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

Dusty Travelling Shoes

The journey started in Egypt, where my father resides.
For a month I experienced life in this fascinating country and got a glimpse of its rich culture. The vast amount of archaeological remnants are akin to scattered breadcrumbs that lead to the many paths of past civilizations. It was literally breathtaking.

Luxor

Al-Hakim Mosque

El Sahara el-Beida

En Route

Gnome Traveller

Cedric the Gnomad might be small of stature but his grand travelling adventures are out of this world: Hauled from place to place by a multitude of friend folks this tiny character has seen things that we probably all would be slightly envious over. Although he missed the boat so to speak when it came down to the Disney Cruise to Alaska (aka meeting his idol Snow White), he is now settling into his new life quite well. You will be seeing a few snapshots here and there of his expeditions

Leaving Home

In 2011 I decided to pursue professional diving and marine conservation, a decision I will never regret for Hey! I get to be underwater all the time!
Yet leaving my community has proven to be one of the hardest moves I have ever made.
After growing up all over the world I moved to a small island full of vibrant intelligent folks that over the years have taught me numerous valuable life lessons. The trust, care and love that I have experienced & have been shown have become part of whom I am, and enhance the strong sense of yearning to return where I belong. One day I will be able to go back - not for a visit - but permanently.
I want to grow old there.

It is a place that is surrounded by the ocean, sandstone beach and forest. Whales, seals, deer, raccoons, bald eagles, otters, you name it and it is hopping/floating/flying around in the backyard.
There are no stoplights and most folks don't lock their doors. No fast-food chains or big malls. Heck, even street lights are hard to come by. Everybody says hello to one another. Islanders do their shopping at the recycling depot where people drop off their junk and others find hidden treasures. It is a small community with a nourishing and helping hand to those in need.

Life is lived here in various manners; in solitude or with the most bustling social scene you wish to acquire for there are numerous festivals, gatherings, concerts, workshops and ART. It probably has the highest concentration of artists in Canada.

One day I'll get to be back home with my community again. In the mean time I carry their love and affection in my heart and get cheered on during every step of the way.

Rowing a hand-made Barefoot Wooden boat to DeCoursey Island

No Place Like Home

..Before I lived in the House with the Red French Doors I have been fortunate to live in other hidden gems on the island. An old pioneer home in The Funky Orchard on the Bay; co-habituated with a musician in a rickety cool den on the sea with roosters ruling the yard, and last but certainly not least, Ratfish Lodge.

On five acres of forest a leaky solar-powered house was built with unique features that I still think of with fond memories. This shot was taken in the winter...Imagine an outdoor solar shower in the vegetable garden, boardwalks to the charming outhouse & bathhouse/sauna, a giant woodstove, generator in the woods and solar panels.
Nights were candle-lit and emphasized the lovely solitude whilst the tiny outdoor propane fridge was carefully watched by the family of raccoons lurking nearby. In the winters it was so cold that the bedroom would become abandoned and thick velvet curtains were hung in the solarium, becoming a little niche to sleep near the fire. I loved every minute of it.

Ratfish Lodge

Shut the Front Door

I have always had an affinity for red doors. Especially French style. They are the perfect gateways that seem to blend the interior with the garden beckoning outside. For a while I had both in my life and I watched the flowers grow, friends arrive and life glow

Snapdragon Central

Nudity

Many years ago I purchased this faux vintage sign and alter the 'Prohibited' part with a black marker. C'mon. Wouldn't you do the same?

Roots

Flying Gurnard

Sixteen years ago I took my first breath underwater in the Indian Ocean and came across two of these beauties. Ever since the underwater world and its inhabitants have captivated me...