Solens spegel

Nu har de små solkatterna kommit fram,
små speglar av solsken kämpar sig fram i det vissna gräset
Och visar att solens och vårens kraft segrar över vintern och isdrottningen

Affirmation

Its good to say positive affirmations to yourself

What is your gift today?

The world is beautiful

Holy Thursday/Skärtorsdag

Good Friday/Långfredag

Today/Idag

Cheers!

Easter is here

Easter is here and today is Holy or Maundy Thursday
I can't believe how fast times goes by
It's less than two months till I leave

Here you go, some Easter pictures :)


Påsken är här och idag är det Skärtorsdag
Jag kan inte förstå hur fort tiden går
Det är mindre än två månader kvar innan jag åker

Så, jag tänkte bjuda på lite påskbilder :)

Até logo!

A primavera

Spring is here and there is still snow falling in Sweden
But the blackbirds are here and I'm waking up listening to their song,
and the cranes are on thier way, all 15 000 of them returning

The ocean is still frozen but channels are opening and the sea gulls are here,
but I still can't smell the salt water...

Mitt nya kontor

What to do when you're sad?

Hug a friend!

All have changed

Idag måste vara en speciell dag,
allt känns så bra och förändrat

Pånyttfött

Jag andas in livet

Today must be a special day,
everything feels so wonderful, and something has changed

Reborn

I breathe life

Ananas

Visste du att det tar ca 2 år för en ananas att bli en ananas?
Jo, det är långsamma frukter.

Den azoriska ananasen är en mindre ananas och lite sötare också

De odlas i växt hus
och på azorerna så sår man inte med frön utan man använder roten
så samma planta lever väldigt länge

Växthus med unga plantor

 Blommande ananas

Sen där de börjar blomma då rökfyller de hela växthuset för att sätta fart på dem,
så alla plantor börjar blomma samtidigt och ger frukt samtidigt

Eldning har avslutats, jag tror de eldade med falskt kaffe

När du köper en ananas ska du välja den som är mest honungsfärgad
Inga gröna skiftningar, för då är den omogen

Den ska ha så liten blast som möjligt,
och det är för att då har frukten inte slösat sin energi på blasten
utan allt det goda finns i frukten

Känn också efter under ananasen,
går det att rubba "stubben"? Är den mjuk? Då är den perfekt

Och om du hittar en fluga, följ då flugan för den kommer välja den sötaste ananasen

Perfekt ananas, lite ung för att ätas än,

men lite blast

Väl hemma: skiva inte ananasen
Klyfta den! Då får du bättre smak, och den är enkel att äta

Vill du inte äta den rå, så rekommenderar jag Ananas Likör!!

Missa inte att äta ananas och dricka ananas likör när du besöker Azorerna!

Jag har bokat biljetten

Idag bokade jag biljetten
och det känns så skönt för nu blev så mycket mer verkligt
Det är inte bara en konstig dröm - jag åker i maj!

Åh, vad jag längtar efter denna vy igen :)

Nånstans över den södra kusten/Somewhere above the South Coast

Södra kusten och norra kusten/South coast and North coast

Ponta Delgada

I booked the ticket today
and it feels so good cause it is getting real
It isn't just a weird dream - I'm leaving in May!

Oh, how I long for this view again :)

Slow start

I'm not leaving Sweden yet
but I can't hold myself any longer

I have to show the Beauty of the Azores
so here we go with some photos from my previous trip in 2011

It is still cold in Sweden, and we have about -5 degrees C, snow and rain
and I'm drinking some Azorean tea infront of the TV
so I would like to start with showing Chá Gorreana Tea Plantage
Azores have Europes only tea plantages
and they make both green and black tea, and its very good :)

If you go to Sao Miguel don't miss this!

Rain...

... and sunshine

The North Coast

Beautiful view while waiting for the bus to take us home

Not started yet

Välkommen!
Den här bloggen är inte igång än.
Var god besök den igen i maj, då är den nog igång.

Den kommer handla om valskådning,
men innan denna startar besök min andra blogg När Späckhuggare kallar


Welcome!
This blog isn't running yet.
Please visit this blog again in around may 2012,
maybe it is up and running then :)

It will be about Whalewatching,
but before this one starts, please visit my other blog When Orcas calls


Best wishes,
SweOrca, Raveneyes Creations

A fluke wave good bye

So, I went out on my last trip of 2011
And we sat out in full speed towards Faial da Terra - far east
There they said Sperm Whales was in the water
but they had made a short dive - so we waited
and waited...

Then I saw a mist... a white mist on the water. I was all quiet.
The mist appeared again and I started to point towards the mist - still quiet and a bit chocked
I never thought the whale would come

The guides saw that I was pointing towards something and we slowly moved closer
There it was, the Sperm Whale

It took many blows and moved slowly away from us
and then I heard the guide say "here she goes!"
And then the fluke came up and this was the big Good Bye for this year
It dived down into the deep and was gone

We went back but on the way we saw Common Dolphins hunting
Just like in 2007 and it felt so good to see them again before I was leaving the island

Now, I wait for the next trip back to Azores and the cetaceans
To keep an eye on them :)

Whale of a wall

Swimming with a yellow dolphin

Well, not totally yellow ;) a yellow stripe!

So, we got out on our next tour and find a huge pod of Common Dolphins
We were the first down and we saw them - so beautiful and graceful

I have no words on how wonderful this was

And then when it was time to back the skipper told us to do one last swim
Everybody lined up on the right side
but me and my friend jumped in on the left side

After swimming through the boats bubbles and we stayed quite in the water they came,
five of them was checking us out
and when we came up again - last
the guide asked us if we saw them - yes, we did
and he said, I know, you were the lucky left side, right side saw nothing

And, yes, I felt lucky :)

Then the pod left us, and we left them alone

Nothing to do - swim with dolphins!

It was Saturday and bad weather,
so we decided to swim with dolphins again

The weather was to bad, so we didn't swim with any dolphins
but we saw a few Bottlenose Dolphins

So, we went back early to land and we got our money back
but we booked another swim the next day instead

Into the ocean again

After a quick lunch we set out to swim with dolphins

First we encountered some Bottlenose Dolphins, and they checked us out a lot,
but never came as close as in 2007

So we went futher out to se another group, of Spotted Dolphins this time,
they were not all that friendly either,
but one came closer then the Bottlenoses and a two calves were checking me out,
but did not come close

They are wild animals, so I don't expect them to either,
they choose to do what they want to do
And I'm only there as their guest

My first Whale

First we went WhaleWatching in the morning,
and we saw Spotted Dolphins

On our way to se Sperm Whales we saw Pilots Whales

The first time I saw a real whale and there were three of them,
but far away and not raising their flukes,
but I was happy anyway just to see them :)

 Lunch!

Bird of prey

Azorernas flagga :)

I'm back!

In 2011 I finally had the chance to go back to the dolphins

I arrived on the 25th of August and the day after in the morning I was out

And it was a big day for me, at first me encountered a big pod of Spotted Dolphins,

And later some Bottlenose Dolphins
but it ended with Pilot Whales :)

A new species for me and they are almost as close to an orca you can get,
except for False Killer Whale

They were big and beautiful,
and not as black as I thought
They were dark grey and brown, and so calm, but still playful dolphins
I'm in love!

Last time 2007

The day before the plane was leaving
I went out for the last time that year

I still wished for Sperm Whales or at least some other dolphin species
But I saw Common Dolphins and Bottlenose Dolphins again

But this time the Bottlenoses putted on a real show!
They were jumping and playing

And I had the chance to see a large group of Common Dolphins hunting fish
A big feast with shearwaters diving and dolphins jumping

A melancholic goodbye from the Atlantic Ocean

I want to see whales...

The third time I went out on the water I really wanted to see Sperm Whales before leaving the island
But I only saw Common Dolphins and Bottlenose Dolphins

But I was happy anyway
They are so fantastic by them selves so big whales aren't needed

Diving into the Atlantic Ocean

The second time I went out on the ocean I was dressed in a wetsuit, flippers, snorkel and mask
I was going into the water with wild dolphins

The water was as blue as it gets and up to me coms a young dolphin.She really takes eye contact and study me. I can not stop admiring her, and so she turns her body and she swims by.I hurried up with the camera. I took a picture when she came to me and one on the way from.She was so beautiful and mysterious that I called her Atlantis. And we were in the Atlantic.

When Atlantis disappeared down so I looked up again, and what is comming to wards me!A calf with his mother close behindAt first the calf was close to me but the closer they swam towards me the mother got between us. And I took a picture.Do you see how thick the mother is! Her udder is full of milk and the calf is thus quite young.The island I lived on is called Sao Miguel, so I named the calf Baby Miguel.Bottlenose dolphins got their name cause their nose reminiscent of old gin bottles, and so that's how Gin's got her name, but it also sounds nice with the female aspect of Yin and Yang.

Two dolphins came by every now and then. They came often and I began to recognize the two.
But they dared not as close as Gin, Miguel and Atlantis (which I only saw once).
One was large and bright, and the other smaller and darker.
The darker swam often under or behind the light. Perhaps it was shy?

I named the light one Gabriel and the dark one Jack.

At last swim a large group swam past me and all the dolphins disappeared. I only heard their song. The guide on the boat said that if we didn't see any dolphins, we would come up again so we could get closer with the boat.

But this time I did not give up, not yet. I lay at the surface and closed my eyes. I heard the song and enjoyed it. But then I heard how someone checking me out with their sonar, it came closer and closer and I open my eyes. Then a large dark dolphin past by, close and he casually turns his head and looks at me and swims on.

At first I was afraid, and thought it was a shark, for it is the swarming of hammerhead sharks in the waters. But then I see his wonderful smile and took a picture.
This ocean man got the name Aquarius.

So wonderful to see them wild and free

Such a gift to be invited to swim with some of them

My first dolphin(s)

De första vilda delfiner jag såg var en flock flasknosdelfiner
och senare kortnosad vanligdelfin och betseldelfin

3 arter på en dag!
Det var en mycket bra första tripp, jag var fast - mer än nånsin

The first wild dolphins I ever saw was a group of Bottlenose Dolphins,
and later Short-beaked Common Dolphins and Atlantic Spotted Dolphins

3 species in one day!
That's a good first trip, and I was hooked - more than ever