Studying lights

My captain is making sure that I read my signs and lights, every night - for the hearings in the mornings. He is a very strict captain, my man, and he doesn't accept me to run away from any lessons or fail on any of my homework. Good with some discipline for a sometimes unfocused and distracted girl like me though.

It is of major importance that everyone who's intending to keep a night watch on a sailing passage knows what lights are shown on the ships and ferries we might encounter on the sea to decrease the risk of colliding with them. This, and the color combinations of buoys are on my reading list for tonight. /Taru

Cards can be found here: http://www.flipcards.co.uk/

Portraits of the night

Stocking up the galley

The sun came back and... then it started to rain again. And what else can you do in miserable weather than wallow yourself in shopping. We have finally finalized our provisioning for the Atlantic passage and feeling content with the selections made (not the weight of it though but that's another story). Also we have had the chance to purchase the pressure cooker which so many people have been suggesting for us, I cannot wait to start using it - and a whole lot of other kitchen ware. One of my favorites for this week is this measuring cup in stainless, which indicates both Scandinavian measurements and American at the very same time. I am getting old apparently. Feeling almost as much excitement over a piece of baking equipment as I did with Chanel boots in lambskin leather for only a year ago. 

By the way, the maximum-spend-of-1000-Euros-per-month-budget we were planning to put into practice for this world tour, will have to wait even longer. At least until we get out of this place. We are way over that one for the moment and if we'll keep on like this we will most probably have to go Robinson Crusoe style very very soon. /Taru

Everyone loves The World Tour!

__________________________

Have a look at what the French sailing portal NewsWinch have to say about our blog and our tour around the world. Here translated to English.

Photo and link from Newswinch.com

Hot fish soup with saffron

This definitely reminds us of UK when looking out on the constant rain pissing down outside, for the third day in a row. Or wait a minute, we are actually in the United Kingdom, suddenly it all makes sense. It's raining cats and dogs, like the Brits would have said. Non stop downpour - and the teak which were supposed to have gotten it's final tlc this weekend, must now face a terribly destructive shower instead. We will most probably have to stay here for 2-4 days more as of the bad weather that is preventing us from finalizing what has to get finished.

It is quite funny in a way. We have left the normality for many reasons but one of the foremost is that we do not want to be controlled and manipulated by any authority or the laws of the society. Basically we have chosen not to live a life that someone else have chosen for us, but instead living our own life as we strive for being as self sufficient and free as possible - and here we are, always controlled by the weather and winds. A paradox that on the other hand isn't too hard to live with - but interesting to reflect upon. There's always someone/something that has the last word in your everyday life and decisions. If it is not the structures of the society or governmental laws, it is the nature that stops you from certain things. But what can you do, we're much rather slaves to the nature than the society, of course!

Here's a soup I made to get us warm in this terrible cold we're facing over here in Gibraltar. Make one for yourself if you wanna keep yourself hot.

Soup of cod filet, saffron and chinese mushrooms

Pan fry slices of onion and add some garlic cloves.
Cut in pieces and pan fry cod filet, 250 g would be enough for 2 people.
Bring some sliced shiitake mushrooms and red pepper cubes to the pan.
Sprinkle over salt, pepper and cayenne.
Add a dash of soya and some saffron.
Add whatever else you have in your fridge that could make sense. I had some crab sticks which made a good combo.
Add 2 tablespoons of natural yoghurt and the same amount of water.
Pour some white wine into the soup. One tablespoon is enough.
Leave it all to simmer for a while.

And there you go. Hot fish soup for cold winter nights.

/Taru

London Bankside by Night

Millennium Bridge

Last night I took a walk around the Bankside area of London. Bankside is one of my favourite parts of London and it stretches all the way from London Bridge to Blackfriars Bridge.  I’ve posted about the area immediately around London Bridge and Borough Market before but this is the first time in ages that I have wondered all the way up to the Tate Modern with a camera.

City of London

The views from Bankside on the Southern Bank of the river Thames are quite exceptional.  You can see 30 St. Mary Axe (fondly known as ‘The Gherkin’) peeking out in the middle of the photo above.  You can also just make out Southwark Bridge and Cannon Street Railway Bridge at the far right of the photo.

City of London School and St Paul’s Cathedral

St Paul's Cathedral looks exquisite at night time and you really can’t help but stare at it!

The City of London viewed over the Millennium Bridge

It is probably best that I confess how very, very cold it was outside last night!  These photos were only taken at about 5pm and as you can see, it was already completely dark in London.  The temperature at the time was about 2°c which equates to too-cold-to-be-outside-taking-photos in Fahrenheit. 

The Founders Arms

I was wondering around because I was attending the London Travel Bloggers Meetup at the Founders Arms at 6pm and I had an hour to kill!  Behind me was the towering chimney of the old Bankside Power Station, now known as the Tate Modern.

The Tate Modern

Behind the Tate Modern, there is an exciting new residential development called NEO Bankside.  Of course, not everyone shares my love of modern architecture but I think these are stunning.

 
The NEO Bankside Development

I gratefully made it into the warm interior of the Tate Modern building and not a moment too soon.  I’d lost feeling in my toes!

The Tate Modern

 

I took a look at The Unilever Series: Ai Weiwei Sunflower Seeds exhibition which is strangely mesmerising.  I was almost overcome with an urge to touch the seeds (because we were told not to) and I was quite taken by the sea of handmade porcelain sunflower seed replicas.

I also saw two other photographic exhibitions in the Tate which I would highly recommend: Bruce Davidson's Subway series as well as the Photographic Typologies exhibition featuring Simryn Gill's Dalam series and Paul Graham’s Television Portraits.

Vaccinations

Oh I forgot to mention the vaccinations we've made. We now have 10 years of vaccine against yellow fever, hepatitis b-c, polio, tetanus and diphtheria. We also got medicine to take in case we would get  bitten by mosquitos carrying malaria (important for the Panama/Colombia region) and some more powerful adrenalin ampuls. Well done. /T

Tikka masala

There's a quite a few Indian restaurants in this small town. We're still in search for the best one..

भली भाँति नींद आना

/T

Sri Takua Pa

Phuket is an island, but only just. Unlike other islands such as Phi Phi, Koh Samui or Koh Chang, you can drive to Phuket from the mainland, across the Sarasin Bridge which was first built in 1967. The old bridge has since been replaced and another new one is being built at the moment. So we are not "cut off" here! Phuket is a big island, but it's also very easy to head north over the bridge into Phang Nga province and beyond. Back in April we headed to Khao Sok national park and stayed a night at the Cliff and River Jungle Resort. To get there from Phuket you drive via Khao Lak and Takua Pa. Simple enough, but we took a wrong turn in Takua Pa town and followed a winding road to an old town which looked very similar to old Phuket. We didn't stick around, we wanted to get to Khao Sok, but thought it looked interesting.. We went to Khao Sok again at the end of September and on the way home we stopped again in the little town of Sri Takua Pa for a walk.

I know nothing of this towns history, so if any scholars are reading, please do leave a comment! Looks like much of the town was built in the early 20th century around the same time as Phuket Town, and the local people seem to be Thai-Chinese. When we stopped, the shrine in the center of town was being painted ready for the vegetarian festival due to start a week later.



The town was very quiet. Nearby Takua Pa is a busy place and a major junction where the road heads east to Surat Thani, south to Phuket and north to Ranong. Maybe Sri Takua Pa was once more important, but it seemed to me like the town that time forgot! There are only a couple of streets and we walked up the largest, passing another Chinese shrine and stopping at a little hardware store with a very friendly owner. The kids found a little steel tape measure which dad bought for them. My 5 year old boy likes to measure things and is always happy to "help" dad with odd jobs around the house :)



We loved this little place. So friendly and quiet. I reckon this used to be on the main road but when the new road came... Sri Takua Pa became a forgotten place. Some of the shops were like a timewarp. Tell me the photo below was not taken in 1960!



Another shop at the crossroads opposite the shrine had an almost empty display with some olde style toys - I am sure we'll pass through again and if the train is still there, I'll buy it for my boy!



You can see the covered walkway behind my son in the photo above, much like can be found along Thalang Road in Phuket. The old style shophouses had these covered walkways to allow people to pass from shop to shop out of the sun (or rain). Sri Takua Pa does look a bit faded, and there are a few newer buildings, but in parts, it's just as nice as the old part of Phuket Town and many houses had these little shrines outside like the one below:



Sri Takua Pa is definitely not a "happening" place, but IS a good place to get a taste of real life, and well worth a visit. It's not so far from Khao Lak, and certainly a worthwhile stop off on the way to Khao Sok.. if you can find it. We found the town by accident first time, and on this visit we couldn't remember which wrong turn we'd taken the first time, but eventually figured it out!

A couple more local shops...





• More Photos of Sri Takua Pa

It's for places like Sri Takua Pa that I like to explore the backroads, and proof that taking a wrong turn now and then can be a good thing! I mean, I know most people are happy to stay on the beach, take a few tours, eat some good food, but if you stick to the well beaten path in Phuket, you don't really see Thailand. Two roads diverged in a wood, and I ... I took the one less traveled by.

Morning read

What y'all reading this morning? I'm reading about head injuries and informing myself on what I would do incase some of us would get injured by a fish hook - this is a very common accident on boats.

Some of you can't read, I see. There was an Epi-Pen on our picture there so no need to worry folks. Especially important is that little piece of medicament as Alex is allergic to wasp stings and could basically die would he get stung by a wasp. Epi-pen is therefore of major importance for us. So also to get a hold on morphine, imagine yourself. Being hit hard in the back by the boom or being close to death cause you accidentally stepped on a dangerous seashell or such - and you can't at least have your last high of some kind? Terrible thought. You guys on land have always a doctor or an emergency clinic to call on - on the sea we have to be our own doctor/surgeon/nurse etc.

We do of course carry with us codeine based tablets already which are quite strong but nothing goes up to the real deal. And I love that some of you are so worried for us and want to guide and lecture us in everything from how dangerous our glass ware in the galley is, to tell me how bad is my party/social smoking, to which medicine we should and should not carry and what is dangerous for us in general - but believe me. We are not born yesterday and we have good control of all sorts of things we could possibly have studied beforehand. So also the health and medicine department and as the control freaks we both are, nothing would get overdosed (to a dangerous extent), in case it wasn't the last minutes of our lives, obviously.

So, where is that morphine again? 

Also for all you nicotine haters out there: obviously I do know the side effects that comes with smoking and I do know how terribly dangerous it can be for ones health, but I would like to take the chance to inform you that tobacco would be able to save Alex's life, incase we wouldn't have an epi-pen on hand when he gets stung by a wasp. So I'll be happy to carry them both from now on thank you. And most comfortable and safe I'd feel knowing that there also is a good dose of opioid aboard, in case of some other serious accidents would occur.

Happy thanksgiving to all of our American readers by the way! I wish you all a beautiful holiday.

/T

The medical department

We've been to the doctor today for general consulting and health check up. We seem to be in good condition both of us, thank you very much. Just waiting for some test results and the tooth repair kits and then we're set for now. These are some of the medications we could get prescription for. Here we have most antibiotics and treatments for things such as diarrhea, chest pain, wasp sting, ear and eye infections, urine infection, stomach pain and other aches, sun burns, skin cuts and wounds, allergic reactions, skin infections etc. Hoping to not have to use any other than these.

Unfortunately they couldn't prescript morphine or other stronger pain killers in this clinic, which we must try to find somewhere in the Canaries. All very important to have aboard for our journey as doctors will be rare to find in tiny islands and remote locations. Not to mention if we get a boom in the head, get bitten by a shark or whatever else serious that could happen in the middle of an ocean. Obviously we will avoid all those kinds of serious accidents, but you never know - better to be on the sure side. 

If anyone can recommend a hospital/doctor in the Canaries who can write prescriptions for stronger medications for a journey like ours, please let me know. /T

Wordless Wednesday ~ 46: Happy Birthday Dad!

Click here for more Wordless Wednesday participants

My Dad is 65 today and like me, he has a terrible sense of humour.  This is him pretending to be a shop mannequin. 

Cous cous salad with chicken and buttered chanterelles

I'm all into living a comfortable and stress-free life. Some (Alex) may claim it is partly laziness that is living within me, I prefer to call my philosophy "the right pace of living and enjoying life while avoiding as much obstacles as possible". I have simply made a calculation and understood that I rather spend the precious minutes of my life on things that I enjoy, than on things that gives me headache, stress, too much work or just stupidities in general. When it comes to food I, too, make my life as simple as possible. Don't get me wrong here. I love superb, qualitative food and also to prepare it - so some work there has to be put in it, but I do like to make it easy and comfortable, cutting out all extra work that is not needed, according to preferred standard. For example, I have became an expert in using leftovers and also to cook more than I need, in order to be able to use the leftovers for suitable meals for a couple of days after the main dish. On a boat - this, along with great plastic storage containers, is invaluable as you wish to make things easy and painless to avoid messing up that tight little galley space (and to clean it after) way too often.

This salad is a great example of "the day after meals" - that actually is made one day after the famous chicken burger I made the other day, which also means, two days after the original chicken meal I made to start with. From the leftovers that was generated, I have here turned it all into a delicious cous cous salad with chanterelles. And this is how you make it yourself:

Boil some water and follow the instructions on your specific cous cous package. Basically, you just boil some water with salt and olive oil. When it's boiling, add equally amount of cous cous as of boiling water - into the hot water, take it off from the stove, whisk it all gently, put a lid on and leave it to soak in for some five-ten minutes. While this is soaking, pan fry the leftover chicken you found in your refrigerator. Cut some red pepper, red onion, cherry tomatoes in petite cubes. Throw it all into a bowl, add the cous cous, some rucola, the hot fried chicken and don't you forget to also pan fry some chanterelles in butter and salt and throw them in the salad as well. Add salt, pepper. Done!

Now when I think about it, I should have added a dash of truffle oil into it as well, I'm sure it would have been the cherry on the pie.

Cous cous is, by the way, one of those things we will stock up a lot of for our Atlantic passage. A great substitute to pasta and rice and it is so very quick to prepare. Definitely gives some good change to all that pasta we'd probably eat on that long journey. And it goes terrifically well with fish and seafood, as well. /Taru

A good day of sailing

Here's how we approached Gibraltar yesterday. Good speed and great conditions all the way through. This is how we like it. Enjoy our (wet) little ride. /T

Sails arrived!

Finally we have the new sails with us! Looking good and we will try them out as soon as we have the chance. Can't wait! By the way, we will be staying here in Gibraltar now for the next 4-5 days to finalize some work on the boat before we head on to Morocco and later on the Canaries and as we are new to this town, we would like to have some suggestions on some things. Can anyone please tell us where to find:

- A good, english speaking doctor.

- A dentist.

- Some nice and cozy restaurants.

- Marine chandlery.

- A sail repair shop where we can get our lazy jack stitched.

I know that many of you guys been here, so please give us your best tips, thanks! /Taru

Approaching Gibraltar

After leaving Benalmádena on late afternoon, Saturday, the sky looked something like this. Black and heavy clouds were covering the mountains and great parts of the sea. We realized that the thunder clouds could create some problems and messed up winds, especially with the wind that already were building up, but we wanted to give it a try anyway. Went OK for the first hour, 15-20 knots of wind from the land giving us relatively good conditions, but shortly after we lost it and the winds kicked up enormously.  More to the point, right after we passed by Fuengirola, we noticed the strong effect of the tides (there are no tides to fight in the Mediterranean, they are supposed to start in the border between the med and the Atlantic).

We were hoping to find a current right by the coast which could go our way, but unfortunately we had both wind and currents against us, no matter how we changed direction. The winds were completely erratic, clocking from SW to SE in some seconds and then back to NW where we started. Irregular gusts to 45 knots kicked us back and forth and spray and 1,5 meter (5.7 foot) waves splashed us and the boat full of water from all possible sides - for hours - and then it all went back to completely dead and calm with 5 knots of wind for ten minutes only to recharge and then it all started again. Do I have to say that we did a minimal progress? Ha! You should see the track on our plotter. Back and forth, back and forth.. After fighting with the completely non sense conditions for almost nine hours and only making a progress on the actual route with 18nm, we decided that we have had enough of getting beat up and we called it a day. I suggested for us to go to Marbella to get wasted and forget about the battle for a while and so we did.

We tied up in the fuel dock in Puerto Banus around midnight and went out for dinner and wine. We didn't get wasted though because 1. Alex drinks alcohol only on very rare occasions so I had to be the only one taking on that project and 2. Because one glass of wine was perfectly enough to knock me and my tiredness out. Oh god were we tired. 48 hours of non stop sailing (with a 30 min stop in Benalmáden) totally hit us hard. Haven't done this much sailing in a row since our summer vacation in Corsica/Sardinia/France in August. 

The day after (yesterday) it all looked much better. The sun was back, the dark clouds were gone and we got a pleasant 25-30 knots of wind straight on the beam with occasional gusts to 40 kt. We flew straight towards Gibraltar and we are now safely docked up in Marina Bay. Will show you a video from the passage, later on. /T

Weekend Snapshots ~ 8: New Camera!

I finally bought a new camera today and I’m having lots of fun playing around with it and setting it up.  I love the way it feels in my hands and I just love how it functions too.  I went through last Sunday morning to Jessups in Bluewater Mall and immediately rejected all of the cameras that had been on my shortlist as they just didn’t feel right.  My friend had a Canon that I had been playing around with a short while ago and so I settled on the Canon 1000 D with an image stabilising lens.  I went back again this morning and picked it up.  I’m quite looking forward to going out and about in the next couple of weeks and trying it out.  For now, I present my menagerie:

Josey (born 18 January 2004)

Molly (born 23 January 2004)

Seth (born 4 September 2006)

Summer (born 4 September 2006)

I could do with some happy thoughts on Thursday! I’m writing my first exam but have no doubt I’ll pass.  I was ready to write about three weeks ago.

150° anniversario dell'Unità d'Italia. Tutti gli eventi organizzati a Padova e in Provincia

La nostra Nazione, la nostra Patria sta per celebrare un avvenimento straordinario della propria storia il 150° Anniversario dell'Unità d'Italia.

   

Così il Presidente della Repubblica Giorgio Napolitano:

"... le iniziative in programma per il 150° fanno tutt'uno con l'impegno a lavorare per la soluzione dei problemi oggi aperti dinanzi a noi: perché quest'impegno si nutre di un più forte senso dell'Italia e dell'essere italiani, di un rinnovato senso della missione per il futuro della nazione. Ieri volemmo farla una e indivisibile, come recita la nostra Costituzione, oggi vogliamo far rivivere nella memoria e nella coscienza del paese le ragioni di quell'unità e indivisibilità come fonte di coesione sociale, come base essenziale di ogni avanzamento tanto del Nord quanto del Sud in un sempre più arduo contesto mondiale. Così, anche nel celebrare il 150°, guardiamo avanti, traendo dalle nostre radici fresca linfa per rinnovare tutto quel che c'è da rinnovare nella società e nello Stato...".

   

Scopri qui di seguito tutti gli appuntamenti dedicati al 150° anniversario dell'Unità d'Italia organizzati a Padova e nei Comuni della Provincia.

   

Gli eventi saranno inseriti non appena possibile.

25 marzo: omaggio a Giotto nel giorno dell'Annunciazione. Entri gratis nella Cappella degli Scrovegni

Come vuole la tradizione il 25 marzo di ogni anno la città di Padova apre gratuitamente al pubblico il proprio massimo gioiello che racchiude gli affreschi di Giotto.
Costruita per volontà della famiglia Scrovegni, la cappella è consacrata alla Vergine Annunziata, festività che ricorre proprio il 25 marzo.

Nelle giornate di sole ed esclusivamente nel giorno dell'Annunciazione un raggio luminoso va a colpire un punto ben preciso del grande affresco della controfacciata: la mano di Enrico Scrovegni nell'atto di presentare l'Oratorio alla Vergine Maria. Questo abile gioco ottico è conosciuto come Raggio di Giotto.

Leggi tutto...

Ritorna la "Settimana della Cultura" dal 9 al 17 aprile 2011 con l'ingresso gratuito ai luoghi statali d'arte

L'evento culturale più atteso dell'anno: la XIII Settimana della Cultura. Il MiBAC apre gratuitamente, per dieci giorni, tutti i luoghi statali dell'arte: monumenti, musei, aree archeologiche, archivi, biblioteche con dei grandi eventi diffusi su tutto il territorio.

Migliaia di appuntamenti: mostre, convegni, aperture straordinarie, laboratori didattici, visite guidate e concerti che renderanno ancora più speciale l'esperienza di tutti i visitatori.

Un'occasione imperdibile per avvicinarsi alla più grande ricchezza del nostro Paese: il nostro patrimonio artistico e culturale.

Leggi tutto...

Soon in Gibraltar

Because of all the projects we still had hanging over us since we left Barcelona, and because we needed to pick up parts and things here and there along the coast - we haven't had the possibility to make longer passages until now. We left Aguilas around 9am yesterday morning and have now arrived in Benalmádena. 29 hours later and 160 nm away from where we started. There has been very little wind and we had to unfortunately have the engine on almost all of the time. Luckily it's still alive and working good.

Wouldn't we have had the need to stop here in Benalmádena to pick up one more thing for the air generator, we would have head straight to Gibraltar - but we'll make that last leg of 50 nm tonight. Better get used to longer journeys now as we have a 600 nm passage* to make to the Canaries in a couple of days from now, and then the exciting 2800 nm** crossing to the Caribbean in December. I don't think you can be even close to imagine how much we look forward to get out from the Mediterranean sea and enter the Atlantic side in a couple of days from now. And not to mention the thrilling day of when we will be able to cast off from the canaries for the long Atlantic crossing.. /T

Photo from last nights sunset. 

* This will take approximately 4-5 days.

** This leg will take approximately 3 weeks.

Este in fiore 2011: Giardini da Gustare dal 15 al 17 aprile 2011 ad Este

A breve maggiori informazioni.

La Festa della Donna 2011: appuntamenti dal 4 all'8 marzo a Padova e Provincia

ARTICOLO IN FASE DI DEFINIZIONE.
   
L'Otto marzo si celebra la Giornata Internazionale della Donna, comunemente definita "Festa della Donna". Si intende così ricordare le conquiste sociali, politiche ed economiche delle donne, ma anche le discriminazioni e le violenze cui tutt'ora essa è soggetta in molte parti del mondo.
A Padova e Provincia sono molte le occasioni per passare una piacevole giornata in compagnia fra amiche e non solo.
Leggi tutto...

360 Degree Coffee - Andaman Viewpoint

I do like to explore my environment and I am lucky that my wife is the same. Not everyone is the same of course - we have friends who have lived years in Phuket and have not been to half the places on this blog. Other friends here, as well as visitors, use my blog to find ideas of what to do. Starting the blog was a good excuse to take Saturday drives around the island looking for places of interest. We still do this, and if we see side roads that have yet to be explored we normally follow them. Phuket is big enough that there are still places I have not seen, and it's important to remember that "Phuket Island" is connected to the mainland by the Sarasin bridge - just 500 meters from Phuket and you are in Phang Nga province. From our house, it's about a 40 minute drive to the bridge, so Phang Nga is easily reached. Last month we had a little holiday, staying 2 nights at the Cliff and River Jungle Resort on the edge of Khao Sok national park. From home to there is about a 3 ½ hour drive via Khao Lak and Takua Pa. On the way back we stopped to explore a little town called Sri Takua Pa, and then just before Phuket we followed a sign to "Andaman Viewpoint", just a few km north of the bridge. We had seen the sign before and not thought there could be much of a view, but we were in exploring mood this time.



The sign at the road did not say there was a restaurant, just a viewpoint. The hill is maybe 100 feet high, but high enough to see the sea to the west (above). Finding a restaurant there was a bonus, as we were getting peckish and wondering what to east when we got home. The restaurant sits on the side of this not-very-high hill, but all the land north and east is flat, so there is quite a view actually...



We ordered some ice coffee and a "family plate" of fried rice, 120 Baht, big enough for 2 adults and 2 kids. My wife said she remembered seeing the place on the local cable channel, a few other people were there having coffee, I don't reckon they get many foreign customers, but promotion on the local cable TV is good for getting local business. I googled for more info on this place and only found one page on a Thai chat forum, but it has some very nice photos : 360 degree coffee - looks very nice in the evening, a good place for a sunset dinner one day I think.

Our daughter enjoyed using a telescope they had fixed to the floor through which you could see Sarasin bridge to the south.



Quite a unique place, hope they get enough business to stay open long enough for us to visit again! Certainly worth stopping if you are driving to Phang Nga or Khao Sok. A day trip might include Wat Suwan Kuha - the temple in a cave, lunch at Samchong Seafood and an afternoon on a boat to James Bond Island and Koh Panyee, then stop at this 360 view restaurant on the way home!