Seychelles Thanksgiving

Happy late Thanksgiving everybody!

Last week I got to work at the GVI Satellite Camp on Curieuse Island. Just off the much larger island of Praslin, (home of many resorts and picturesque beaches,) Curieuse is only occupied by a ranger station with a tortoise sanctuary, and one local family, and the Sat Camp. The island was a leper colony, and the ruins of their settlement are scattered around the island - it sounded like the setting for a gruesome horror movie, but was actually very quiet and wonderful. GVI has renovated one of the abandoned buildings with two bunkrooms, a kitchen (sort of,) and a great front porch where we ate and hung around in between projects. It's even more basic than the main camp - balky generator for about 4 hours a day if it's running, water that needs to be boiled, and the obligatory cold shower.

It sounds tough but I had a blast all week long. There were five of us, (Erika, Mike, Sarah, Vicki and me,) led by Luke the Aussie Staff Member and we took a ferry from Mahe to Praslin where Charlie who runs the camp picked us up in Dexter Crabtree, GVI's RIB. It's a short sail across the channel to Curieuse, and we were settled into the house in no time. I lucked out and got the bottom bunk, no midnight dark climbing for me!

Our week consisted of daytime beachwalks, snorkels, and a couple of afternoons of coral research diving. We walked all over the island, along most of its beaches (climbing some great hills and through mangroves to get there,) looking for the telltale sign of turtle tracks coming up out of the sea. A track up and back meant she had tried to nest and we would look to find it and mark it for future action. Best of all were tracks with no return set - that meant she was still working on her nest! Being very quiet and careful not to spook her, we would watch her digging, then when she went onto her egg laying trance, we'd sneak up behind and try to count the eggs. After digging a little opening behind her tail, we'd carefully insert a hand underneath and into the chamber she had dug, trying to feel the eggs dropping across our fingers and counting each one. Of course, like all the best body processes, there was lots of what we called "turtle love juice" along with the ping-pong ball size eggs, but I tried not to think about it. It sounds gross, but is one of the most amazing things I've ever experienced! I cannot begin to describe how enthralled I was, lying there Thanksgiving morning with my hand under a hawksbill's cloaca, counting the sloppy eggs as they trickled between my fingers! Wow! Wow! And again Wow! That's how I spent Thanksgiving.

The other really cool project we did was turtle captures. We went snorkeling off of Dexter, and when we found a turtle, we just grabbed it by the shell - behind her head and at the base by the tail - careful to avoid their bites and holding on with all their flippers thrashing, and steered them back to the boat. Once hoisted aboard, we measured them 20 differdent ways, weighed them, and tagged them or recorded their tag numbers if they already had one. We caught six, (one short of the GVI record,) and I personally got two! I also caught one of the heaviest at 27Kg, he was a big struggler and I was wiped out by the time I got him back to the boat.

On Turkey Day, Erika (the other American, from SC,) and I were in charge of the meal, but it was a group effort and I was personally thankful it came off really well. We had Barbecued chickens (no turkey here,) mashed potatoes, papaya salad, glazed carrots, flatbread, rolls, apple turnovers, roasted pumpkin, pumpkin crumble, and a bunch more dishes I cannot remember right now. All cooked on a two burner propane cooktop and an open fire. Try that at home.

Before eating we went around the table in the typical tradition, and everyone shared what they were thankful for. I was thankful for my family and its newest members, the chance to travel and the experiences I've had, and finally all the wonderful new friends I've met.

My Curieuse week was one of the best of my life: we saw nesting turtles every single day, I got to feel them lay eggs in my hand, I got seven dives, we caught six turtles, and I hiked and walked all over an almost deserted island. Now I'm thankful for Paradise.

That weekend, I joined Vicki and Erika and we rented a house on the nearby island of La Digue where we enjoyed a beautiful weekend away - acting like tourists.

Happy Thanksgiving!
-Clement