Goodbye to our Daycruiser Solrun

For 6 wonderful years our daycruiser Solrun, a Draco 21 SC, has given us and our friends enjoyment in the summertime. We have explored most parts of the Oslofjorden, but have been repeat visitors to Middagsbukta and Sandspollen. The Oslofjord has several small islands that are perfect for anchoring up and having a picnic.
Many foreigners are not aware of how hot it can get here in the summer, even the water heats up rather nicely. 23 degrees are not unusual. My personal limit for jumping aboard is 20. Most of my friends call me a chicken for that...
If you are concidering purchasing a used daycruiser you cannot go wrong with a Draco 21 feet. Unfortunate I was taken by the 3 feet illness (as we call it in Norway). Actually I was hit rather bad so the illness became a dramatic 6 foot illness. The result is Solrun II. More about her later. Below is a image of Solrun, click it to see more pictures of how great it is to have a daycruiser in the Oslofjord.

From Draco

Chocolate Mascarpone Creme dessert. Yummie!

This might not be a receipe I have invented, but I can honestly say that I have never seen it in a cookbook. This is a delicious dessert (heavy so dont make large portions) that is highly reccomend to try to make yourself. Success is partly in using quality coffee and chocolate. If you don't mind alcohol in dessert please do use Cointreau in it to give it that extra height.
As long as you make sure that ingridients are tempered when preparing and don't serve it fridge cold, but just slightly chilled it will make your guests go mmmmm.
If you make it and come up with adjustments that you believe make it better, please leave a comment on my blog so others can follow your idea. Last note, it might be a success adding 50 grams of extra chocolate. This is adult dessert, kids will find it slightly too bitter.
If you click on the image it will enlarge for easier printing.

Best beach in Cicily - San Vito Lo Capo

There are many great beaches in Cicily, but personally I cannot think of anyone that matches the one in San Vito Lo Capo (Cape San Vito). It´s sandy, it´s long (kilometers) and the whole town is more or less in walking distance to the beach. SVLP is located in the northwestern part of the island, between Trapani and Castellamare del Golfo (appr 30 minutes drive to each).
Beware that the town is packed in the holiday season (July & August) and rooms can be difficult to find. In other words book in advance or expect to sleep in a tent.
Nuff talk, here are the pics to prove the statement.

This is an italian style beach, all included, apart from the cost of renting a sunchair, getting a piece of fresh cold coconut and well everything that can be given a price. But hearing the mamas shouting at the kids are for free.

The strange thing about the cost on the wonderful beach of San Vito Lo Capo is how regulated it is. It almost feels organised for some strange reason. Hmm, why one wonders.
Speaking of which (renting and costs that is), here is a image of our captain on a lovely boat trip to Scopello. Leonardo was steady as a mountaing and had salt running through his veins from all the years on the sea catching tuna. Now he had become tired of the blood and gladly toured the tourists for a magnificent sightseeing tour.

The best part with Leonardo was that he used his old fishing boat with a limited capacity. A good advice is to avoid the bigger sightseeing boats as they don´t give you the same personal feeling and the possibilty to take a dip whenever you feel like it. Like my wife did on the exact same spot as Catherine Zeta Jones did when they recorded Oceans Twelve in the same area.

If you feel the urge to book a stay in this picture perfect town you might want to check out my hotel review over at Tripadvisor to get the hard facts on hotels as well.

Christmas in Iceland - The Skata experience

There are experiences in life that can only be enjoyed in it´s original habitat. A good example is the Skata tradition in Iceland on the 23rd of December. My wife is of icelandic origin so I´ve had the pleasure of spending christmas several times in a wooden house far out in the countryside on the eastern side of the island. To be exact Stóra Sandfell close to Egilstaðir.
My father in law is a steady and persistent man who had a rather strong belief that for me to become a proper member of the family, I had to join in for the feast named Þorláksmessa (Mass of St.Thorlak patron saint of Iceland) were the fish skata is served according to ancient tradition. Perhaps not ancient according to the greeks but definately not 20th century either. So despite my recollections of the odor from his clothes returning home from Þorláksmessa previous years, the whole family joined this mass to make sure that we finally became one big happy smelling christmas family.
You might wonder how this glorious food looks like, so instead of bothering you with detailed descriptions, here´s a picture of a healthy skata plate.

Here is a exact description of what you see in the picture according to Iceland Review: It is so putrefied that when you take the first bite it will numb your nose and throat – so strong is the smell. The habitual way of cooking it is to boil it for about ten minutes. Then the fish is taken from the bones, some lamb fat mör is added, and then this sort of stew is served with boiled potatoes and brown rye bread.
Sound delicious doesn´t it? Remember that despite the rather strong smell the fish itself doesn´t taste as much. And how strange it may sound the preservation method is rather good for the stomach (base not acids), so it might be a good way to handle all the fat that could be served in the coming days of x-mas. I am Norwegian so putrefied food is not uncommon, so remember that I might be slightly biased here, but I really believe that it was OK. Not great, but not as expected from the smell of my father in law when he he came home from previous years Þorláksmessa.
Is it worth a trip to Iceland? No way! Is it worth eating to become a proper familymember? Indeed it is! But should you ever be in Iceland around christmas time you have to try it. Not because you wil fall in love with skata, but because travelling should evolve around experiencing local life and traditions. And it doesn´t get more Iceandic than skata. Just look at the picture of my father in law and you´ll understand. Thank you Jón for making me part of the family. See you next christmas for Þorláksmessa.

And here is the final proof of me enjoying skata. Hmm, delicious.