Heading on Home.. Recap of Final Day

Date Written: 8/23

So today our adventure in South Africa came to a close. All we did today was travel to the airport and hang out while waiting for our flights to arrive, so let me catch up on what happened yesterday. Since we completed all of our dives we got to sleep in past the regular 5 am wake up.. we got to sleep in till 7:30! Amazing! I've actually gotten used to waking up really early, but I don't think I'll mind the adjustment to waking up early once I'm back in America! We got to the beach at 8:30 am and had a turtle talk at 9:30 with a woman who is a part of a local organization that monitors turtle egg laying sites and populations.

She discussed all the differences between leatherback, green, loggerhead, and hawksbill turtles, along with the challenges faced by them. After that I went to the market down the road one last time with Ryan to get some tourist-y items, then we headed back to the beach. Once we met back up with the group we went on a mangrove walk led by Rowan through some local areas of mangrove forests. We didn't go to a dense area of forest; it was primarily thick bush. Once we finished that, about an hour and a half later we went back to camp to pack up our stuff before heading to our farewell braii at the Drunk Tree. Once there a group of local children performed a traditional Zulu dance for us which was pretty cool, and we got to join in on the dance by the end. Me and a few of the other RA's ended up playing a game of futbal (soccer) with some of the locals that were already down at the tavern. It was really fun doing something active where we could interact with the people that lived there.

I have had a truly unforgettable experience here in South Africa, and have learned more than I ever thought I would. I made up almost a whole notebook worth of lecture notes, on items ranging from ecology, marine life, conservation, animal science, and inverts. I went with the best possible group of people and I wouldn't change my experiences for the world. I will never forget my time in such a wonderful place!

Last Two Dives in Sodwana Bay

Date Written: 8/21

Today we completed 2 recreational dives as PADI certified divers. We joined Caleb, Tasha, Ryan, and Jocelyne who were already certified, along with Kirsty and Villam (one of the diving instructors). We learned about how fish surveys are conducted and how difficult they can be. This is because you could count a fish and it would swim away, and then it could swim back in front of you a little later, thus double counting. We are having 3 lectures today, which is fine by me, because I am exhausted.. 2 dives completed before 12:30 is tiring! We went to the coral institute for our second lecture, which was on the research methods being used to track certain species of fish down the coast of South Africa. The organization tags fish then uses radio telemetry to track their movements.

Best Birthday Ever!

Date Written: 8/20

Today we finished our last 2 qualifying dives, and are now certified as Open Water divers! I'm getting more and more comfortable underwater, along with doing skills there as well. I'm still having issues with buoyancy though. In addition to the weight of my equipment, it takes over 5 kg of weights on my belt to bring me down below the water. And when I put any small bit of air in my BCD to come up slowly to the surface, I shoot up! Which isn't good for the pressure in my ears.. I hope I can get a better handle on it tomorrow, since it will most likely be our last dive! The course only consists of 4 dives where we have to show our skills, and one fun dive (ie tomorrow).

Below are the following sills we had to show:
Under+Above Water Navigation using a Compass
Hovering (neutral buoyancy)
Remove+Replace Mask
Full Mask Flood
Pivoting
Descent without using Guideline
Achieve neutral buoyancy during descent and Don't hit the Ocean Floor

We completed all of our skills before noon, and saw 2 Grey Reef sharks! Not bad for a birthday! Kirsty (our primary lecturer) took us to the dunes to discuss their importance and Rowan (the manager of the Exodus site) showed us the rock pools. We saw some cool Nudibrachs (sea slugs). I pointed out what was some sort of sea hare. It looked like a sea slug but it had 2 flaps on its dorsal side that could open and close. I showed Rowan who said he has never seen that kind before.

 So who knows, maybe I discovered a new species today. I also saw and caught a lot of small crabs today along with spotting many Man O Wars washed up on the beach. It was by far the best birthday I've ever had! I was even surprised with a birthday cake after dinner before we watched "Shark Waters". The people here are great!

Keep Calm, and Carry On Breathing

Date Written: 8/19

Today we did our first 2 dives out on the ocean! I was excited to do the backwards role off the boat and explore the reef, but quite hesitant to perform the skills. If you screw up in the a pool you can easily go to the surface.. no the case when you're 12 meters down in the ocean! Our first dive was at 7 in the morning so we had a very early start. It was a dive that consisted of simply swimming underwater and getting accustomed to our surroundings. We completed the following skills in the ocean during the second dive:

Using buddy's alternate air source
CESA (Controlled Emergency Swimming Ascent)
Pivoting on the bottom on your knees
Cramp removal of self and buddy
Buddy Towing
Weight Removal
BCD Removal

I had some difficulty with using my buddy's alternate air source and started to freak out. I was having difficulty getting air into my lungs. I soon realized that if I freaked out any more that I would be in serious trouble, so I was able to put my mind over matter and remembered to breathe and calm down. After that we explored the reef for a little bit and saw some really cool coral and fish! We also took our final written exam for the course. We only have 2 more dives then we're certified! We completed both our dives before lunch, so we hung out for the rest of the day, because the advanced group had to dive while we were on shore, and vice versa.

Sodwana Bay Life

Date Written: 8/17

It has been an exhausting past day and a half. Yesterday morning we woke up around 4 am and packed up all of our belongings from bush camp and got on the back of the pick-ups to head out to Hoedspruit at 5. It was still dark when we left but through our 1.5 hour commute we were able to watch the sunrise. It was quite beautiful. Once we arrived at Hoedspruit, we purchased some food at the gas station and said our final good-byes to Daniela, Loandri (one of the field guides), and Orla, who was headed to speak at a symposium about OpWall's work. All 10 of us piled into the van (we left Sandy behind because of a stipulation with his school where he had to stay in Struwig all 4 weeks to get funding), and started on our way to Sodwana Bay. We stopped 3 times during our trip, one of which was at a restaurant called Spurs, which is like the Applebees of South Africa, with a Native American twist. It was odd seeing how the poorer towns outside of the touristy areas are set up. It really makes you appreciate the opportunities and resources available to more developed countries, instead of living in 1 or 2 room buildings with metal sheets placed over as roofs, with little running water and no electricity. We arrived at the Exodus Camp around 5:30 pm, and had a brief into with the staff.

                                                 (The tents we stayed in while at Sodwana)

The people here are much more relaxed than at Balule, I can tell we're going to have a great week. To be fair though, there aren't any predators we have to worry about near the beach! The food here is better too, which definitely helps!

Today was our first day at the Sodwana Bay Lodge learning diving skills. Our instructor, Angie , is only 20 years and is the nicest person you will ever meet! First we had to show that we have the physical ability to go diving, so we had to tread water for 10 minutes, which is a lot longer than it sounds if you're only used to hanging out in your own pool that's only 4-5 feet deep! This pool was over meters (9 feet) deep! We also had to swim 200meters around the pool which was quite exhausting. After we did that we watched 3 PADI instructional videos and took a mini-quiz to show our knowledge. We still have more videos to watch and quizzes and exams to take. We then learned about our dive gear, and after a while, put that and our wetsuits on and got into the shallow end of the pool. We practiced some imperative techniques needed for diving, like releasing water from your mask if it gets filled, and using your diving buddy's air source if yours runs out. Breathing underwater was interesting as well. You only use the mouthpiece to breathe, and don't use your nose whatsoever, I got used to it pretty quickly, it feel natural after a while. All of that took us the whole day, from 8 am to 3:30pm. All of my muscles were exhausted by the time I got back to camp, swimming really is tiring.

(Our beautiful view on the beach every day.. Clean sand, clear water, beautiful reefs, & awesome weather!)

Rugby is a very popular sport in South Africa, and the staff here are huge fans, so when they heard that a game against Argentina was occurring today, they immediately asked us if we wanted to head down to the local pub to watch it. Obviously, we all agreed, and off we went. The was more of a 100 sq foot room that had a bar counter, some couches and stools, and a tv for watching games. Nothing like the huge bars (in comparison) in the US. It was a nice relaxing place to spend the rest of our afternoon before dinner. After the game ended, the staff happily brought us back to camp because South Africa had won, and we had dinner and an intro lecture to coral reefs. We also picke dout presentation topics involving marine life. These presentations can be funny, but definitely need to be informative, unlike the Struwig skit. Tomorrow we are going to be practicing more skills in the water, and hopefully the day after that we can go into the ocean!

Final Day of Pool Work

Date Written: 8/18

Today we completed the rest of the 5 sections of the PADI videos and quizzes. We practiced new skills underwater, as well as practicing dipping off backwards on the edge of the pool. This is done to simulate what we will have to do in the ocean on the boat tomorrow. It's amazing how quickly you pick up new techniques and skills through PADI! We are no longer working in the pool, and will only be working in the ocean from here on out!

Celebrating 4th of July, Peruvian style

Happy 4th mi amigos americana norte,

Woke up early, pumped to begin traveling throughout Peru.  Following a 5 hour bus ride I arrived in Ica, a small desert city in the Pisco region.  The city itself is not especially intersting but is a hub for activities in the surrounding area.  While I have become a master of navigating the huge city of Lima, trying to find a hostel in tiny Ica proved to be much more difficult than I had anticipated.

For the 4th I met up with a friend and visited Huacachina, an oasis surrounded by restaurants, bars, and hostels that is home to many bohemian tourists.  The main attraction of Huacachina is the nearby sand dunes which surround the oasis city.  After an intense dune buggy ride we arrived at the first large dune where we sand boarded and were handed a piece of plywood with two velcro straps for our feet, a recipe for disaster!  Sand boarding is very similar to snowboarding, but the falls are much softer and temperature is much warmer.  It was a weird feeling to be sweating, wearing shorts, and strapping on a makeshift snowboard.  The first slope was challenging to climb, and had about 4 falls on the way down while I adjusted to the differences between snowboarding and sand boarding.  Each dune we visited is larger and steeper than the last, and by the time we reached the final slope the sun was just setting, creating a beautiful backdrop to our sport.

The final dune was huge and really steep, but by now I was really getting the hang of it.  I start going down, fast, really fast...I am feeling pro at this point...then suddenly, midway down and at full speed, this happened:

So my board spontaneously disintegrated which sent me into an EPIC wipeout, cartwheeling down the rest of the slope.  If only I had a go pro so I could share this experience with you! Regardless of some scrapes and a sweet battle scar, it was an incredible experience and really fun.

Ica really did not have to much to offer as far as research goes, along with the next few stops I only stopped in for a short period of time to break up the long bus ride to Arequipa.  Following Ica I visited Nazca, home of the famous and overwhelmingly misunderstood Nazca lines.  This city, like Ica, had very little to offer other than its only attraction.  I arrived in the morning, visited the Nazca line viewing tower (which allows for a view that only gives you an idea of the grand size of the lines that create various images), and was on a bus to Arequipa by sunset.  While this was not the most interesting part of my trip, it was entertaining, but overwhelmingly touristic which takes away from the charm I found in the many districts of Lima.  I am very excited for the next part of the trip, only hearing raved reviews of Arequipa "the white city".

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