Gallery

23
Nov
2023
Gallery – Rio Dulce

Gallery – Rio Dulce

For over three months we have been living on and around the Rio Dulce, while Mabul is being refitted in the boatyard. We share the boat problems with Riki and Martin from SV Arancanga and the family of Pablo and Dini. They repair their boats in the neighboring boatyard and also live in our little jungle commune. Thomas from SV Irmi is also part of our sailing community, but still lives on his boat. We discuss boat problems over an evening rum tasting and together we go on adventures outside Rio Dulce and travel to Antigua and Tikal, cheer on the gauchos at the rodeo, get annoyed at the growing number of screaming roosters and laugh at the imaginary turkey. It is this community of like-minded sailors that makes living around Rio Dulce so unique – despite the heat, rain and lots and lots of work.

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06
Oct
2023
Gallery – Guatemala Refit II

Gallery – Guatemala Refit II

It took six weeks to put things back together for the first time during the sailboat refit II in Guatemala. The deck project is going well. After some touch-ups with fiberglass, two coats of polyester filler are applied to the deck. After an incredible amount of sanding, seven coats of gelcoat were sprayed on. Meanwhile, Alex rebuilt both toilets, relocated a thruhull, glued in new plastic seacocks, and tinkered with what felt like 100 side projects.

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30
Sep
2023
Gallery – Guatemala Refit

Gallery – Guatemala Refit

In this first gallery we show how Mabul is disassembled during the sailboat refit in Guatemala. Only three days after we arrived in Rio Dulce, our dear Mabul is already hanging in the slings. Karin flies to Switzerland and the prop has to come along. After an inspection of the underwater hull, I get to work, the list is long. Soon Kevin and Joel, the Guatemalan workers, start with the deck project. First the old teak has to come off, then gelcoat on the deck and new paint on the stern and waterline.

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15
Sep
2023
Gallery – Upstream to Rio Dulce

Gallery – Upstream to Rio Dulce

After our last leg from Mexico, we arrive outside Livingston in Guatemala. Here we wait for the spring tide so that we can make it over the shallow sandbank. After clearing in, we head upstream to Rio Dulce under engine through the deepest jungle. Our destination is a boatyard, to refit Mabul.

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04
Aug
2023
Gallery – Mexico Diving III

Gallery – Mexico Diving III

Cozumel, another mecca for divers, is located in the middle of the Gulf Stream off the Caribbean coast of Mexico. The island owes crystal-clear water to this, as we have hardly seen it before, and makes a terrific drift dive out of every reef. So we drift effortlessly, sometimes for kilometers just above the reefs along the west coast of Cozumel and admire the diverse nature. Amazing how intact everything seems, considering the blatant mass diving tourism that has been taking place here for decades.

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29
Jul
2023
Gallery – Mexico II

Gallery – Mexico II

The next leg in Mexico brings us to the mainland, Puerto Aventuras. The marina is a kind of Disneyland for adults with motorboats. From here we explore the depths of the jungle, the cenotes and our consciousness. Before continuing on to Guatemala, diving at Isla Cozumel is on the agenda. The island is world famous for its breathtaking drift dives with perfect visibility. So we take our new friends from Ekumal with us on the crossing and spend a day in front of el cielo at the southwest tip of the island.

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28
Jul
2023
Gallery – Mexico I

Gallery – Mexico I

Coming from Cuba we reach the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. Our first destination: Isla Mujeres. We were not aware that this is an American tourist stronghold. The culture shock is correspondingly great and we immediately realize that we won’t be staying here for long. In the end it will be almost two weeks, the Mexican paper war is merciless and drags on. In the meantime, we visit Cancun and cenotes in Mexico’s jungle.

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21
Jul
2023
Gallery – Mexico Diving II

Gallery – Mexico Diving II

We jump again into the refreshing fresh water of the cenotes of the Yucatan. In the cenote Tajma Ha we scuba dive horizontally and follow the depth profile of the cenote itself. Halfway through the easy distance there is an opening of the cave, here you can again sniff surface air and see the jungle from a new perspective. Holes in the ceiling here and there allow the high sun to shine through the water to the bottom. The atmosphere here is magical…

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07
Jul
2023
Gallery – Mexico Diving I

Gallery – Mexico Diving I

This time it should be something special. Cenote diving, THAT is what you do in the Yucatan! That’s what they said. This is the end of our two of us dives for the time being, in caves we only go with professionals. We get to know Mirko from Cancun, and as luck would have it, he organizes diving trips and his buddy Tillmann is a cave diver. Perfect! The first cave dive we do is in Cenote Zapote. Basically a nearly 80 meter deep hole in the middle of the jungle. Quickly down to 35 meters where the narrow vent opens significantly and then up in slow circles along the bell-like structures. Narrow, dark, cold and short, but magnificent! Kin Ha Cenote, on the other hand, is like a large pool and almost completely closed off at the top by a large dome. In the darkness of the cave, surrounded by these strange structures, weightless, it feels a little like being in space – and so do the pictures that are taken.

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30
Jun
2023
Gallery – Cuba Diving II

Gallery – Cuba Diving II

When we arrive in Cayo Largo, which is southwest of Cienfuegos, we still have a small bill open with Cuba. The Jardines de la Reina should actually be full of sharks, but unfortunately we only got to see a total of two from a relatively long distance. In Cayo Largo we try our luck again – and we are lucky, very lucky! We dive with nurse sharks, grey reef sharks and white tip sharks in close proximity. The elegance of these animals is impressive, they seem to have a similar interest in us as we have in them. By the way, we are not on the menu.

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