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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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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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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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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For the first time since we have been living on Mabul, we leave her alone in the marina in Cienfuegos and make our way overland to Havana. We spend a total of five days in a breathtaking and incredibly diverse city. Bitter poverty and dilapidated buildings are just one street away from the restored downtown where tourists and cigar sellers throng. We also take a tour of the surrounding area and get another deep insight into Cuba’s history, culture and society.
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The passage from Santiago de Cuba to Cienfuegos is wild! Uninhabited islands, magical reefs, many fish, few people. Provisions are no longer for sale, but finally we fish – and how! – Moreover, the lobster fishermen take us along on the hunt. However, we spend a lot of time not hunting, but looking. We dive in the Jardines de la Reina, the Queen’s Gardens, on fish-rich, wonderfully intact reefs, where we encounter sharks, barracudas and doris.
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The Jardines de la Reina, the Queen’s Gardens, take our breath away. Coral bleaching seems to be a foreign word to the endless reefs in the south of Cuba. This is probably also due to the fact that the islands are all uninhabited and civilization seems far away. Only thanks to our diving compressor from Bauer Kompressoren we can do more than two dives.
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Coming from the Dominican Republic, we reach Santiago de Cuba after a large arc around Haiti, various thunderstorm fronts and three days and nights. Mabul is stuffed with provisions, as we have already heard that the current supply situation is precarious, especially since the pandemic. We spend four days in Santiago, immerse ourselves in Cuban (night) life and take our friend Christoph on board, who will accompany us for the next few weeks.
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After having passed the Mona Passage more or less successfully, we arrive again in crystal clear water and tropical beaches. Of course, not everything goes according to plan and we spend a whole week in the Zarpar Marina, where we bring Mabul back to shape.
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We finally leave the charter stronghold behind us, and arrive in the most remote area yet. The gigantic Samana Bay in the Dominican Republic offers a dreamlike mangrove scenery, which we can share with guests on board.
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