October 5, 2011
We are finally getting in the hang of things here at the base. The weather is still pretty awful, it has been raining a lot and nothing gets dry since the humidity is up to 98% all the time. A bunch of us did laundry the other day –which is basically putting your clothes in cold water and biodegradable soap, rinse it and hang it – but it might take a couple of days to dry. We haven’t seen the sun since we arrived…We have started diving even with the pouring rain, and it has been really cool so far. We haven’t started the coral research yet since we are still having lectures after lectures to learn them.
Our days usually start at 600am and we have to do our duties. We have been split up into big groups so if someone needs to attend a lecture, there will always be someone to do the duties during the day. It’s really not bad and actually not as strenuous as I thought it would be. The “suckiest” thing is cleaning the bathroom but Michele and I decided to put some music on while cleaning, and everyone joined and started singing; it was much easier to clean the bathroom that way:
We usually dive in the morning, but it really depends on the tide. We have only been going out in our “backyard”, in the Bay of Ternay where the reef is really well preserved. We already had the chance to see some sea turtles, stingrays, whitetip reef sharks, pufferfishes, lobsters and many other fishes. I hear that Emirates owns the land and wants to build a 5 star hotel in the bay in the next couple of years, but it would really suck. The bay is the most preserved spot in the Seychelles and one of the best diving spot in the world. Everything would get destroyed and the reef would definitely not survive.
I got to the the “boat-bitch” one day this week, which is actually not bad. You have one of our boats, Manta, ready before the divers arrive, take care of the anchor, help the divers in and out with their gears, and wait for them in the middle of the bay. I did when it poured for an hour straight though so it wasn’t much fun but I really felt like a seamen!
The rest of our days have been filled with lectures on corals, megafauna, first aid emergency response, and for those taking the class, lots of Advanced Open Water classes (which I already have). We still get some downtime, which is good to just chill with other people, listen to music, read a book or chill in the hammock if weather permits.
We are all doing our emergency rescue course, and we learn how to do proper primary and secondary rescue helps. This morning we learnt to put bandages on someone, as well as splints. It went a little overboard and we ended up tying Diederik to a chair. It was a really good laugh for everyone:
Friday night is our first braii + party night, and everyone’s really excited about it. James and I are in charge of organizing it. We have to find a theme for the party, and then we will go into town to get meat and alcohol if people want some. The party should be a good way for the quiet people to socialize a little more. I have to admit I’m happy everyone remembers my name, in the staff and within the volunteers. I did not want to be one of these people that we talk to without knowing their names. I always hang out with the same group of people, well mostly the ones that are willing to stay up past 8pm !!
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