Day 100-101 / Tag 100-101 June 20-21 Berlin, Finish, and Thank You all

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This is the last post. 

I finish this blog with Day 101, though it's called 111, simply because the trip is over.

 100 days and 128 dives later, once around the world, full of impressions, smells, feelings, tastes: I am back.

I started this trip with 90 dives ( certified with 11 dives in March 2014, 79 dives from March 2015 til March 2017). Now it's 218 in the logbook...
Had all kinds of boat diving, liveaboards, Dinghis, Longtails, small diveboats, some shore dives, many nightdives, all kinds of entry, near out of air, drift dives, currents, cenotes, caverns, caves, deep dives, in waters around the world, and not a single minute in the pool:
I declare myself an experienced Advanced Open Water Diver now

In the end I realize I did it almost exactly as I initially planned...:

Still wearing one of my dive t-shirts (The Junk June Hong Chian Lee, actually) for days now, dive leg and boat shorts, they feel so familiar and homy, cannot get used to long pants, socks and shirts with collar yet...;-)

Day 98-99 / Tag 98-99 Going home

I don't feel like leaving here at all.

A last shower before the long ride over the Atlantic ocean later today. I am clever enough to take a
second T-shirt with me in the cabin luggage. Heartwarming good bye from the girl at the Art Hotel,

a last Cortado at Ki'Bok, and then to the ruins of Tulum. Bad idea, it is sunday morning, 10 am. I had better done that on a weekday, uh, wait, I was diving the last five mornings...
Waiting in line to buy a ticket in the blazing sun, Mexicans dressed up as ancient Mayas stand ready for fotos with their snake and tourists, you have to pay for every foto, even from far, waiting in another line to the entrance, and pushing myself through the ruins with the tourists, the sun knows no mercy. I only wanted to take some shots of the ruins by the sea, I sweat like a pig, no shadow anywhere. My T-shirt is soaking wet.
I take some shots and flee this place.

Seems he doesn't enjoy it too much, either

Day 97 / Tag 97 Sat June 17 Dreamgate and Tajma Ha. Diving Cenotes in Tulum

Uuh oh, I think the last but one mojito wasn't good...
Anyway, I am here to dive!

Get up at 7, coffee at Ki'Bok, meet Rubi at the dive center, we both were not expecting to dive together one more time, but we are both happy to do so!

Dreamgate is close to Dos Ojos, Tajma Ha is about 30 kilometers from Tulum.
Dreamgate is famous for its relatively young stalaktites and stalagmites, that means only a handful of millions of years, not hundreds...
Therefor extra good buoyancy skills are required, some of these stalaktites are thin as a straw and very, very fragile.
Tajma Ha has been discovered only recently, 2008 I think, was originally named Taj Mahal and then "mayanized" to Tajma Ha, with Ha being the Maya word for water. It is supposed to have spectacular natural light, so I bring two batteries for the camera, hoping to take some good pictures.
Unfortunately, most of them are not sharp, here is what I could salvage.

We  start with Dreamgate, an experienced team by now, Rubi gives me a dive site briefing, short this time, because the mosquitos are eating us alive here, we put on wetsuits as soon as possible. The equipment is lowered to the entrance with a rope, the stair is very steep.

part of the Sac Ak tun system of Dos Ojos

Day 96 / Tag 96 Fri June 16 MUSA, underwater museum

After six Cenote dives, I will go into the ocean for the last dives on this trip today...

130 kilometers north of Tulum is the city of Cancun and the island Isla Mujeres, the latter hosts the underwater museum MUSA.
For more background information, you can visit their site here (opens in new window).

I got aware of this, when the latest installation with contributions by Jason deCaires Taylor was opened to the public near Lanzarote, Canary Island, in january (Click. Opens in new window)

I had researched some possibilities to visit this site and booked a dive with Manta Divers Cancun, 81US$ for two dives, 7 US$ for a wetsuit, dive time limited to 45 minutes.
Meeting point is 12 o'clock at their dive shop, so I started at 10am, after a coffee at Art Hotel Tulum and a short breakfast at Ki'Bok.

Passing the tourist trap of Playa del Carmen, I arrive at the dive shop in Cancun, Zona Hotelera, a high class tourist ghetto with big hotel complexes and heavily armed police, at 11:35. The two ladies in the shop seem to be surprised I am early, we do the paperwork, liability waiver, check my certifications, and find a wetsuit for me.
I ask my usual questions when coming to a new dive site, currents, reef hook necessary, should I bring my smb, is it ok to use a pointer stick, maximum depth and dive time, who is the guide, how many divers in the group, open water or advanced and so on.
No currents, maybe some surge, don't need an smb, the guide has her own, only one other diver.
The guide is a girl in her mid-twenties, Ellie, and the other diver is an Open Water Student, they will do some skills underwater for five minutes and then visit the museum. OK for me, I am not in a hurry.

One dive goes to the museum, one is a reef dive nearby. It takes a 40 minutes boat ride from the shop at Marina del Rey to the dive site.

Day 95 / Tag 95 Thu June 15 El Pit y Casa Cenote. Diving in Tulum

More Cenote Diving in Tulum, Yucatan.
Today on the menu: famous El Pit in the jungle, and Casa Cenote close to the sea.

El Pit is, as the name suggests, a hole in the ground, similar to Angelita yesterday, but way bigger and spacious, also the light is different, because you have clear water from the surface down to the bottom. Creepiness is similar, though, at the Pit the bottom looks like a forest, where you feel like little Red Riding Hood waiting for the wolf to come around the bend.

Casa, on the opposite side of the spectrum, is a very shallow site, filled with daylight, and mangrove roots reaching down into the water from the surface.

So let's do it again!

As always, dive site briefing.

This is your entry point, simply walk down the stairs with all your equipment on, and jump from the platform...;-)

Day 94 / Tag 94 June 14 Angelita y la Calavera

More Cenote Diving today!

This dive is going to be completely different to yesterday's.
Angelita (little angel) is a deep pit, with an "island" sticking out from the bottom, and a halocline at around 28 meters depth. Another specialty of this little angel is the visibility between 3 to 17 meters depth during descent and ascent, where the water gets milky and green, you have no visual reference at all, except your dive buddy.
At 28 meters the island sticks out of a layer of hydrogenic sulfate, that looks like solid fog.

There are no other divers in our group, actually from now on for all the following dives I have a private guide in Rubi, and we get along with each other very well.

As always he gives me an extensive briefing on the dive site, then we set up our equipment at the truck on the parking place and walk to the entrance point with it.

Day 93 / Tag 93 June 13 Dos Ojos

After three days I sort of have arrived to Tulum, and start diving!

We meet at the dive shop at 8:30 in the morning. There are two other divers, Anna and Tim, who are going to dive in my group.
Our guide is Rubiel, or Rubi.


 I use a 5mm wetsuit from the shop, 25 Celsius is definitely to cold for my 3 mm suit.
A short ride in the pickup truck brings us to Dos Ojos.
Cenote diving is new to the three of us (and maybe for some of you divers out there), so here are some basics from my first dive briefing:
You dive by the rule of thirds, start with 210 bar, signal your guide when you reach 140, and get out with 70 (That's 3, 2, and 1000psi respectively). Start with a full tank, return after using one third, surface with one third left.
As opposed to ocean diving, where you signal half tank and 70 bar/1000 psi.
Good buoyancy skills are a must, there is not to much room to move in some places.
Strict rules for the training level and equipment of your guide apply for Cenote diving.
Respect the cave limits and stop signals.
Follow the line. Repeat: Follow the line.



We will do two dives here, there are two routes: The Barbie Line and Batcave.
Rubi gives us a thorough dive site briefing

OK, let’s get in the water. We assemble

Day 90-92 / Tag 90-92 June 10-12 Arriving in Tulum, Qua. Roo, Yucatan, Mexico

Mexico...
Arrive 7:30, immigration takes some time, latin american countries love bureaucracy, paper and forms, it's raining heavily at 32 degrees Celsius, humid and warm, different to California.
I get picked up at the airport for a shuttle bus to the car rental, wait more than an hour in line, see above, latin america and bureaucracy..., buy extra insurance for third party liability, and a gps, with wifi access point in one device.

Everybody wants to be tipped for everything. I give the guy who checks the car with me and hands me the car key a 10 Dollar bill, hope that helps, when I return the Volkswagen CrossFox.
Finally pull out of the car rental at around 11, south to Tulum, can't miss it, a two hours ride. Police posts everywhere, heavily armed, I am thirsty and hungry but don't have mex pesos yet. It's raining like hell.
Drive into Tulum, follow the gps and find my "hotel" booked in advance through booking.com
In a backstreet of town, between torn down houses, jungle-like vegetation and rubbish. Can this be true? Yes, they are expecting me with my reservation in hand.
I check into a room, it smells bad from the drain, the water smells bad, I will not use that to brush my teeth. Have booked three nights, drop the bags and go downtown to change money. Well, saturday, no banks open...

Mexico seems hostile and dangerous until now, not inviting at all, feels like I have to take great care with every move I make on the streets. Did I make a big mistake to go here? Is it all in my head? Or have I simply been in the U.S. too long and don't recognize anymore that Mexico is perfectly normal and not hyper clean and sterile?

Find an ATM in a 7-Eleven, buy and drink a liter of water and look for the beach road. I need Vitamin Sea. The only place to look a bit inviting is Mateo's bar and restaurant.

I have some tacos and beers, think about changing hotel,

Day 89 / Tag 89 June 9 Los Angeles

After a coffee and an undefinable piece of dough with cinnamon flavour, I try to document my $100 hotel before I leave, as mentioned earlier, cheap by all means.

Looks so nice outside

Where to go in L.A., if you have one day and must return a rental car close to the airport by 8pm?
I decide to take a road trip to Hollywood,

Day 88 / Tag 88 June 8 Pismo Beach to L.A. Strictly Highway One now

GPS and Google Maps neglect Highway 1, they always propose 101 as a route.

On top, Highway One at some points melts into the 101, later appears again on the map, this is going to get tricky, outsmart the two Gs, Google and Garmin. ;-)

Out of Pismo I pass a Rock'nRoll Diner, but I had so much coffe at the Dolphin Cove, I don't go in,

I have an apointment with a former colleague from Hamburg, Mikaela, in Santa Monica at 6 pm.
Plenty of time, so I take it easy on the road.
Highway One sure takes you to Small Town America, and the more you go south, the more you see

Day 87 / Tag 87 June 7 Monterey to Pismo Beach

Today I want to drive through Big Sur, supposedly one of the most beautiful parts of this road.
I've known it by the books of Jack Kerouac and Hunter S. Thompson.
The coast is frequently praised for its rugged coastline and mountain views. As the "longest and most scenic stretch of undeveloped coastline in the United States,"it has been described as a "national treasure that demands extraordinary procedures to protect it from development“, and "one of the most beautiful coastlines anywhere in the world, an isolated stretch of road, mythic in reputation.
Wikipedia has a good article on it (Click, opens in new window)


Breakfast close to my motel at Denny's Diner in Marina

Yes, this is ONE breakfast... ;-)

From Marina, north of Monterey, I find my way to Carmel-by-the-Sea, the Carmel Highlands,  and Highway One South. Beautiful spots.

Sidekick: Clint Eastwood was mayor of Carmel for two years. (Click, opens in new window)

Day 86 / Tag 86 June 6 Santa Cruz to Monterey

Leaving Motel Capri in Santa Cruz around 11 with coffee only, but no breakfast, back to Highway California One, going south. After one or two hours I stop in Seacliff, getting hungry. After an American breakfast at Sno-White Diner

I discover the Laundromat in the back and wash some clothes, dark.

The grocery store sells soap

Day 85 / Tag 85 June 5 Highway One San Francisco to Santa Cruz

I had always wanted to drive down Highway California 1, aka Pacific Highway One, or PHW1.
I had been driving and delivering cars all across the continent during my last (and first) stay in the US, back in 1986. But I didn't find a car to deliver from SF to LA then, so I took the Greyhound bus at night. What a shame, this is supposed to be one of the most beautiful roads ever. So I wanted to do it right this time:
Rent a decent car, take my time and enjoy the ride. Made it a Ford Mustang Convertible, five days and all my equipment ready to go.

After a gorgeous breakfast at Mel's Drive In, Belgian Waffle with hot strawberries and whipped cream, some freshly squeezed real Orange juice and Coffee refills,

I drove to Best Buy in Geary Ave to take care of the electronic devices.

Tested everything in the shop: Power Plug Adaptor ok, found the right cable for my external drive, et voilà, it works! Glad, it wasn't the drive itself, but the cable.

Last Station SF: Haight Ashbury, just around the corner.

50 years anniversary of Summer of Love '67, even my GPS

Day 84 / Tag 84 Sun June 4 San Francisco lazy sunday

Have to get used to that car. Booked a convertible, got a Ford Mustang. Man, I'm not used to these modern cars and automatic transmission.

I reset my camera to local time, that makes it a bit complicated to find the right pictures...

I decide to take a tour to the Muir Woods and Stinson Beach north of SF. This will take me over the Golden Gate Bridge and back. Toll is automatically collected by License Plate and covered in the rental agreement. So let's go!

Stop at the northern end of the bridge, of course, taking the usual pictures here, and finding out how to adjust that driver seat properly.

Day 83 / Tag 83 June 3 Hawaii to San Francisco

 
Travel day.
Brad and Julia give me a lift to the airport. Big Mahalo for that!

Brad finds a used Hilo Hattie Shirt in the back of his car, original, with coconut buttons, as he says, and gives it to me. A beautiful shirt.

flight to Frisco

Day 77-82 / Tag 77-82 May 28-June2, Hawai'i. Chill days in Waikiki

"Time is not wasted, when you enjoyed wasting it."




I wake up in an apartment on the 11th floor of Marina Tower Waikiki, prepare some breakfast.
What a change compared to the days before...

I take the bus line 42 down to Kewalo Basin Harbour and find the pier

Day 74-76 / Tag 74-76 May 25-27 Dive trip to Ni'ihau

Coming from the airport we pick up Julia and drive to the only WalMart on Kau'ai, we need some camping utensils. Beach mats, a cooler, mosquito repellent, beer and juices, snacks etc. I buy a telephone sim card and activate it only 3 days later (All posts starting from Raja Ampat part 2 on we uploaded through that sim card...).

Drive to a shore and have a beer, then back to the airport where we pick up Dan, another friend of Julia and Brad, he is going to dive with us tomorrow. Later we drive to the Dive shop for check-in and payment, where we meet Jeff, a friend of the three, he invites us for dinner, because it's his birthday.

at the dive shop