Dora Mac - Diesel Duck 462

01/12/2024

Since I joined Dora Mac on July 2020, till now we have sailed 10.120 nautical miles from Artic Norway to The Canary Islands. We have taken it slow as neither of us are retired and we continue to work. Claes has to travel to Scotland and Norway several times and fortunately I can work wherever there is internet. Together we have enjoyed diving among Orcas, lived in the centre of Stockholm, sailed through the Dutch canals, spent spring in Paris, crossed the Bay of Biscay, anchored in front of my parents' house, enjoyed the Mediterranean and now we are back to the Atlantic to prepare Dora Mac for our next adventure.

27/11/2024

The best is not only what Grace wrote about my job . The best is that I know we would love meet one day and I have new friends in this big blue world .

We’ve only just begun to understand the significant ways GRACE will affect our lives, and who we will become. This mark will serve as a visual reminder of our deliberate steps in choosing this life, and will reinvigorate our intention and flow when things get hard - which will undoubtedly happen.

21/11/2024

Trucos que aprendes navegando por los trópicos . La lucha contra el moho . Segue ( el catamarán donde estuve antes ) tenía muchos problemas con el moho y el olor . Me pasaba el día limpiando cada rincón con comcrobium y cuando no lo tenía , con vinagre blanco . Sin embargo Dora Mac es muy fácil de mantener fresca y sin malos olores . Supongo que ayuda bastante el que en Dora disfrutamos de aire acondicionado y calefacción. Tampoco hemos tenido un clima tan húmedo como en el pacífico sur . Aquí no tengo que esperar a que llueva y limpiar todo en un caldero . ( la desalinizadora es mucho más potente y además tenemos lavadora !) . Un lujo . Aun así me gusta sacar almohadas y colchones al sol para desinfectar. Cambiaré un par de almohadas y poco más . ;)

20/11/2024

A whole truck!
No kidding … a truck full of food is what we bought before the pacific crossing.
We were four people crossing the Pacific from Puerto Vllarta to Nuku Hiva. There were no many paces where to buy some food till you reach Tahiti or Raiatea and those two places are insane expensive.
So… one whole freaking truck ! .
Today I had been preparing and emptying all the places where we will keep the food and writing the shopping list .
So much easier ! . Only for two and one dog . No diet restrictions. I will know what we do have and what we don’t in real time . I will be the only one cooking . Easy . And …. The Caribbean is not the South Pacific . Provisioning once there is easier . So …. My shopping list basically are the ingredients to prepare good meals during a couple of months ( better safe than sorry )
:)

18/11/2024

Sorry … this is the cockroaches try number one … tomorrow more

18/11/2024

. HIGGY . Learned that long time ago…
Good night

18/11/2024

Among friends . Sunset was really beautiful and so many Swedish came to say hi ! . Claes has been speaking with dozens of couples passing by . But we are a little sleepy after the night up so is time for an early dinner and heading bed .

18/11/2024

We read in Navily that there are many cockroaches in this dock . So I will try some tricks as this bottles with sticky glue around and tomorrow I will get some more sticky stuff . My plan is to glue those guys … Claes is against any kind of poison and having a dog on board , poison is not on my mind neither ( Boric Acid ) . There are more tricks as : spraying with fabric softener some areas , bay leaves ( I already have in each food Tupperware ), lemon , cucumber ( they hates the smell, soaking in salt water all the vegetables and fruits coming on board . Never carton boxes on board . Check the cans ( eggs on the bottom) . Avoid food leftovers or even breadcrumbs.
After expending ciclone season on a Mangrove in Fiji I learned a lot about : rats , spiders , ants , lizards , wasps , bats , bugs and cockroaches. We were living with all those guys during months in Segue . :)

18/11/2024

Narrow

18/11/2024

When we were prepared to eat with Dora Mac ready and safe , a motor boat comes and start to scream that we must move . They complained that we were very big and no space for them … ok , the marina gave us another place and guess what ? . Is way smaller than the one where the other guys complained! . Luckily it was cero wind so Claes did an amazing job . So much that people was clapping! . Really smooth and nice job .

18/11/2024

3 years ago. On January 2020 Claes and me came to Puerto de Mogán ( Gran Canarias ) to expend some time in a nice hotel while Dora Mac was in Stockholm! . Now we had been around Europe , 2 years in the Mediterranean and today , here in puerto Mogan ! . How cool is that !

17/11/2024

What a birthday !
As every year Claes woke me up with the cake , candles and singing happy birthday in Swedish that sounds as “ amo a lela “ - “ i love my grandma in Spanish “ . 🙂 .
He bought me a book and dolphins ( he said they are us in our next life , always together) . Cool way to wake up . Isn’t ?
Then he went for the rental car but we needed to wait for the road trip because the marina told us to move to the place where a german sailing boat was …. They didn’t knew they needed to move . So we wait and wait and wait . Finally they move and we move … and you know what ?! . They went to our place and we went to their place and neither of us wanted to move and we move are leaving today ! .
During the waiting time I was preparing the trip . One of the clients I worked for was “ Turismo de Canarias “ . And one of the islands I always wanted to see was Lanzarote ( hierro and Gomera ) .
There are very cool dark roads in a very dark soil . Is really something cool . On this black soil people plant ( chumberas - cactus ) and grapes . They make a hole in the dark soil and built a stone wall around to protect from the strong trade winds . The grape is mostly Malvasia . There are some wineries to stop and try this wine . The best is to just drive and get lost in this landscape ! .
Another beautiful area to explore is the Timanfaya . No black , instead is red and lot of shades of brown , gold , grey … There are 25 volcanos only in this island so imaging how is to drive around and see the lava estructures and the rocks .
On the north east of the island you can find the “ cueva de Los verdes “ a 8 km lava tube with a very small and wonderful intervention of the artist and architect Jesus Soto and jameo del agua , another project but from a local artist named Cesar Manrique the same that made the mirador , some hotels , lot of wind sculptures around the island and who promoted Lanzarote when no one believed in this volcanic island . He also left a legacy : to be proud of the traditions and local houses . So is nice seeing how the mega hotels are made it in a way that integrates with Lanzarote soul . It was nice for us not seeing so many Irish pubs , Mac Donald’s , fish and chips … this island have places where the tourist is calmer . Is a different vibe that we really loved . Probably in Playa Carmen or Costa Teguise can be different , we don’t know . So far what we saw was a very calm holiday place . We learned a lot about volcanos , blind crabs and we even learned that the astronauts are training here . This is a very similar landscape to mars . Cool isn’t ?!. At the very north of the island is a stunning view of La Graciosa . We were so lucky of getting there for the sunset ! We saw our anchorage but from Lanzarote .
The only sad part of the trip was that now is dark too soon so I have no pictures of the Timanfaya park . ( look at google ! ) . But soon a full moon show island the volcanoes shapes and the glimmering ocean so we forgot about the darkness and embraced the new magic light .

14/11/2024

Coming home . A different sunset view .

14/11/2024

La bella y la bestia .

14/11/2024

Nos han colocado cara a cara . ;)

14/11/2024

Gunboat 72 ! . What a beauty!!! . I love that blue !

14/11/2024

16.70 . Es la única marina del mundo que nosotros hemos visto hasta este momento que mide todo el barco . Extremo del ancla a extremo de la auxiliar !

14/11/2024

When I was working in advertising one of our clients was Canaries tourism and it was them when I fall in love with the way that Lanzarote wine is made . I always wanted to see it in real and now is my chance !
See how looks in google earth and in pictures . Isn’t magical ?

Un paisaje volcánico único en el mundo: La Geria, en

¿Cómo puede la seca isla de Lanzarote producir sus excelentes vinos blancos y dulces? La respuesta es la ‘geria’, un hoyo cónico excavado en capas naturales de grava volcánica de varios metros de profundidad, en el centro del cual se planta una vid, y en cuyo borde se coloca una media luna de rocas como protección contra el viento.

Hilera tras hilera de estas perfectas oquedades teñidas de verde, ocre y negro producen un paisaje único en el mundo, que ayudó a justificar la declaración de Lanzarote como ReservadelaBiosfera por parte de la Unesco.