Looking for dolphins? Prepare for tunafish!

We had almost horrible Dolphin hunt, but I can tell you this story had a happy ending. And no horror.


During our previous trip to Costa del Sol we decided to go for a Dolphin hunt. In my terminology it is a bit like Castle hunting by the river Rhein which means seeing; experiencing them live is enough, you don't need to buy a castle or eat the fish to enjoy them. Perhaps.


I say this applies at least to dolphins; You don't need to catch them to enjoy them – you can let them bee wild and see them in their natural environment! A bit along the same line as one friend does with flyfishing; catch and release.


Last time we took a nice, slowly moving Yacht Dolphin from Fuengirola marina. It was about 4 hour sailing, including a great lunch and an open bar. The only down side was that we didn’t see any dolphins.


Since we really wanted to see them, we went again, but this time we wanted to take a faster option: 1 hour trip with a power boat.

We started our trip from Benalmadena port near Malaga. The boat was called “Caribbean Lady”, a Reggae Boat... Fast, furious but still veeeery smooth to ride even on a bit rougher sea!

Well, tough luck and no dolphins so they made us a deal we couldn't refuse. Off we go some days later for a 2 hour trip.

Result?
0 dolphins.

However, we saw a FLYING TUNAFISH! Ok, it wasn't flying far but it was beautiful and shiny in the afternoon sun. I guess that's something I won't see again soon :o(

Hmmmm, after this trip we got a deal I promised not talk about but result was another hour onboard.  And what did we get?

Sharks?

Nope!

Are they real...?

YES, GOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!

The audience was paying attention, and it was worth it. The lady below was escorting a baby dolphin!

I can truly recommend these guys, check out their website and go! Great staff, fast & clean boat, cold beer & soda - and they do everything they can to make you enjoy and particularly see the dolphins!

You can find them at Benalmadena marina. If you live near the Renfe - the train - take it down to Benalmadena and either walk or take a 4-5 Euro taxi to the marina. Also buses work smoothly and cost only a dime. The Miami Vice -feeling comes in the package ;o)

If you at the end decide to go tunafishing, be aware that you pick a fight with someone your size.

No matter how it goes, a good thing is that you can take a refreshing break if you wish. The sea is blue and veeery salty. When we went swimming for the first time, it was about 50 meters deep. Yep, about 150 feet of sea below us.

Well, the next stop was a bit further out and 300 meters deep, ~900 feet. But at least we found 2 brave guys to go in :o)

C'mon summer, don't go away - yet!!! 

...on the other hand, I was yesterday talking about the ski slopes...

The food in Spain is fantastic!

I love Spanish food. I tried to think if I could name a favorite food but it issimply impossible - too many favorites!

Many of them are seafood but definitely not all. Salmorejo and Gaspazo soups, Chorizo and multiple sausages, Manchego cheese, salads, different paellas & desserts are fantastic, but also chicken and meat dishes are good. And one should never forget Alioli, the garlic mayonnaise that is good with almost everything.

Almejas; Do NOT be happy with such a small portion!

Boquerones & Rosada (blanca = non-fried)

Calamares

Chanquetes

Some call them Coloraos

But hey, it doesn't take too much to make your own plate at home...

 

And remember, it is hot so you gotta drink!

Normally we take raciones (mid size plates) of many options and share them. Often it is fingerfood, but I suggest to use a fork with at least freshly prepared Gambas Pil-pil. Comes boiling in oil.

Buen provecho - Hyvää ruokahalua!

How do you guys find your way here...?

I gotta wonder how do we get the new fellows coming in on regular basis. Now the Flag Counter shows 800 unique visitors (IP addresses) from 67 different countries!!! How have you guys from Oman or Bahrain found me...?

On the other hand, the other day my daughter was googling if the Mövenpick ice cream stand at Haukilahti marina would be open. The 12th link on the list was - surprise surprise - my blog :o) That's the only successful hit that I have realized, and this came by accident.

PS Post # 200 is getting closer

Should I stay or should I go?

If I only have known what the summer will be like in Finland when booking flights to Spain...

We have had extraordinary temperatures in Finland until now, but apparently it is about to turn back to normal from now on. Here in southern part we might still make it above +20 C but for the northern parts it will be -20C next. Tonight they estimate the temperature to go below 0 C in central parts and up north in Lapland. Yep, the temperature where the water freezes.

If I would have known, perhaps I would have tried to take some holiday for a shorter trip later this year but on the other hand, it is not fair compare holiday in Finland to this trip. 2.5 weeks with the food, drinks, culture, climate and company I had - fantastic, I'd say! You can not get it anywhere else.

The waterline at the Mediterranean coast is a bit boring compared to Finland where you have 1000's of islands, an archipelago.

On the other hand we don't have the dolphines or the seafood you have in Mediterranean.

At Costa del Sol there are surprisingly few lifeguards on the beaches. One person might be covering an area of about 2 km (over a mile). On the other hand I didn't see them leave their post at all so I guess people knew how to swim...

During the many trips we have made to Fuengirola, I have never before seen a red flag on the beach. That doesn't mean there wouldn't have been one up but I can tell you the waves were pretty good one morning! The previous afternoon they were also good and we got to enjoy them, but that particular morning they were apparently were ok even for surfing.

The red flag morning we had to settle for watching since we were going for a trip to Great Britain in Spain. That was one of the few places we had not yet visited. The rock and monkeys in Gibraltar are worth seeing at least once. Also the caves that have even been used as hospitals during the World War II. Shopping for alcohol or cigarettes is not bad either - genuine tax free...

So if you are in the area, take the effort and go!

PS I've got more to come about Spain, as promised, but also about Gibraltar with a bit critical eye;o)

Vantaan Paskaa & Thank You/Kiitos!

Sorry guys, Spain will need to wait for a moment due to this stuff...


Tänään aamulla radiouutisissa oli juttu Vantaanjoesta ja minun poimimani jutun ydin oli ”se on ihan paska”. Tai ainakin lähellä sitä.

Ystävälliset kunnat joen yläjuoksulla selittelevät etteivät sateista johtuen voi pitää paskojaan = pitää vedenpuhdistamoita käynnissä vaan ovat laskeneet viemärivedet Vantaanjokeen.
Nyt kaikkia alajuoksulla olevia kehoitetaan välttämään uimista tai kastautumista – eikä vettä saisi käyttää myöskään esim. vihannesten kasteluun. Aiemmin oli paskabakteereita kuulemma 20 kpl per jokuyksikkö ja nyt niitä on tuhansia per jokuyksikkö!

Onneksi koulut alkavat pian eikä skideillä ole aikaa lutrata vedessä. Älkää edes miettikö sitä seikkaa että monet ihmiset kalastavat Vantaajoessa...
Terveisiä vain Keravalle, Hyvinkäälle, Järvenpäähän tai mitä teitä nyt on; Pitäkää ite paskanne – tonttimaakin on niin prkln paljon halvempaa kuin alajuoksulla!!!

Sopisikohan tähän lopuksi vanha lohkaisu ”Paska homma mutta tulihan tehtyä!”...

PS Seuraavaksi varmaan palataan taas Espanjaan

PSS Thank you - Kiitos!

Thank you to team US for 100 different visitors (IP addresses), apparently someone has appreciated what I write! I guess there are also plenty of mistakenly entered visitors but once I tried to use multiple Google-searches to find the posts and I couldn't get the site on the list
Kiitos Suomi-tiimille 300 vierailijasta (eri IP-osoitetta), ilmeisesti jotkut arvostavat mitä kirjoitan! Mukana on varmasti monia sattumalta sivuille eksyneitä mutta kerran yritin googlata posteja enkä saanut sivuani listalle...

Haircut and Courgars / Pumas

Perkele, why didn't I take the time and effort to get my hair cut down in Spain?

Over there the regular price seemed to be 10-12 Euros for men and 2 Euros more for the women. That's the kind of sexism I liiiiiike ;o) But now I gotta get it done in Finland and pay about double the price :o(

By the way, if an older woman is together with a younger man, the woman is called a "cougar" a.k.a. "puma" in Finnish but if an older man is together with a younger woman he is called with different bad names. Whay is that?

And now I'm not talking about pedofile stuff since that is absolutely 110% unacceptable in all forms, but adults for example with ages 50 and 30 years.

Just came to think about this sïnce a tv-series "Cougar Town" started and I can tell you Jules Cobb is indeed becoming a cougar...

España - Spain - Espanja; A country with much to offer!

Spain is a country which has got surprisingly bad holiday destination image in the eyes of many people. Perhaps that is due to most people having their experience from a package trips to extremely touristic destinations - and them not going further than the hotel, beach, British pub and international night clubs.

There is hell of a lot more to offer - and this applies to Spain, Greece, Turkey, Egypt, Morocco, as well as many other places like Prague, Riga, Sofia etc. You gotta talk to people, ask recommendations and instructions and be a bit brave - and you find a world totally different from the one offered to average tourists.

We did again a trip to Fuengirola, Spain. I know it is on a black list for many people, but I will try to prove my point in the upcoming posts where I will share with you some of my experiences - and perhaps give you some tips & tricks that might help you to enjoy your holiday more either in Spain or somewhere else.

In minimum I will give you again some stuff to read. And as always, if you wish to hear more, please use the "Comments" -field at the end of a post.

No more Sauna World Championships!

This weekend was again at Heinola, Finland a World Championship competition for Sauna. Yep, about sitting in a hot room…

Unfortunately the healthy and enjoyable hot room has been used a bit wrongly since one competitor died and another got injuries. Both of them had long experience from the competition, but still this kind of things should be avoided. Hence the competition organizers see no future for the competition.

Please remember to take sauna as a place to relax, refresh, clean yourself and enjoy – like I did this morning.  It is not a place for competitive things, never!

More about the accident from BBC site.

Vacation...

...is so fantastic and overwhelming thing that even the blog gets some time off. Sorry for not letting you know about it earlier, but I can guarantee I have something in my back pocket for you to shate - but that will be a bit later on.

Also I can´t bypass a fact of other priorities in mind so let´s try to bear each others´ moods and situations. And if you for whatever reason can´t, I claim it is your loss :o)

Life goes on with or without one blog, there will always be someone to replace the empty space - but as I have tried to express along the way this is also a theraphy channel for me. And I can assure you I am not alone with the motivation.

But again, many thanks to you for sharing the interest with me as there must be a reason for 672 different users (IP-addresses) from 63 different countries from all continents excluding Antarctica, have come to this site over 2000 times since January this year!!!

Regards from a warm environment with fantastic food, drinks and company - not to talk about the environment and touristic opportunities. Talk to you later!

Viva España, Campiones del Mundo!

Summer partnership behaviour...?