Last Sunday we went out with some freedivers from Stockholm Apea to dive and explore the quarry of Stora Vika. It was truly amazing. Stockholm don't offer a lot of places with a clear visibility, but Stora Vika kalkbrott was clear.
I've been in France more times than I can count. Ever since I was 1 year old, we've always spent our summers near Nice in Villeneuve Loubet. We have been on countless adventures, but some are more special than others. Le Loup (the Wolf) is a river that flows from the mountains down to the sea.
In the video below, you'll find our local forest. Walking distance from our summer house. There's something special about this forest. This was our first day of our vacation!
A couple of weeks ago we traveled to the north of Sweden on an artic snorkeling adventure. We stayed in the arctic for 8 days and visited many amazing places in Sweden and Norway.
Trollsjön
The first day we hiked 5 km to Rissajaure (a.k.a. Trollsjön), the clearest lake in Sweden with crystal clear and cold water:
Å
Next stop was Å and the lake Ågvatnet. High mountain tops surrounds the lake and it's really quiet and beautiful. In the sea nearby, there was plenty of fish, kelp and other sea creatures.
Kvalvika
Then we went to Kvalvika Beach. A 2 km hike took us to the hidden but popular sandy beach, with clear water and mountains on both sides. One of the coolest places during our adventure.
Ballstad
In Ballstad we went out on a snorkeling tour with Lofoten Diving: https://www.lofoten-diving.com/. An awesome experience and really beautiful water. This is perfect if you don't have your own wetsuit or gear, since you can rent everything from them. Highly recommended!
Gimsøya
After the snorkeling tour we went to Gimsøya and found a big whale skull!
Henningsvær
Later that same day we went to Henningsvær and set up our tent with a nice view.
Unstad
Unstad was our next stop! A small surfer village. There were almost no waves when we arrived , but we rented stand up paddle boards (SUP) from Unstad Artic Surf: http://unstadarcticsurf.com/ and paddled out on the crystal clear water and did some snorkeling on the same spot afterwards! We also met some friendly goats on the way.
Abisko
Last but not least, we went back to Sweden and Abisko national park. There is a river that runs though the national park and on some spots the water is calmer and you can dive there. Plenty of fish and strong currents. If you go here, make sure that you are experienced and have the right gear. It could be very dangerous if you don't know what you are doing.
The whole trip was awesome! Hope you enjoyed reading about it. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube-channel, so you don't miss our next adventure!
There are so many things to do on Madeira, but this is what we did during our travel.
We stayed at the amazing Roca Mar Hotel, east of Funchal (10 min drive). The FIRST day we did some snorkeling outside the hotel. The water was clear, plenty of fish and things to see under water. I even saw an octopus that said "hello"
It was an amazing encounter with a very intelligent octopus. I saw him / her 2-3 meter down and started waving. Slowly the octopus came closer and finally decided to say "hello" and taste my fingers:
Roca Mar Hotel is perfect if you want to stay super close to the sea, with a fantastic view, beautiful sunrises and great service. We even saw dolphins and whales from the balcony of our room!
The SECOND day, we went to hike the Vereda da Ponta de São Lourenço. Really beautiful with friendly lizards along the way. Remember to bring sunscreen and light clothes - it can be very hot.
The THIRD day we went to Funchal, the capital of Madeira. We bought a combination ticket with the cable cars to the Botanical Garden Jardim Botanico. It costs around €30 per person, so it's quite expensive - but totally worth it. If you suffer from fear of heights, the cable cars can be a bit scary. The botanical garden is massive, with a lot of variation. The cacti were really cool.
Later the same day, we went to Cabo Griao - the highest cliffs in Europe! They have a glas skywalk you can walk out on - awesome! We also went to Ponta do Sol.
The FORTH day we went to the northern parts of Madeira. I did some snorkeling close to Ilheu da Ribeira da Janela - a beautiful cliff in the sea. The waves were quite big, so you should be carful going out here even if you have a lot of experience.
Further west we came to Porto Moniz. They have a really cool area with natural pools. You only pay 1.5€ per person to get in!
The FIFTH day we did some hiking along Levada do Caldeirão Verde (green waterfall). This was amazing! One of the most beautiful and different hikes we've done. It's 6.5km long (13 km back and forth) and the path can be very narrow sometime. Remember to bring a flashlight since there are several pitch black tunnels you have to go though (mind your head). The end of the hike takes you to a magnificent waterfall with crystal clear (but cold) water.
Later that night I tried my new dive lamp:
When you travel and go on adventure, it's really important to have good gear. Yesterday I did a night dive (freediving), and tried out my Bigblue head light 1000 Lumens. It was just outside hotel Roca Mar on Madeira. The visibility was OK, and with the lamp I could see many sleeping fishes and other sea creatures.
The head light is mounted on an adjustable head-strap which is perfect for when you want to use both hands. In my case I wanted to film with my GoPro camera.
Bigblue HL 1000 Lumens is powered by a rechargeable 18650 Li-ion battery and has a battery life of 20h when on full effect. It has also been tested down to 100 meters. My review: 4.5 / 5
The SIXTH day we wanted to do some more hikning, but the weather was not good at Pico do Arieiro. We wanted to walk from Arieiro to Pico Ruivo. If you want to do the same, check the weather before going! Search for "Pico do Arieiro webcam" so the the conditions right now ;) We went back to the hotel, to do some more snorkeling and swimming at the hotel pool.
The SEVENTH and last day, I got a surfing lesson from Carlos in Seixal harbor. A black sandy beach with smaller waves - perfect for surf beginners. Even if you don't plan to surf, Seixal is really beautiful and they also have "natural pools" you can swim in.
We did some other stuff, like the volcanic grotto tour in Sao Vicente (which was great), but we decided to only show "the best" footage from of our trip to Madeira.
We will come back soon, 7 days is not enough ;) We hope you enjoyed watching our video. Give it a thumbs up, comment and subscribe for more awesome videos!
This is the ice boat Nora! She was built 1917. She is not the oldest nor the fastest ice boat, but she is very beautiful!
In this video we sail Nora on Stora Värtan (Stockholm archipelago) in strong winds: 20-30 knots. We started with 4 in the crew, but we were 10 at the most.
Nora weighs around 1.6 ton, which is quite heavy for an ice boat. You should really try ice boating if you have the chance - it's an awesome experience!
Join the Facebook group: "Isjakten Nora" if you want to be updated on what's going on.
