The most stunningly beautiful girl I've ever seen in real life, I met at an internet cafe in Zanzibar town.
There are certain places whose names evoke the mysteries of the far corners of the world and the fabulous riches or exotic beauty our imaginations hope to discover there. Bora-Bora, Bali, Persia, Rio, Fiji, and Zanzibar are some of mine, (notice how many end in vowels?) Just the way the names sound rolling off my tongue promises wondrous adventures. We can all think of places that excite our minds and tempt our senses, I bet yours have exotic names too.
Zanzibar had been an Indian Ocean and Far East trade hub for spices, gold, ivory, and slaves for 800 years before the Portuguese stumbled over it in the 16th century and it remained a crossroads of commerce under all the countries that have controlled the island ever since. Stonetown, the oldest part of its largest city and port named Zanzibar town, is a maze of skinny, winding cobblestone streets whose Arabic style buildings seem to rise up and almost meet overhead, dimming the passages below. Scooters barely squeeze by the merchants displaying their goods on low tables and rugs, but every so often, you wander into a sunny courtyard or tiny green park.
With my diving finished for the day, and seasalt crystallizing in my eyelashes, I stopped into a tiny internet cafe for a glass of fresh juice and on hour or two of contact with the modern world. . I remembered I had until a 31 Dec. deadline to complete a DAN Instructor update online and I worked my way through its 75 pages, trying and mostly succeeding in not getting caught too blatantly visually eavesdropping on the surfers next to me. Of course I had noticed her when she stepped through the door, even the fans pushing the warm air around the room paused their sweeps for another look. I concentrated even harder on my own screen as she sat down next to me, testing my strength not to gawk at her like every other guy around her was doing and probably had been doing since she hit puberty.
That's why I jumped when she tapped my arm, "Are you a Dive Instructor?"
So I'm not the only one who looks on other people's screens! "Yes," I replied, "at least until I quit my job to go traveling. Are you a diver too?"
She has her Open Water and is friends with a girl who teaches at a dive shop in Ras Nungwi, the island's northernmost point where I'd been trying fruitlessly to find a room for weeks. It turns out her friend is pulling her hair out, trying to handle a group of 130 Swedes visiting for the New Year who want to get certified, (no wonder I can't find a room there!) and is desperately looking for help.
"Shoot, I wish you'd found me yesterday," (truer words have never been spoken,) and visions of a place to stay, free diving and a chance to teach the Swedish Bikini Team will remain forever unfulfilled - I had just bought a plane ticket to Arusha for the next day. Even though I very regretfully declined and couldn't help her friend, we kept chatting and after I finished the update, (I think. I hope DAN will let me know...,) I found myself in the cafe across the street, listening to her sultry voice and trying to place her enticing accent. She has long wavy dark hair insouciantly (I've always wanted to use that word,) gathered up in a clip, dark-golden olive skin, and a big glint of mischief and intelligence shining from her deep brown eyes. I realized that without a doubt, Nadine is the most stunning woman I've ever seen outside of a magazine or movie screen. And she eclipses most of them, too.
Ahhh, Zanzibar... we trade backgrounds and stories. Mine, you know. Hers? Single and dumped like me. "Mostly from the UK," with an Irish Mom and Pakistani Dad (now I get that accent.) She's spent the last six months here in Zanzibar volunteering with HIV+ children, (a saint too!) She's impressed by my GVI project and the AIDS volunteering I did with Triad Health Project back in Greensboro. Next stop? Amsterdam with friends just fell through, so it's off to Buenos Aires on her own to work on her Spanish and learn to tango. "Hey, I just did that!" She wishes she were going on a safari too, and tells me how much I will love Rome and Barcelona - another person in love with that city, what is it about Barca?!
For an hour she's been ignoring her chirping cell, but I need to catch a share Dala Dala across the island at 5, and her friends are waiting... So with the goodbyes I get the European cheek kiss, but three times - left, right, left - what does that mean? I thought it was just two? Then she asks if I have a cell# while traveling but I don't so I give her my email instead, (so if this post suddenly disappears - you'll know why.) As I cross the street, I look back to a warm smile and a fingertip wave from the hand holding her cell to her ear.
Ahh, Zanzibar...
Nakupenda,
Clement
Monday, December 31, 2007
Friday, December 28, 2007
"I Like To Move It, Move It..."
Every time I think the word "Madagascar," I mentally picture Gary Ridley singing the Disney song "I like to move it, move it..." in that funny voice on the Costa Rica trip and crack myself up. The name Madagascar also conjures up images of exotic wildlife prowling lush green jungles. Since it's estimated that 85% of the island (the fourth largest in the world,) has been deforested by humans trying to scratch some wealth from the land, that might not be the reality on the ground anymore but I managed to encounter some of what remains in the parks and reserves of Andasibe and the Perinet.
My buddy Zeph/Jeff collected me and all my stuff at the Sakamanga at 7AM and after dropping my excess dive gear at his home, we headed east on RN7 (National Route 7 - paved and two lanes, mostly,) for three days of trekking, nighthikes and hopefully, some amazing wildlife encounters.
The 130km journey wound through the mudbrick villages and rice fields of modern Madagascar and there were some startling reminders of what that entails along the way. Scorched hills and muddy rivers showed the result of slash and burn agriculture. Bare peaks and open pit mines reflected the the local population's scramble for wealth on this resource rich island.
Saddest of all was the hourlong backup where everyone left their vehicles to watch while the local gendarmie cleaned up the 36 bodies from the previous night's bus accident. It had overturned on a dark curve and rolled down a 30m embankment into a flooded rice field below. As I stood back and watched the gawkers running and jostling for the best view, I couldn't help wondering if CNN had picked up the tragic story like they sometimes do. I decided W's blather, Hillary's latest non-answer and spin, or Mitt's hair had probably gotten the airtime. Standing on that crowded yet lonely hillside,I don't think Ive ever felt more disconnected from home...
LIke all tragic traffic jams, this one eventually cleared and just a couple of hours later, I was hiking up a hillside finding brilliantly colored chameleons, geckos, and butterflies. Well, to be honest, my guide was finding them and I was frantically snapping pictures while trying to figure out how he was spotting them all when all I could see was a tall wall of thick green foliage.
That night, I took a night walk through the rainforest guided by Prosper, a Park Ranger friend of Zeph's. Although we only found just a few chameleons and geckos and only one fat-tailed lemur, I count the two hour trek as a success mostly for its challenges. First of all, it started raining, (shocking - in the rainforest!) about five minutes after we left the Ranger Station and just didn't let up the whole time. No problem, I was using a waterproof flashlight and put on my rainslicker. Of course, the flashlight died just over halfway through our walk, (damn rechargeables, I don't think I stayed up that late reading the other night...) At one point, I felt something strange on my lower lip against my teeth, and I cautiously probed it with the tip of my tongue. "Cool and slimy - must be a piece of leaf," I thought, but when I tried to brush it away, it held on to my lip! "Oh Shit! A Leech!!" I realized as I tugged it harder and harder, "I've got a leech in my mouth!" A strong pinch where it had attached to me got it off and I flung the twisting bloodsucker into the jungle. Back at the Ranger Station, Prosper used a lit cigarette to remove the three on my legs and arm. I never mentioned to him the one I soundlessly yanked off my lip - I was just glad I didn't scream like a girl.
The next morning, light was just beginning to show in the east when I was awakened by the haunting calls of the Indri Indri, the largest of the lemurs, who are territorial and like to let the neighboring groups know it nice and early so no there's no confusion. As I breakfasted on fruit and croissants on the terrace of my lodge, I could watch the family moving through the treetops as they called out to each other. Now THIS is the Madagascar I was dreaming of! The rest of the days were a blur of parks, reserves, and a four hour hike led by Prosper's brother, named confusingly (or maybe not,) Prosper. The wildlife seemed intent on finding us and I saw five different species of lemurs, some bright new chameleons and all kinds of cool birds and insects. But we needed to go to an enclosure to find the seriously endangered Fossa. Though they don't look as evil as in the Disney flick, they were a very impressive animal - kind of a cross between a big cat and a monkey. There are pics of all of these on my Flickr page...
Back at the lodge, I played two hours of ping-pong with Zeph, then had a Christmas Eve dinner with a Belgian family I'd just met. We drank THB beer and played pool until they kicked us out and shut the bar. They were divers, too and showed me the most amazing photos from their trip to the Galapagos last year - a white whale shark!! I never heard of such a thing, and if I hadn't seen the pics, I probably wouldn't have believed it.
After breakfast on Christmas morning, Zeph drove the four hours back to Tana, where he had invited me to have dinner with his family. Along the way, he pointed out some Zebu to me. They are essentially a big ugly ox with a really tall hump and some exotic horns, and he promised me it would be part of the meal - obviously hoping for a reaction.
"Already had some," I coolly replied, describing my meal at Sakamanga.
"Not the traditional way my wife makes it," uh-oh, what was I in for? Among the Malagasay dishes using rice, chicken, fruits, manioc, yams, beef, and nuts was Bouche du Zebu, (Zebu mouth,) prepared with onions, peppers, and vinegar. Afraid to ask what specific part of the mouth was used, I tried it and found it interestingly firm and really tasty. This trip is definitely about trying new things...
Then Zeph and his two college aged kids dropped me at the crappy hotel I booked near the airport, (bedbugs!! And who charges a dollar for two pats of butter?!?) and very early the next morning I was off to Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, on my way to Zanzibar!
All for now - Tatty Christmas!
Clement
My buddy Zeph/Jeff collected me and all my stuff at the Sakamanga at 7AM and after dropping my excess dive gear at his home, we headed east on RN7 (National Route 7 - paved and two lanes, mostly,) for three days of trekking, nighthikes and hopefully, some amazing wildlife encounters.
The 130km journey wound through the mudbrick villages and rice fields of modern Madagascar and there were some startling reminders of what that entails along the way. Scorched hills and muddy rivers showed the result of slash and burn agriculture. Bare peaks and open pit mines reflected the the local population's scramble for wealth on this resource rich island.
Saddest of all was the hourlong backup where everyone left their vehicles to watch while the local gendarmie cleaned up the 36 bodies from the previous night's bus accident. It had overturned on a dark curve and rolled down a 30m embankment into a flooded rice field below. As I stood back and watched the gawkers running and jostling for the best view, I couldn't help wondering if CNN had picked up the tragic story like they sometimes do. I decided W's blather, Hillary's latest non-answer and spin, or Mitt's hair had probably gotten the airtime. Standing on that crowded yet lonely hillside,I don't think Ive ever felt more disconnected from home...
LIke all tragic traffic jams, this one eventually cleared and just a couple of hours later, I was hiking up a hillside finding brilliantly colored chameleons, geckos, and butterflies. Well, to be honest, my guide was finding them and I was frantically snapping pictures while trying to figure out how he was spotting them all when all I could see was a tall wall of thick green foliage.
That night, I took a night walk through the rainforest guided by Prosper, a Park Ranger friend of Zeph's. Although we only found just a few chameleons and geckos and only one fat-tailed lemur, I count the two hour trek as a success mostly for its challenges. First of all, it started raining, (shocking - in the rainforest!) about five minutes after we left the Ranger Station and just didn't let up the whole time. No problem, I was using a waterproof flashlight and put on my rainslicker. Of course, the flashlight died just over halfway through our walk, (damn rechargeables, I don't think I stayed up that late reading the other night...) At one point, I felt something strange on my lower lip against my teeth, and I cautiously probed it with the tip of my tongue. "Cool and slimy - must be a piece of leaf," I thought, but when I tried to brush it away, it held on to my lip! "Oh Shit! A Leech!!" I realized as I tugged it harder and harder, "I've got a leech in my mouth!" A strong pinch where it had attached to me got it off and I flung the twisting bloodsucker into the jungle. Back at the Ranger Station, Prosper used a lit cigarette to remove the three on my legs and arm. I never mentioned to him the one I soundlessly yanked off my lip - I was just glad I didn't scream like a girl.
The next morning, light was just beginning to show in the east when I was awakened by the haunting calls of the Indri Indri, the largest of the lemurs, who are territorial and like to let the neighboring groups know it nice and early so no there's no confusion. As I breakfasted on fruit and croissants on the terrace of my lodge, I could watch the family moving through the treetops as they called out to each other. Now THIS is the Madagascar I was dreaming of! The rest of the days were a blur of parks, reserves, and a four hour hike led by Prosper's brother, named confusingly (or maybe not,) Prosper. The wildlife seemed intent on finding us and I saw five different species of lemurs, some bright new chameleons and all kinds of cool birds and insects. But we needed to go to an enclosure to find the seriously endangered Fossa. Though they don't look as evil as in the Disney flick, they were a very impressive animal - kind of a cross between a big cat and a monkey. There are pics of all of these on my Flickr page...
Back at the lodge, I played two hours of ping-pong with Zeph, then had a Christmas Eve dinner with a Belgian family I'd just met. We drank THB beer and played pool until they kicked us out and shut the bar. They were divers, too and showed me the most amazing photos from their trip to the Galapagos last year - a white whale shark!! I never heard of such a thing, and if I hadn't seen the pics, I probably wouldn't have believed it.
After breakfast on Christmas morning, Zeph drove the four hours back to Tana, where he had invited me to have dinner with his family. Along the way, he pointed out some Zebu to me. They are essentially a big ugly ox with a really tall hump and some exotic horns, and he promised me it would be part of the meal - obviously hoping for a reaction.
"Already had some," I coolly replied, describing my meal at Sakamanga.
"Not the traditional way my wife makes it," uh-oh, what was I in for? Among the Malagasay dishes using rice, chicken, fruits, manioc, yams, beef, and nuts was Bouche du Zebu, (Zebu mouth,) prepared with onions, peppers, and vinegar. Afraid to ask what specific part of the mouth was used, I tried it and found it interestingly firm and really tasty. This trip is definitely about trying new things...
Then Zeph and his two college aged kids dropped me at the crappy hotel I booked near the airport, (bedbugs!! And who charges a dollar for two pats of butter?!?) and very early the next morning I was off to Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, on my way to Zanzibar!
All for now - Tatty Christmas!
Clement
Mythical Madagascar
"To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive"
-Robert Louis Stevenson
The Seychelles are technically in Africa, but I didn't feel as if I'd really arrived on the fabled continent until I left the airport in Madagascar. Although many of the people still resemble their Indonesian ancestors who settled here long ago, the shacks, red dust, raw smells and teeming population of this huge island are plainly something new and different.
While I genuinely like Madagascar and hope to come back to explore it more fully, many of my experiences here are, at best, ambiguous and trending to the negative.
Back in the airport, I stood in the immigration line listening to some poor man who claimed to be from Tanzania but had "lost" his passport, as he tearfully begged the uncaring airport authorities not to be sent back to Dubai. As most of the watching crowd laughed, he knelt on the floor and sobbed on the shoes of the customs bureaucrat, and I wondered "What was he so desparate to escape?" Visions of abusive virtual slavery in the home of some Arab oil-prince flitted through my imagination. What fears motivate a grown man to sob and grovel on the floor in front of hundreds of callous strangers? He seemed completely petrified of returning to the Mid-East. Unfortunately, life is not like the movies with a resolution to everything and I'll never know the answer as I hesitated to get involved and soon my golden US passport carried me through the gates to the country beyond. Maybe I'm just a sappy liberal American, but I hope he's OK.
In the Disney flick, the lemurs and foosa all speak English, but in reality, Madagascar and its capitol Antananarivo ('Tana,) are beaucoup more French than the Seychelles were and my admittedly weak language skills got a high-impact workout. I stayed at the Sakamanga hotel, an unexpected cool and quirky midrange midtown place with funky rooms, decor and a neat vibe. It's owned by a neat older French couple and winds back through its own alleys and courtyards full of hidden treasures. I just wish their internet stayed open past 8.
http://sakamanga.com/ - stay there if you ever go.
Widely scattered over 12 steep red clay hills with reminders of its politically turbulent recent (2001) past everywhere, 'Tana is a crowded and bustling but definitely not modern city. Many of the streets are cobbled or packed dirt, most of the buildings seem to date from the colonial period, (which wasn't that long ago, come to think of it,) and very few are more than five or six stories high. The street toddlers - too young to be called kids - make the beggars of Asia seem like prosperous yuppies, and the smells and unspeakable debris from the local markets were enough to drive even me inside to the local restaurants for every meal. There I found French menus and meals at low prices but I should have wondered, "What is Zebu? I thought beef was le boeuf...?" I'll reveal the answer later...
I spent a day wandering the downtown area and local markets - doing errands, changing some money and making travel plans. Big Tana drawback - in Asia, there was a used book store on almost every corner and a book-trade shelf in every guesthouse. In Mad., I only found one bookstore, and it was Catholic where the only book in English was on local saints of the 19th century. Lonely Planet?- Forget it, I'd have to rely on the web...
Fat chance, there seem to be only two internet cafes in town and the radical one closes at 8PM, 6 on Sundays. It turns out the military semi-dictator, finally turned out of office in 2001, (but he's hoping for a comeback,) didn't believe in the web and the current president is trying to catch up.
Like I said, I really liked the eclectic Sakamanga - every room (I had three different ones in three nights,) was decorated differently and they were thoughtful enough to provide candles for the more romantic guests. Or so I thought, by the third night there, I realized the candles were in response to the daily evening 30 minute shower, which resulted in the daily evening multi-hour blackout. There's nothing like being jolted awake at 2AM when the ceiling fan and every light in your room simultaneously kick on.
I set up my Madagascar adventures with a cool local guide named Zephyrin, (Jefferson,) and we spent my last full day in Tana checking out the local history, palaces, and some markets scattered around the city. I capped it at a very nice French joint named Villa Vanille, (guess the menu focus,) with an awesome meal and carafe of Bordeaux. I caught a French family of six making fun of my language skills as I ordered from the French-only wait staff. But they can "Baisez mon cou" as my Grandpa used to say - the girls had faces only a Thoroughbred could appreciate and the boy's ears stuck out so far, they could hear things happening behind them better than in front.
Despite it all, Madagascar was really starting to grow on me and I eagerly looked forward to the next day's adventures in the jungle rainforests of the Perinet...
Au Revoir,
Clement
The Seychelles Wrap-Up
As I sit here in Africa, (Africa man, can you believe that? Africa!) sipping a Tusker, watching Celtic v. Hibernia on the bar TV (weird, I know,) and sweating my ass off, (of course it's hot - it's Africa!) I'll try to wrap up my Seychelles experience for you.
But 1st - three important bits of info:
# of dives so far on RTW trip - 99
# of books read on same trip - 67
# of cold showers on the trip - I don't wanna think about it!
It's been over a week already, and I'm still finding it hard to believe GVI actually kicked us off the base. Oh, I know we had to leave, but still - we were all having so much fun..., how could they?
Here's a quick Seychelles story. I'm still not sure about the locals. A few Seychellois are really friendly, but the majority seemed pretty distant. I just don't think they know what to make of us volunteers. Are we tourists? - No. Permanent? - No. Spending lots? - Only on internet time, Seybrews and milkshakes. We're some kind of weird in-between people... The closest contact, (literally,) is on the bus into town. The local buses are very busy and crowded - SRO on just about every trip. The bus company could double the buses to take up the load, but at 3 Rupees a ride (30 cents,) why would they? The rickety buses wind their way up and over the mountain, riders swaying back and forth on every curve, and getting packed tighter and tighter with every stop. But despite the solidly packed aisles with straphangers the entire length of the bus, I never once saw an older lady forced to stand. Even the thuggiest LA gangsta wannabe automatically stood up to give his seat to the the print dress and straw hat wearing gray-haired lady as soon as she paid her fare. I felt like I might have made a small difference when I noticed the small smiles from the locals who noticed the times I was able to stand to offer mine. It's the little things we have in common that bring people together...
The Seychelles experience?? I had a fantastic time. Not that the diving was great or the accommodations all that plush. The islands are certainly very beautiful, the green of the mountains, the turquoise seas, and the dazzling beaches are the stuff of romance movies. But the reefs are still very damaged from the '98 el Nino and will most likely never compare to those in Indonesia or Fiji. Still, there was cool stuff to see and my experiences with whale sharks, mantas, sea turtles, lionfish eating octopus, and dolphins will always bring a smile to my face. What really made this volunteer experience so terrific was the people I got to meet and work with - learning reef life and research methods from the staff and interns, making close friends with a great group of like-minded volunteers, and sharing the joys of the ocean realm withthe local children we taught every week.
My best memory? It's tough to choose between whale shark dives, raucous parties, turtle tagging, table dancing (don't ask,) bread from scratch, hours long card games (Shithead, Asshole, Hearts, Truth-Or-Dare Spoons, Shit-Fuck-Damn, where did we get these names?) watching people line up for thirds for my jambalaya, soccer err - football games, and an amazing week on Curieuse, Praslin and La Digue. In the end, it was easy - having a Momma Hawksbill lay her eggs in my hand Thanksgiving Morning. Wow - definitely life-changing.
Oh yeah, and I like lentils now too.
Jambo & Nakupenda,
Clement
But 1st - three important bits of info:
# of dives so far on RTW trip - 99
# of books read on same trip - 67
# of cold showers on the trip - I don't wanna think about it!
It's been over a week already, and I'm still finding it hard to believe GVI actually kicked us off the base. Oh, I know we had to leave, but still - we were all having so much fun..., how could they?
Here's a quick Seychelles story. I'm still not sure about the locals. A few Seychellois are really friendly, but the majority seemed pretty distant. I just don't think they know what to make of us volunteers. Are we tourists? - No. Permanent? - No. Spending lots? - Only on internet time, Seybrews and milkshakes. We're some kind of weird in-between people... The closest contact, (literally,) is on the bus into town. The local buses are very busy and crowded - SRO on just about every trip. The bus company could double the buses to take up the load, but at 3 Rupees a ride (30 cents,) why would they? The rickety buses wind their way up and over the mountain, riders swaying back and forth on every curve, and getting packed tighter and tighter with every stop. But despite the solidly packed aisles with straphangers the entire length of the bus, I never once saw an older lady forced to stand. Even the thuggiest LA gangsta wannabe automatically stood up to give his seat to the the print dress and straw hat wearing gray-haired lady as soon as she paid her fare. I felt like I might have made a small difference when I noticed the small smiles from the locals who noticed the times I was able to stand to offer mine. It's the little things we have in common that bring people together...
The Seychelles experience?? I had a fantastic time. Not that the diving was great or the accommodations all that plush. The islands are certainly very beautiful, the green of the mountains, the turquoise seas, and the dazzling beaches are the stuff of romance movies. But the reefs are still very damaged from the '98 el Nino and will most likely never compare to those in Indonesia or Fiji. Still, there was cool stuff to see and my experiences with whale sharks, mantas, sea turtles, lionfish eating octopus, and dolphins will always bring a smile to my face. What really made this volunteer experience so terrific was the people I got to meet and work with - learning reef life and research methods from the staff and interns, making close friends with a great group of like-minded volunteers, and sharing the joys of the ocean realm withthe local children we taught every week.
My best memory? It's tough to choose between whale shark dives, raucous parties, turtle tagging, table dancing (don't ask,) bread from scratch, hours long card games (Shithead, Asshole, Hearts, Truth-Or-Dare Spoons, Shit-Fuck-Damn, where did we get these names?) watching people line up for thirds for my jambalaya, soccer err - football games, and an amazing week on Curieuse, Praslin and La Digue. In the end, it was easy - having a Momma Hawksbill lay her eggs in my hand Thanksgiving Morning. Wow - definitely life-changing.
Oh yeah, and I like lentils now too.
Jambo & Nakupenda,
Clement
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
The Results Are In...
If you hadn't already noticed, the polls on the "To Face Or Not To Face," poll are closed. And in a convincing display of commitment to new ideas and technology, Facebook won with over 60% of the vote. I have kept my promise and set up a page and have been having a great time with it. I just cannot wait until I get to somewhere where I'm not paying for each minute of internet time (here in Nairobi, it's $2 for 15 minutes!) "Sigh," I miss The Cove. Anyway, if you promise not to display too many compromising photos of me, come find me on it by my email address: clementberard@yahoo.com and I'll e-hug you, e-buy you a beer, or e-throw a snowball at you!
And for the two of you who didn't realize that choice C in the poll - "Naaah, you're too old..." was a joke - grrrr.
Tomorrow I'm off to Zanzibar, (confession: I could write that a thousand times and get the same silly smile on my face each time...) for a week of sun sand and diving.
I owe everyone a final Seychelles post and a nice long description of Christmas in Madagascar with Zebu meat delicacies by the fire. I'll try to find a cheaper internet cafe in Zanzibar to get it done.
Tatty Christmas (Malagasay)
et Bonne Annee!
Clement
And for the two of you who didn't realize that choice C in the poll - "Naaah, you're too old..." was a joke - grrrr.
Tomorrow I'm off to Zanzibar, (confession: I could write that a thousand times and get the same silly smile on my face each time...) for a week of sun sand and diving.
I owe everyone a final Seychelles post and a nice long description of Christmas in Madagascar with Zebu meat delicacies by the fire. I'll try to find a cheaper internet cafe in Zanzibar to get it done.
Tatty Christmas (Malagasay)
et Bonne Annee!
Clement
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Fun Dives!
Hello from the Seychelles!
I'm down to less than a week to go here on the GVI volunteer project and it's hard to believe that ten weeks can fly by so quickly. It's been a wonderful experience, making new friends from all over the world, diving and doing research almost every day, and learning all about a country I'd never visited before.
Some of the coolest things I've picked up are the little things - how to cook for 30 people, bake bread from scratch, how good a hot shower really feels after a month of nothing but icy wet blasts, and how to hover upside-down two inches from a coral while writing on a slate. Also I'm finding facebook really addicting...
Our research seems to be done - we've completed the surveys on all the dive sites despite the monsoons blowing out our diving for almost a week - and it's all fun dives from here on out. On Friday, my buddy Chris and I found a school of about 30 mobular manta rays and 5 spotted eagle rays and followed them for a while. It was a sprint to keep up with them even though they were lazing along, swooping up food in giant graceful loops, and I was huffing and puffing when we gave up the chase due to dive time limits and ascended to the surface.
Yesterday, was another fun dive and while we did see three sharks, a giant stingray, two bumphead parrotfish and a turtle, we spent more time as a group messing around with each other. At one point in the dive, I don't think anyone had a complete set of their own fins - every time someone stole one of mine, I'd just grab one off the foot of whoever happened to swim by. I got tankhumped and did some myself and I laughed so much into my mask, I must have snorted half the Indian Ocean!
We have one more day of diving left tomorrow, then we have to clean up the camp and pack to leave Wednesday. We've been together so long it seems kind of unreal...
I'm supposed to be doing research on Madagascar right now (I'll be there Thursday, so you'd think I might be working on it a little harder,) but here I sit, writing this entry and procrastinating. Just not in the mood, I guess...
Ho-hum, maybe I'll go buy a chocolate milkshake!
Bye for now,
Clement
I'm down to less than a week to go here on the GVI volunteer project and it's hard to believe that ten weeks can fly by so quickly. It's been a wonderful experience, making new friends from all over the world, diving and doing research almost every day, and learning all about a country I'd never visited before.
Some of the coolest things I've picked up are the little things - how to cook for 30 people, bake bread from scratch, how good a hot shower really feels after a month of nothing but icy wet blasts, and how to hover upside-down two inches from a coral while writing on a slate. Also I'm finding facebook really addicting...
Our research seems to be done - we've completed the surveys on all the dive sites despite the monsoons blowing out our diving for almost a week - and it's all fun dives from here on out. On Friday, my buddy Chris and I found a school of about 30 mobular manta rays and 5 spotted eagle rays and followed them for a while. It was a sprint to keep up with them even though they were lazing along, swooping up food in giant graceful loops, and I was huffing and puffing when we gave up the chase due to dive time limits and ascended to the surface.
Yesterday, was another fun dive and while we did see three sharks, a giant stingray, two bumphead parrotfish and a turtle, we spent more time as a group messing around with each other. At one point in the dive, I don't think anyone had a complete set of their own fins - every time someone stole one of mine, I'd just grab one off the foot of whoever happened to swim by. I got tankhumped and did some myself and I laughed so much into my mask, I must have snorted half the Indian Ocean!
We have one more day of diving left tomorrow, then we have to clean up the camp and pack to leave Wednesday. We've been together so long it seems kind of unreal...
I'm supposed to be doing research on Madagascar right now (I'll be there Thursday, so you'd think I might be working on it a little harder,) but here I sit, writing this entry and procrastinating. Just not in the mood, I guess...
Ho-hum, maybe I'll go buy a chocolate milkshake!
Bye for now,
Clement
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Seychelles When The Wind Is Blowing...
I know I've been writing lots about how hard we are working here and all the good data we are collecting. Plus the nestings, and the taggings, and the snorkeling with whale sharks, yada yada, etc., etc., etc...
Well, I may have to correct that impression a bit.
Last Friday the day started off with a fun dive, and then we had the afternoon off. This happened because we are all doing such a good job that we were way ahead of our research schedule and had gotten lots of the research sites completely finished. So we threw an 80's party (I was sporting the preppy look - an Izod with the collar up, sweater over the shoulders, and jeans.) Then we had the weekend off for all the usual shennagins.
Monday was kind of windy but we followed the usual routine, and I did two dives in the afternoon as the weather worsened.
The first was an the 10 meter LIT Transect where I have to write down in a code what is under a tape meter every centimeter of the way. On a good day at a simple site, I can do three in about 45 minutes. This day I struggled to finish two as the surge sucked us back and forth over the reef.
My task for the second dive was to lay a 50 meter tape and track every species of hard coral, sea cucumber, octopus and lobster within 5 meters of it. As I hovered above the rocks and reef, struggling with a balky measuring reel, surging with the waves, I felt my leg crunch into something and looked down to discover a shin sprouting urchin spines like a black porcupine! Thankfully, it was a black spiny sea urchin and not the deadly (yes, deadly,) poisonous flower urchin, but still I looked like a pincushion and blood began so seep out the base of the 25 or so sticking out of me. It didn't hurt nearly as much as other divers have claimed and I calmly started to pluck the skinny black spears back out being very careful to lift them straight out and not shatter them underneath my skin. My buddy Dan finned over with a concerned look behind his mask and I gave him an "OK" sign followed by a loud grunt to show my frustration. He was nice enough to take the reel, so I had a hand to hold my leg still while I plucked and hovered and tried to avoid further surge damage. Finally got myself sorted out and finished the "tape," and we even spotted a turtle as we headed back to the boat. I used a leatherman tool set of pliers to get the last of the spines and liberally coated everything with Neosporin!
By Tuesday morning the seasonal NW Monsoon winds had been blowing constantly for a couple of days, but we went out on the first dive, as scheduled. As a nice present, the wind had swept a big school of stinging jellyfish into our bay so the two trips to haul all the gear, tanks, measuring and safety equipment the 150 meters out to the boat were really exciting! The Indian Ocean was even rougher as we sailed to the dive site, whipped by spray and drenched by the waves coming over the bow. Vis at the site looked terrible, and by this time the waves were running three to five meters high so when Luke the boat captain cancelled the dives, we all breathed a secret sigh of relief. So we bounced back to our bay and made two more trips to haul in all the gear through the jellyfish filled bay again. With the day's work cancelled, we had the day free and everyone took off to town to enjoy ourselves.
Wednesday, the winds were worse and we had some slashing rains off and on. With the dives cancelled we were all free to run into town again.
Thursday, same wind and same rain. With the dives cancelled we were all free to run into town. Again.
So now it's Friday, it's windy and rainy, and all our work is cancelled until Sunday and we are all in town on free time. AGAIN! I think we are all getting a little bored, but I'm looking forward to going to the movies tonight. "I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry" is playing at the local uniplex, and I haven't been to a real theater since July. So I get to see a flick - in a theatre!!!
Saturday wound up being another day off, can't remember what we did, maybe went to hang out on a beach or something. The wind died a little and the sun was out, so that must be it. SInce I had the time, I made Jambalaya and it was a huge hit - everyone loved it and there were several requests for the recipe. I had to use local peri-peri hot sauce instead of my usual Texas Pete, but I was really happy withthe results, too. Thanks from all the volunteers for sending the recipe! Laissez les bon temps roulez!
(I'm finishing this a week later - the weather finally improved and we got in the water again on Sunday.)
That's all for now, I had an amazing dive this morning which I will try to write about this weekend...
Love to all,
C
Well, I may have to correct that impression a bit.
Last Friday the day started off with a fun dive, and then we had the afternoon off. This happened because we are all doing such a good job that we were way ahead of our research schedule and had gotten lots of the research sites completely finished. So we threw an 80's party (I was sporting the preppy look - an Izod with the collar up, sweater over the shoulders, and jeans.) Then we had the weekend off for all the usual shennagins.
Monday was kind of windy but we followed the usual routine, and I did two dives in the afternoon as the weather worsened.
The first was an the 10 meter LIT Transect where I have to write down in a code what is under a tape meter every centimeter of the way. On a good day at a simple site, I can do three in about 45 minutes. This day I struggled to finish two as the surge sucked us back and forth over the reef.
My task for the second dive was to lay a 50 meter tape and track every species of hard coral, sea cucumber, octopus and lobster within 5 meters of it. As I hovered above the rocks and reef, struggling with a balky measuring reel, surging with the waves, I felt my leg crunch into something and looked down to discover a shin sprouting urchin spines like a black porcupine! Thankfully, it was a black spiny sea urchin and not the deadly (yes, deadly,) poisonous flower urchin, but still I looked like a pincushion and blood began so seep out the base of the 25 or so sticking out of me. It didn't hurt nearly as much as other divers have claimed and I calmly started to pluck the skinny black spears back out being very careful to lift them straight out and not shatter them underneath my skin. My buddy Dan finned over with a concerned look behind his mask and I gave him an "OK" sign followed by a loud grunt to show my frustration. He was nice enough to take the reel, so I had a hand to hold my leg still while I plucked and hovered and tried to avoid further surge damage. Finally got myself sorted out and finished the "tape," and we even spotted a turtle as we headed back to the boat. I used a leatherman tool set of pliers to get the last of the spines and liberally coated everything with Neosporin!
By Tuesday morning the seasonal NW Monsoon winds had been blowing constantly for a couple of days, but we went out on the first dive, as scheduled. As a nice present, the wind had swept a big school of stinging jellyfish into our bay so the two trips to haul all the gear, tanks, measuring and safety equipment the 150 meters out to the boat were really exciting! The Indian Ocean was even rougher as we sailed to the dive site, whipped by spray and drenched by the waves coming over the bow. Vis at the site looked terrible, and by this time the waves were running three to five meters high so when Luke the boat captain cancelled the dives, we all breathed a secret sigh of relief. So we bounced back to our bay and made two more trips to haul in all the gear through the jellyfish filled bay again. With the day's work cancelled, we had the day free and everyone took off to town to enjoy ourselves.
Wednesday, the winds were worse and we had some slashing rains off and on. With the dives cancelled we were all free to run into town again.
Thursday, same wind and same rain. With the dives cancelled we were all free to run into town. Again.
So now it's Friday, it's windy and rainy, and all our work is cancelled until Sunday and we are all in town on free time. AGAIN! I think we are all getting a little bored, but I'm looking forward to going to the movies tonight. "I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry" is playing at the local uniplex, and I haven't been to a real theater since July. So I get to see a flick - in a theatre!!!
Saturday wound up being another day off, can't remember what we did, maybe went to hang out on a beach or something. The wind died a little and the sun was out, so that must be it. SInce I had the time, I made Jambalaya and it was a huge hit - everyone loved it and there were several requests for the recipe. I had to use local peri-peri hot sauce instead of my usual Texas Pete, but I was really happy withthe results, too. Thanks from all the volunteers for sending the recipe! Laissez les bon temps roulez!
(I'm finishing this a week later - the weather finally improved and we got in the water again on Sunday.)
That's all for now, I had an amazing dive this morning which I will try to write about this weekend...
Love to all,
C
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Once In A Lifetime Experience!
Hi there blog buddies,
I thought I'd share an amazing day in the
And that’s a real shame because it was one of those experiences we all dream about having – and I got to live it. To me it’s second to the turtle eggs in the hand thingie, but I’m weird – I’ll let you, the reader, decide which was cooler.
After two dives at a site called Therese South (did two 50m transects for hard coral diversity and invert counts,) we were riding the GVI Diveboat, Manta, back to the base but suddenly noticed what looked like strange wind patterns on the water. It was actually several schools of thousands of fusiliers darting around just under the surface, and where there are schools of fish feeding on plankton, there are often whale sharks. After a quick look around, sure enough - we found one. So we threw on the closest snorkel gear handy (I wound up with someone else’s mask, but thankfully, my own wonderful fins,) hopped in and swam with it. They move slowly and gracefully, but when you are close to 10m long, slow speed is still way faster than the puny humans struggling to keep up. I was thankful for my good fins as we followed along, guessing which way they would travel when they dove and cutting the corner on any turns to keep pace. I found that the whale shark often came up just in front of the pack of feeding fusiliers, and tried to get ahead. It worked way too well several times and I had to dodge out of the way of the large mouth scooping up food. I couldn’t believe how long the encounter was lasting, and I kept checking my watch in disbelief as the time passed 5 minutes, then 10, 20, 30…
Just when I was getting really tired (YOU try sprint snorkelling with one of these beautiful creatures for that long!) another showed up, and then minutes later, another!! Three whale sharks and they wouldn't go away! I would hop from one to the other when they passed close to each other, looking for distinguishing marks, trying to catch a peek underneath for the sex, and just enjoying the awesome display. I almost got run over so many times, I couldn't count them. One of them almost bumped the boat which was just floating and waiting for us to come back onboard – fat chance! They are such huge gentle creatures, just cruising around scooping up massive amounts of plankton, barely caring that we were just a meter or two away. It must be the way it feels to be one of those little white birds perched on the back of a water buffalo. After an hour and a half (!!) swimming around and after them, WE got tired and dragged ourselves back onto the boat to head in for lunch. Can you imagine letting them swim away because you've had enough? What an experience! We laughed exhaustedly in wonder all the way back to base. There are pictures, I just haven't gotten them onto my hard drive yet - maybe I'll get them up here soon, if the internet gods allow it. Someone also got some video of me trying not to get run over by one of the whale sharks - I'll have to bring it home to show you...
I think that brings me up to date for the blogging – in other news, I only have about two and a half weeks left here, and that is making me really sad. Plus the planning for
Stay Wet and Warm,
Clement
Turtle Pics
Hey, I had a fast connection today, and managed to upload a pic of me and a hand covered in turtle love juice. Icky and super-cool at the exact same time! Happy Thanksgiving!
I'll try to add a couple more and then do a blog about a whale shark encounter
Here is a flattering shot of me counting the eggs - note the
look of concentration as I try to keep track of all the slippery ping-pong balls dropping through my fingers. We always try to guess how many she will lay - Price's Right style - so there were beers riding on the count! I think this one laid 165.
Here is another closeup pic of a nest, right before the Mom started to cover her clutch with sand and beach debris. She really tried to do a good job and there was sand and palm fronds flying everywhere for a long time! This nest contained 123 eggs and was the last one we found before returning to the main camp on Mahe. The Mom actually flicked several coconuts on top of the hidden nest to really make it hard to find. She got done as the sun was setting and it was hilarious watching her take the most difficult route back to the water - over logs and bouncing around some large boulders, instead of the straight-line, direct all sand route to the ocean's edge. Maybe they try to leave confusing tracks?
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