Mahe, Seychelles |
*****
Week 9 was a pivotal week on base. Coral surveys were wrapped up and the sense that "this is it" began to weigh down on the expedition like an impending storm front. I was fortunate enough to begin my weekly adventures with a fun dive, followed by a number of successful surveys, and topped off with creative chaos in the kitchen for the final Friday Night BBQ. Moments and memories were made and shared, while laughs and smiles abounded. And yet, one could sense an undertone of unrest as the end of this phase approaches.
A fun dive is a rare treat, so having one on Monday was an unexpected surprise. Instead of spending an entire dive with my face inches from the substrate battling the surge, dodging urchins, and scribbling down details mercilessly on my dive slate, I had a chance to simply swim for fun with my dive buddies, Susie and Dan. We descended at Conception Channel (East Face) with no particular agenda other than to explore the site and, of course, have fun! We followed the contour of the granite reef, peering into crevices and under overhangs in search of megafauna and marveled at the site's natural beauty.
Work began on Tuesday, a Line Intercept and Invertebrate survey, with Amelia at Lighthouse (one of my favorite sites! The reef teems with life and is one of the more common places to spot turtles and other megafauna. Amelia and I completed our survey with time to spare, so we spent the rest of our bottom time exploring the site. As we neared the end of our dive time, Amelia spotted a large Marble Ray (about 1.5 meters!). We seemed to have a mutual curiosity with the creature, and spent the rest of our dive floating with our new-found friend.
Port Luanay, Mahe, Seychelles |
My BTEC Lead Day was rescheduled for Thursday, June 2, (the original date was marred by an unfortunate twist of fate). As BTEC Leader, I took on the roll of one of the staff members for the day, ensuring that base operations went smoothly and stayed on schedule. At 05:45, I joined the skipper to prepare the boat for the day's dives: writing up boat slates, preparing gear, and loading the boat for its morning launch. The rest of the day, I monitored base activities and led 2 successful (though difficult) Line Intercept Transect and Invertebrate surveys at Therese South.
The last Friday on base was a climactic day in 2 important ways: we completed the last of our coral survey sites and had our final Friday Night BBQ. Our last survey sites were conducted just around the channel at Port Luanay. The visibility was quite poor due to the high plankton concentration, but the site was beautiful nonetheless. My final survey took me into the shallow granite reef where I searched for invertebrates along the substrate and within the coral. Mindful of the surge, I successfully avoided a few urchins to the face and concluded my work triumphantly, surfacing with a smile and full slate of invertebrate data.
Kneading porridge bread |
I see. Your last week went by well. ^ ^ This kinda reminds me when I was in boyscout camp at one time. You seem to have more fun and enjoy yourself more. Also the ingredients for the patter you came up with seems interesting.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, you have a very muscular rectus adominis (as in the bottom of your torso is muscular). Do you work out often?