer stop we made on the way back. We spent the last night by a lake in the Norrköping area, but otherwise mostly focused on driving back home. After sixteen days out, it was definitely nice to get back to our bed & shower.

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...

April 2019 - Marocko - Essaouira

Det har tagit lite för lång tid att skriva om vad som var ett av våra favoritställen på resan. Men här kommer iallafall en beskrivning av den charmiga kuststaden Essaouira.

Essaouira var cirka tre och en halv timmes bussresa från Marrakech, och det enda stället där vi utan problem hittade ett boende utan att ha bokat i förväg. Precis som Marrakech har Essaouira en gammal stadsdel med charmiga smågator innanför en hög mur, och det är innanför dessa som alla turister vistas. Essaouira har samma marknadsstånd, hantverk och souvenirer, men är i jämförelse både mindre och lugnare än Marrakech. Eftersom det ligger precis vid havet, och dessutom på ett generellt väldigt blåsigt ställe, är det välkänt för såväl fisk som vind- och kitesurfing.

Vi bodde på en riad, Étoile de Mogador, med ett fint rum och en stor takterass där vi serverades frukost varje morgon - pain au chocolat, roti, jordgubbar och bröd. Essaouira var nog faktiskt där vi hittade den bästa maten denna resan. Vår allra första måltid när vi kom dit gick vi in på "första bästa" lokala restaurang, där vi beställde tajine med fisk - de sprang genast iväg för att handla ingredienser, och tog god tid på sig att laga maten. En stund senare blev vi serverade en slags "köttbullar" gjorda på salta sardiner, i tomatsås, vilket var väldigt gott! På kvällen letade vi upp ett av de väl omskrivna ställena vi hittade på TripAdvisor - Triskala. Det var ett väldigt mysigt ställe med bohemiska vibbar. Menyn var kort och varierad - och maten var fantastisk. Jag åt spindelkrabbskroketter med saffranssås, falafel med myntasås, och olika salldader; Valle åt blomkålssoppa med arganolja, och tajine med ratatouille och ägg.

Vår andra dag i Essaouira passade vi på att göra lite sightseeing nere i hamnen. Det var en idyllisk fiskehamn med både små och stora båtar i den speciella knallblå färgen som karaktäriserar Essaouira - och med lika många katter och fiskmåsar som det fanns fiskebåtar. Port du Scala, fortet som skymtats som hastigast i Game of Thrones, är vackert, sevärt och fotogeniskt - men kräver en inträdesavgift. Vid hamnen fanns också flertalet fiskebodar där man kan äta färsk fisk, och vi gick till en av dem för lunch, men hade inte en särskilt positiv upplevelse. På isen låg nämligen muränor, hajar, rödlistade fiskar, levande humrar med mera. Även om vi valde att äta vår lunch i en fiskebod som inte hade mest vanlig fisk, så kändes det inte jättebra.

Stranden i Essaouira är väldigt lång och platt, och skulle kunna vara perfekt för långa promenader, om det inte hade varit så blåsigt. Kommer man tillräckligt långt bort på stranden finns det dock möjligheter att rida på såväl hästar som dromedarer. För att fly undan blåsten kan kan man istället gå runt på marknaden eller frossa i jordgubbar och apelsiner. På kvällen av vår andra dag letade vi återigen upp en restaurang med hjälp av TripAdvisor, men en som låg väldigt nära vårt boende då vi var väldigt trötta. Vi hamnade på Le Vague Bleue, ett väldigt litet ställe med enbart fyra bord och en meny helt på franska som vi fick klura ut med hjälp av de andra middagsgästerna - det blev nämligen fullt väldigt snabbt. Först fick vi in ett litet fat med olika grönsaksröror och bröd, samt två små glas med smoothies. Till huvudrätt åt Valle gnocchi med olivsås, och jag fick marulk med potatis och sås. Vi var båda nöjda med maten, men noterade att räkorna som serverades en annan gäst såg väldigt goda ut...

Vår tredje dag spenderades vilsamt med läsning och promenader. På kvällen hade vi tänkt fira min födelsedag i förskott, och hade sett ut en restaurang som jag ville gå till: Les Alizes Mogador. Vi hade verkligen tur - när vi kom dit fanns det bara ett bord som inte var reserverat, som vi fick dela med ett par från Schweiz/Österrike. Här serverades trerättersmeny för 129 DIH där man fick välja mellan ett antal olika rätter där många var traditionellt marockanska - och många som vi ändå inte stött på någon annanstans. Till förrätt åt vi båda harira soppa (gott, men varmt). Till huvudrätt åt Valle vegetariska blandade rätter, och jag åt seffa - couscous och kycklign med kanel och florsocker. Gott och annorlunda, men lite väl sött för min smak och ganska mastigt. Till efterrätt åt Valle fruktsallad, och jag flan, något som liknade pannacotta och serverades med kaffesås (tror jag). Det var verkligen en spännande upplevelse och en perfekt middag, med mysig stämning, god mat, och väldigt trevlig kypare.


Och vad vi verkligen uppskattade med vår tur till Essaouira - vi hittade en liten butik med jättefina handmålade vaser - som vi inte sett någon annan stans! Två fina fick vi för 250 DIH. Så, sammanfattningsvis en väldigt trevlig vistelse med bra boende, en mysig liten kuststad för lugna dagar, och massvis med god mat och spännande restauranger.