Fermented Gnome

In 2009 Cedric came along on a canoeing & camping trip. On the way back a pit stop was made in Tofino, with wine and hot surfer chicks.

Them Bones

I have a little obsession. In fact, it is stored neatly in rough totes in several friends' basements. At first it might appear a bit strange but my fascination with bones has nothing to do with the dark and sinister. I am just completely enamored with their structure, the texture and their perfect shape. From skulls to vertebrae, I have been collecting them for the last ten years.
Fellow Islanders call me to inform me about an otter or deer carcass that they've come across on their walks and armed with tools, bags and buckets I will be elbow-deep in seal blubber to extract a fan-shaped shoulder blade.
I know, it seems gross but is not as bad as it sounds.
Treating the bones and ensuring that they remain intact is an entire process that I enjoy and the end result is satisfying. I love bare bones; at times they become a blank canvas that allow for a new form to take a hold: Mixed media replaces what was once covered by flesh.

Green Thumbing It

For years I have carried this sign from place to place and thunked it down in every garden that I've grown. To this day I have no notion of where it came from or its original purpose but I do know that it has enhanced the 'Bon Vista' of my vegetable patches and flower jungles.
I adore travelling, exploring foreign places and meeting new folks but honestly, nothing beats walking into the garden and harvesting homegrown veggies & fresh fruits. Yum.

Glass Art

Tammy Hudgeon is an artist who lights up the world - literally.
Her fused glass art scatters brightly-colored reflections into people's lives and the artist herself seems to possess a inner light as well which she infuses with spontaneity and joy into everyday life, her work and community. Tammy Hudgeon's love for art is contagious and every piece of her work that I own is cherished deeply. Her stomping grounds and studio are located on Gabriola Island BC but Hudgeon is world-renowned for her high quality art, which also includes mixed media. Find out more by visiting her website and blog

Cob Oven Pizza

I made my annual pilgrimage over to Mudge Island (5 minutes by motorboat) and for the past couple of times I have crossed the waters of False Narrows clutching bags full of pizza ingredients.
You see, my good friend built a cob oven. On a trailer. (Have pizza oven, will travel)

A gathering of lovely folks ate delicious pizza and partied with our beloved Mudgekin friends. How fortunate we are with where we live. Island life at its finest.

Oh Deer, it is Haloween

The girls carved some awesome pumpkins for Haloween. Eagerness settled in and they were placed nicely lit on the picknick table overnight. Waking up the next morning we saw that a few bits here and there were missing... With no clue whom committed the mischievous deed Eva and Sadie left to catch the bus to school and soon Sonia drove off to work.
Whilst I was fixing a nice cup of java I looked out the window and...Bingo! Grabbing the closest assault weapon (a wooden spoon) I ran out the door and threw it at the him, barely hitting his shoulder.
He took a look at me and took another bite.

Home Sweet Home

Home is where the heart is...Finally being reunited with my community was the biggest highlight of 2012.
My amazing fellow Islanders flew me back home after a year of separation, an enormous gift that made my heart glow with gratefulness. For the entire time I got to hold them close and feel that sense of belonging, where everything feels right, settle back into my chest. It was painful to leave them behind again.

Below is a picture of Descanso Bay where in the summer we gather on the sandstone rocks, dive into the clear ocean and watch the sunset together.

One Happy Island

I remember diving together with my father when we visited Aruba over fifteen years ago. Since then I have been back once but it had been a long, long time.
I flew out of Cancun and stayed over a month here alone in my family's summer home, which is not far away from the Hooiberg (Hay Stack). This volcanic formation is about 165 meters high and out of sheer boredom I climbed to the top one day. The panoramic view was lovely and I realized that my camera was...At home. Damn.

En Route

Belize

After being properly bribed at the Mexican border two guy pals and I arrived in Corozal, Belize. In the first 24 hours we encountered crazy kids on bikes, pawn shops on every corner and folks sniffing paint thinner being chased across the streets by a shirtless man with a knife in one hand and a barracuda in the other.

Needless to say we all needed a few beers to adjust to this twilight zone of a town.

En Route

Mexi Art

In the town of Tulum Mexican art and crafts were visible everywhere. The colors and textures displayed were a feast for the eyes and my only regret is not being able to purchase any of it (diving gear does not allow for much spare space in one's luggage). One day I will return there. With an empty suitcase and a wad of cash.

Holy Cenotes

I love cenotes. The clarity of the water with sunlight filtering down, casting dramatic shadows on the impressive limestone rock formations are utterly spell-bounding. These freshwater sinkholes & entrances to underwater caves were revered by the ancient Maya and played a significant role in their civilization. It is easy to see why.

To many divers the mysterious enticement of a cenote beckons and instills an urge to explore what lies hidden beneath, and the underwater caves in the Yucatan Peninsula are slowly but surely being mapped by dedicated cave divers revealing a complex underground connected system. Some of these caves are frozen time capsules where archaeologists have discovered significant findings (click here for a video).

Below you will find images from Gran Cenote, Calavera and Angelita. Especially the last two I was enamored with. Calavera ('The Skull' or 'Temple of Doom') has a permanent halocline and Angelita...Oh, Angelita...A thick cloud of hydrogen sulfate makes you feel as if you are diving in a dream world. And if you are wearing any silver jewelry make sure you take a good look at it after you've surfaced: The chemical reaction between your silver bling and the hydrogen sulfate is not permanent but it sure is interesting!

Banco Chinchorro

During my time in Mexico I had the opportunity to dive Banco Chinchorro, the largest coral atoll in the Northern Hemisphere. If you have ever seen the film 'Alamar' you will have experienced what this place feels like...It is remote, in the middle of the ocean with absolutely stunning waters and treacherous reefs that have caused several shipwrecks in the past.

I received a rare invitation from local friends to return there and live for a week and fish alongside the men for lobster and barracuda. How I wish I could have gone.
I would have been stringing up my hammock on my pal Nestor's creaky porch and getting schooled on how to filet fish at neck-breaking speed whilst feeding their guts to the crocodile under the hut on stilts.
Nestor is the old man whom portrays the grandfather in Alamar: He is real! ...And he is just like in the film (which says something simultaneously about both his acting skills and his superior fishing techniques)

Then Hurricane Ernesto happened.
We took all necessary precaution in Xcalak and got off mildly (compared to others) but the fishermen's huts in Chinchorro were completely eradicated. All that remained were the poles that their shacks sat upon in the lagoon, a devastating blow.

In the end I did not get to take Nestor and the captains up on their kind offer and will never know what it is like to live under such extreme conditions in the open seas. Instead I will have to watch 'Alamar' again and again, I highly recommend it!

Thumping Tarpons

An often visited dive site in Xcalak is home to a large school of tarpons (Megalops atlanticus) reaching lengths of six to seven feet. These incredible silvery giants live for up to 55 years and many times underwater I have heard them make a sound using their swim bladder, a 'boom' that they produce when disturbed by one another, an impressive sound when swimming in the midst of a school of hundred large fish! Their swim bladder has multiple functions, including as a breathing organ: If a tarpon cannot access the surface it will perish because it is there where the gas exchange takes place. If you have ever seen a tarpon 'roll' at the surface then you know that they're basically coming up to "take a fresh breath of air"!

Next to that they can survive in both fresh and salt water environments due to their unique swim bladder.  The individual below I photographed at La Poza, a trench-shaped dive site with a current attracting several schools of fish, most notably the enormous tarpons. They are beauties.

Xcalak

Just off the border of Belize, nestled in between mangroves and the Caribbean ocean, lies Xcalak. With a population of about 400 inhabitants this remote fishing village has hardly any of the amenities that are readily available in the nearby town of Mahahual, 65 km away. Instead pick-up trucks sell a variety of produce in the streets several times a week and marine radios are used in lieu of phones by the villagers. I came to live here for five months in a house on stilts dubbed the Purple Palace whilst I was working and studying at a Dive Center situated on the Xcalak Marine Park.

En Route

Coba

During university I attended a Meso-American archaeology course and despite the professor's dull and dry three hour long lectures I became fascinated - to the point that I dragged my poor mother to a Meso-American pottery exhibit in Barcelona and babbled on and on about each individual artifact present.

So when a group of the volunteers were gunning it to Coba I tagged along and walked around the area for the afternoon. Ball courts, temple pyramids and stelas aplenty but when I searched for any of the information stored in my brain in regard to what I learned in uni I came up with a Big Blank. I am not sure whether this says something about my brain storage capacity, the boring professor or the course itself but oddly enough, I remember the price of the required academic textbook.

It was a lovely afternoon meandering around the ruins in Coba with bicycle crashes, friends with blisters on their feet and topped off by pizza and beer afterwards.

Off the Grid

Eight months were spent working and living in Mexico. The first 3 months at a marine conservation base located in the Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve where coral and fish surveys were conducted on the Meso-American Barrier Reef.

Cedric of course enjoyed himself immensely.

En Route

Oliebollen

Dutch people surely outdo any other nation in the world when it comes to New Year's Eve. The amount of fireworks makes one hope that all war veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder are safely ensconced inside with soundproof earmuffs on cause it does sound as if WW III started at the strike of midnight.
My Dutch family, especially the guys, are no exception to the rule and from a safe distance holding my wimpy sparkle stick I watched them launch firework missiles from empty wine bottles. Holy Moses.
I imagine that if you were in an airplane navigating the dark skies above this wetland you would have the most amazing view of an entire country below ablaze with colorful explosions.
Then there's the food. Traditional snacks for New Year's Eve include oliebollen which are kind of like donuts but then way better tasting. And getting roaring drunk with family members that you haven't seen in seven years? Now that is the by far the best thing about celebrating the beginning of 2012 in Holland.

En Route

Museum street art

I love the Ulster Museum. I do. And during my visit to Northern Ireland I got lucky cause the new temporary exhibit featured street art/graffiti and included artists such as Banksy and Shepard Fairey! So of course I went. But I also got to revisit some of the permanent exhibits, and they have a special place in my heart.

Celts and the crosses they bear

Land of Leprechauns

Before Christmas came I arrived in Northern Ireland to be finally reunited with my family after a long period of not being able to see them...It was marvelous and together with my mother I flew to the Netherlands to celebrate the coming of the New Year with my awesome relatives there. The Dutch sure do love their fireworks!

En Route

Whales in the Desert

A breathtaking alien landscape filled with the remains of the vibrant marine life that inhabited the Tethus Sea, now a desert, over 40 million years ago. Fossils are literally found everywhere underneath your feet: Nummulus (single-cell organisms), shells, urchins, crabs, sea cows, saw fish, turtles, mangrive roots, coral, enormous whales...Whales with HIND LIMBS (Darwin would've wet his panties)

Entering Wadi El Hitan

Bedouin coffee in the desert, with marine fossils

Basilosaurus isis - 18 meter whale

Egyptian Revolutionary Graffiti

Violence flared in Tahrir Square during my stay with my family. We were far away from it all but it was hard not to notice the hardship endured by the people in the Square. The world watched intently and newspapers and TV networks reports regarding the situation flowed continuously.

On the streets I found another sort of medium that clearly communicated how the people felt about the political regime. Graffiti, in particular stencil street art, told its own stories and was rapidly spreading, an act of defiance that would have been unthinkable during the former years of Mubarak's ruling.

I photographed so many of them that I have lost count but I do remember that I was inexplicably drawn to every piece of street art that I came across - Perhaps due to the many powerful messages that they conveyed.

Click here for a link to a video. And if you are a fellow graffiti lover make sure to check your bookstore for the book 'Wall Talk: Graffiti of the Egyptian Revolution' by Sherif Boraie