TRAVEL SNAPSHOT: 164 Days In 2021, 2022 and January 2023

The COVID pandemic and subsequent international governmental travel restrictions affected the way we account for our annual travel summaries. Usually covering a period of 12 months (approximately); our latest offering accounts for a whopping 515 days and includes travel maps for 2021 and 2022/2023. 

Our website's TRIPS index, shows we had only 44 adventure days over 4 trips in 2021; LOAFin Around in Ontario a few times and then a late season trip to Puerto Morales in MEXICO. We did a little better in 2022 (and into mid - January 2023); 120 adventure days over 4 trips; 2 separate SCUBA/Snorkelling trips to MEXICO, 5 weeks road-tripping in ICELAND and more LOAFin Around in Ontario.

Here's the photographic evidence ... ENJOY!

________________________________________________________

The maps below are both interactive. To view our routes in detail you will need to begin by clicking on [  ] (top right corner) for full screen. Use the hand to pan and +/- to zoom and reduce, as needed. 

__________________________  2021  ________________________

__________________________  2022  ________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

This travel snapshot includes Trips 153 - 159 (from our TRIPS Index) and covers the calendar PERIOD noted below. 

_________________________________________________

                     PERIOD                                Duration              Adventure Days

  Aug 18, 2021 > Jan 15, 2023             515 days                        164

 ___________________________________________________ 

STATISTICS

1 - Injured Toe 

MEXICO: Apparently ... a rogue corner of our bed blanket unexpectedly lunged out as Helen walked by, wrapped itself around her big toe in a strangle-hold and proceeded to slam 'said toe' nail first into the nearest bed frame corner ... apparently!

1 - Diver Lost (only temporarily)

Stan @ Palancar Caves, Cozumel Is. MX

 Happens if a diver is not paying enough attention to others in the group. Stan was self-absorbed with his camera, we were drifting in current at times and the groups' visuals changed quickly! Stan mistakenly followed another group for awhile, recognised his error, deployed his surface buoy and ascended on his own.

Lesson: Don't be like Stan.

Stan completed a near 1 hr dive whereas the rest of our group surfaced after less than 30 minutes. Once our DM realized Stan was missing, protocol dictated we surface and attempt to locate him or alert emergency authorities if we were unable to.

Stock photo in Palancar Caves

1 - NATO Site Hiked To

ICELAND: Hofun NFS

1 - New Camper 

2021 Northern Lite 8-11 LE EX DB

1 - UNESCO Site Visited

Thingvellir National Park ICELAND

Stock Photo

2 - Tectonic Plates Walked Between In

ICELAND: The Eurasian (right) and North American (left); the only location in the world where this is possible.

2 - Museums Visited

ICELAND: National Museum in Rekjavik, Laufas Museum

2d 2h 15m (50.25 hrs) - Spent Underwater

Diving the Mesoamerican Reef

3 - Countries Visited

CANADA, ICELAND, MEXICO

3 - PADI Specialty Certifications Completed

Peak Buoyancy Control, Drift Diving, Nitrox

Muchas gracias, mis amigos y mis instructores: Omar & Israel

Cards in the mail

4 - Live Music Shows Attended

CANADA: All Canadians - Jesse Cook, Jack de Keyser, Harrison Kennedy, Blackie & The Rodeo Kings

Jesse

Jack

Harrison

Blackie & The Rodeo Kings

6 - National Historic Sites
ON: Battle of the Windmill, Glanmore House, Southwold Earthworks, Bellevue House, Fort Malden, Obadjiwan-Fort

Battle of the Windmill

Glanmore House

6 - National Parks Visited

CANADA: Point Pelee

ICELAND: Thingvellir, Vatnajokull, Jokulsargljufur, Snaefellsnes
MEXICO: Arrecifes de Cozumel

Point Pelee: the southernmost tip of the Canadian mainland

7 - Travel Companions

Dennis, Anne, Randy, Heather, US

Linda & Gary

Mark's 500th Dive

10 - Provincial Parks Visited
ON: Ferris, Pancake Bay, Killbear, Lake Superior, Killarney, Charleston Lk., Bonnechere, Driftwood, Restoule, Arrowhead

Pancake Bay PP

42 - Dives

3 shore, 39 open water

Hawksbill Turtle w. a couple of Remore's attached to it's shell

71 - Minute Open Water Dive

Ascended with over 1050 psi in the tank, max. depth 60 feet.

Longest open water dive to date has been here; at Yucab Reef Cozumel MX ... we saw several Sea Horses there (maybe 10 in total); black, grey and including some yellowish and reddish coloured ones. These guys were about 5-6 inches in length. I've personally, never seen this many during a single diving trip.

164 - Adventure Days

170 - Kilometres Hiked

In Ontario and ICELAND

Driftwood PP ON

Lake Superior PP

ICELAND

7756 - Kilometres Driven

Including: ICELAND's Ring Road

24,358 - Kilometres Flown

ICELAND: 8350 kms return

MEXICO: 16008 kms (3 trips return)

65,000 - Square Feet

CANADA's: Largest Abandoned Home 

The Peter Green Mansion - Haileybury House

500,000 - Sheep (approximately)

Countless - Waterfalls, geysers, craters, canyons, glaciers, ice-fields, icebergs, tunnels, volcanoes, calderas, lava fields.

____________________________________________

If you're still following along, watch this website's Planning FUTURE Adventures on the right sidebar, for our on-going travel plans. 

Skál ... from Reykjavik ICELAND

We had a blast once again ... thanks for everyone's interest and comments. See you soon!

_____________________________________________________

I Was a Hostage In a Mexican .................. banos

______________

... for DAYS
_______________




OK!, that's a lie ... it was about 3/4 of an hour, but it felt like days; I nearly whimpered. 😥

Oh, OH! ... 🙄.
Problem: dead bolt is broken, frozen in the striker plate and embedded in the door jamb.

 First attempt ... Miguel tries to remove the door jamb while the door is still in place in order to lever-off the dead bolt and pry the door open; but didn't want to damage anything without his supervisor Luis's permission.

Second attempt ... I'm behind the door and afeared. That's Luis (kneeling), the Maintenance Supervisor. He's not concerned about damage, got the job done with a small sledge-hammer, mucho pounding and prying and some selective Mexican swearing. 😁

Junior maintenance guys watching how it's done ... 'cause everyone knows it's probably gonna happen again. 🙄

After a 1/2 hour I began thinking about what I would do to escape if needed; might be a fire on the floor below or any multitude of life-threatening situations. 😲

This is a photo of the window in our units bathroom; it's non-venting. I figured at the time I could use the cover from the toilet tank reservoir to smash the window and then escape (to freedom) that way.

 But, that would have been a bad idea ... picture me clinging with my finger tips to a window ledge, 100's of feet above the ground, my current finger strength may have allowed me to hold on for a maximum of maybe 60 seconds, then I would have plummeted to the ground, broken both ankles (but only, if I was lucky) and then spent multiple weeks in a hospital here before being able to fly home ... OH WELL!

Moral of this Story: Always carry a multi-tool. I could have pop-ed the hinges off from the inside. Boy Scouts are always prepared and I forgot that; shame on me.

Freeeee ..... at last!

Installing the new door hardware.

Muchas gracias mis heroes; Miguel, Felix y Luis.

' Journeymakers  are those people who elevate your travel experience with the passion and enthusiasm for the place they call home and for the interest and kindness they give you, the traveller. '

______________________________________________

We're on a 5-week SCUBA/Snorkel adventure this time.

LOAF couldn't make the trip ... literally. 

  

You can follow all our travels here.

  

For all photos from this trip see our Trip159 gallery.

________________________________________________________________________

Mark's 500th Dive

 

And ... I was there! 

The underwater stills and videos are all Marks' with the exception of the one still I took of him. Mark used an iPhone 14 Pro in a SeaLife SportDiver case.

Surface photography is by Helen and Mark.

Click on the blue links for additional information.

_________________________

We are diving in Parque National Arrecifes de Cozumel.

Our first tank dive of the day was at Columbia Deep to a deepest depth of 94'. 

Reef Description:

Experience level. Intermediate to Advanced. Current is sometimes unpredictable.

This is a beautiful wall dive. The coral formations are extremely healthy. You will see towers of coral built on the skeletons of ancient coral that has built up over millions of years. Giant Barrel Sponges, as well as Deepwater Fans and Black Coral form a nice backdrop for photography. There tend to be more fish and animals here than on Palancar. If you are lucky, you might spot an eagle ray cruising the sand or the depths. You'll see some Scrawled Filefish, Queen Angelfish, and lots of schools of blue Creole Wrasse. You can hardly miss seeing a few turtles here. 

All photography is taken at Columbia Shallow, second tank dive to a deepest depth of 27'; no surface interval required ... ascend, travel a short boat distance, change tanks and re-enter. The dive is under 30' so divers just off-gas for the duration; in our case a little more than 1 hour bottom time. 

Reef Description:

Experience level. Beginner. Mild Currents in a protected bay like area.

These shallow coral heads rise 10-30' above the sandy ocean floor. Situated near Colombia Lagoon this area sometimes gets cool fresh water coming from the lagoon. This may make visibility less than the 150' -200' that you normally expect in Cozumel. For this reason, you will see a lot of fish and turtles that have been relatively undisturbed.

Fastboat Johnny, Captain Lyka, Dive Master Sergio

Fairly calm surface conditions during the boat ride, a rainbow overhead and a small group of divers ... couldn't ask for a better start to this epic day.

________________________

Columbia Deep & Columbia Shallow 

__________

What we saw ... octopus, turtles, toadfish, scorpionfish, needlefish, nurse shark, lobster

What we saw & photographed ... 

Scorpion Fish ... hard to spot, rare to see

Juvenile (2-3 feet) Nurse Shark

Hawksbill Turtle

Octopus

Mark ... holding up 5 fingers

 

_______

On Shore 

Helen made arrangements with our friend Pau; owner and baker at The Noisy Cupcake here on the island. A conspiracy was hatched to deliver the cake while we were out diving and then store it away in a refrigerator for later. After our lunch was over and without Marks' knowledge one of the servers snuck the cake to the table ... I believe he was surprised.


Congratulations mi amigo ... as a Master Diver with 500 dives in 17 years, yours is an accomplishment to be proud of.

_________________________________________________________________________

We're on a 5-week SCUBA/Snorkel adventure this time.

LOAF couldn't make the trip ... literally. 

  

You can follow all our travels here.

  

For all photos from this trip see our Trip159 gallery.

________________________________________________________________________