GVI -- Pez Maya

Trip Start Mar 22, 2005
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Trip End Sep 09, 2005


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Flag of Mexico  ,
Sunday, August 28, 2005

Sorry for the lack of communication the last few weeks -- except for the weekends, I´m quite a ways from internet access and phones. I´m in the middle of nowhere (well, technically about an hour south of Tulum in the Sían K´ann biosphere reserve) doing a project with Global Visions International -- www.gvi.co.uk. The last few weeks we´ve been learning to identify coral and fish and all the other stuff that makes up the reef system and this week we´ll be starting to monitor the coral reef. That essentially means diving with tape measures and slates and recording the names and sizes of coral and the names of algae, sponges, amenones, etc that make up the reef. Really interesting and fun, but challenging, work.

I wrote this email (slightly edited) to a friend after our first week. It captures the scene better than I can rewrite in my limited time at the internet cafe this afternoon.

Things are good here.... took me a little bit to get readjusted to the heat and being so isolated -- we are out in the middle of nowhere -- but its really fun to be here and be working on this project. And, yes, I DO know all my 45 coral species by their latin names -- even underwater!

So, here´s the scoop: no running water (which means hauling buckets out of a well for everything from showering to washing dishes to filling up buckets to dunk scuba gear), no power except by generator, more mosquitos and bites than I´ve had in my entire life, super hot temperatures and sharing a hut with 6 other people, sweating under mosquito nets trying to sleep at night, and lots of hard physical work..... BUT: we`re in a biosphere reserve where our closest neighbors are the mexican army a few miles down, an exclusive (like $3,000 a week) catch-and-release fishing resort several more miles down and no one else for miles and miles of white untouched beach. We´re diving in an area where recreational scuba diving is not allowed (which means we have the reef all to ourselves!!!). Lizards and birds and crocodiles and crazy animals all over the place (I haven`t seen any crocs yet). Friday was the best day: got up at 6am, as usual, went for a walk along the beach after breakfast looking for turtle tracks (they are nesting right now), then went on a coral-spotting dive to test out knowlege. The water was the bluest bluest that we´d seen here after a couple days of hard rain so visibility was fantastic and I knew all the coral we saw which was a great feelling after feeling so clueless when I got here and just at the end of the dive we saw a huge loggerheard turtle -- maybe 5 feet long! So cool. The rest of the day was mellow (most are busy with chores, diving, lectures, etc) and we had a party that night which brought out all the personalities of the other volunteers. There are about 30 people on the base and most of the volunteers are around undergrad age -- almost all from the UK, except for 1 other american and a canadian. Really great group of people -- lots of fun.
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Since writing that email, I´ve also seen sharks, all kinds of fish, a big southern sting ray along with dozens of small sting rays. I´ve taken what seems like a zillion computer and underwater tests on coral and other "stuff" that makes up the reef. I´ve been diving in a cenote (a cavern opening to the underground river system), finished an Emergency First Response course, and spent a couple nights hanging out with friends (from the project and this weekend, a friend from San Francisco) in Playa del Carmen, a couple hours north of us. Somehow, I´ve adjusted to the temperatures and have even been cold a couple times at night! When the weather wasn´t cooperating, we spent days waiting out the rain and nights marvelling at lightening storms and the unbelievably bright sky during the full moon. And, maybe best of all, we spent a day and a half with 12 baby turtles and then released them at sunset onto the beach. I don´t have words to describe how amazing it was to see them swim off into the water. That may have been my favorite moment of my whole trip.

Tons more to write and I need to get photos online, but not enough time online. But, I´ll be back in the states in about 2 weeks with lots of time to explain more about the project, catch up on emails -- and talk on the phone!

Hope everyone is doing well!
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