First days at base

aron_alex — Fri, 10 Apr 2015 22:41:00 GMT

So as I'm writing this I've been at the base for three days now. My third day here I returned the keys to the super nice apartment I had, and went to the dive centre and finished my Open Water Diving. That day we did three dives, two before lunch and one after. During the first two we also had to do some exercises to show that we could maintain neutral buoyancy and other basic diving skills. But after doing that we could do some exploring! The thing that really stood out was a group of lion fish that were in a small cave like area, no turtles this time I'm afraid..

The last dive was at Ternay Bay, which is the bay I'll be watching these next three months! So you could say I got a small head start on the other volunteers.

After that dive I was done! An official PADI Open Water diver! So I called a cab to get me to the base, with really no expectations it turned out to be an amazing drive! We decided to take the mountain road to avoid traffic. At one point when we were really high up I could see all of Victoria (that's the capital, not a person, to erase all confusion) and some of the mountains around, plus a great view of the coastline! I think it's safe to say that I got some pretty amazing pictures from there. On the way I also saw a giant tortoise conservation kind of thing, so even though I didn't see any turtles on my dive at least I saw them!

When I arrived at the base I was given a small tour by Mark, one of the science coordinators. After that I just had a couple of minutes to unpack, and then it was dinnertime. Everyone was introduced to each other over some great lasagna! And after a nice walk to the beach and back it was bedtime, and little did I know, I was not going to sleep a lot that night..

We had a early start the next day (at six in the morning.. Kill me now please!) Since the base life is really simple we share all the work. My first day I was on kitchen duty, so that meant cooking all three meals of the day. We had bacon and eggs (also beans, but nobody really cares about beans right?) for breakfast, and for lunch we made some a risotto like meal, again with beans, but this time chicken beans though. And the dinner was a lovely plate of pasta with some sauce and grilled veggies! For a first day I think I, and the three other volunteers in my group did a pretty good job!

But I think it's time I stop talking food and start talking about experiences, don't you think? So we got really lucky on your first day, because for the first time in about a year we had turtle hatchings on the beach only five minute walk from here! I think it's safe to say that was everyones highlight of the day, watching those little guys swimming for the open sea like their life depended on it (It actually does though, the water near the beach is so hot it will kill them if they don't get out quickly..)

But we also did some other nice things during the day, like more diving, hanging out in the hammock area, taking nice walks to, and on the beach. All in all, a pretty damn good first day!

The second day was a lot different, but just as nice. We didn't do any dives because of problems with the boat, plus it was really windy, so the boat might have had trouble getting in and out safely. So the day was passed by doing some Advanced Diving homework, enjoying life at the hammock hangout, and best of all, taking an hour long snorkel swim to the secret beach! On the way we saw a lot of beautiful fish, and I also saw a sting ray and a really cool blue/purpleish squid!

I got a chance to use my diving camera, though the quality of the pictures are another thing.. In the end I got some pretty good shots though, but mostly of coral, since you know, it doesn't move a lot.. But I expect I will get better at this underwater photography thing, so hopefully when I leave after three months I will have more than three decent pictures of coral to show for it!

When we finally got the beach we just chilled out here for a while, enjoying the sun and the nice sea breeze. And when we had been there for about an hour it was time to head back, since it was getting close to dinner and the staff back at the base had cooked a cake for one of the three volunteers that went to the beach with us. So I'd say we got the better end of the deal, keeping her occupied while they baked the cake.

When I and her were closing in on the shore we realized the sea levels had risen, and quite a lot.. We were not really happy with that, since we left your sandals and water bottles next to the beach, but luckily the base manager was on a walk and saw them there and moved them further up the beach! On the way back to base we saw some really nice mangoes, and of course we tried to get them. We threw long sticks at them and coconuts we found on the ground but nothing seemed to work.. Then one of the guards came to us (a local fella, also just on a walk) and saw what we were doing, he went into the woods, came out with a stick, threw it at the mangoes and hit it in first try! Then he just looked at us, made a little nod, and walked away, like the boss he is. The hero Seychelles deserves, but not necessarily the one it wants.

We surprised the birthday girl with the cake after dinner, and then just sat around for a while chatting, until everyone went off on their own. A couple of them are writing journals now as well, but I expect we'll soon go to sleep, since we get up at seven (I just thank god it's not six again..)

Travels and the first day

aron_alex — Sat, 4 Apr 2015 00:00:00 GMT

Hi there! If you are reading this you probably already know me and what I'm spending my time doing, but if not my name is Aron Alexander. I'm currently visiting the Seychelles for a volunteer program regarding marine life in this area, this program is set up by the "Global Volunteer Network". I'm hoping this journal will be fun for my family and friends back home to read, while at the same time being educational.

So my trip over here started at 5 in the morning when I left Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland (even though I live in Stykkisholmur, a small town about two hours from the capital) and went to Keflavik, to catch my first flight to Amsterdam. When checking in I noticed one of my bags didn't have a note indicating that I had a connection flight, but the lady checking me in assured me it was all right. I shouldn't have trusted her.. Spoiler alert, my bag got left in Amsterdam and I'm currently waiting to get it back.. If the check-in lady is reading this, thanks a lot!

While in central Amsterdam (I went to check it out since I had a 10 hour layover) I decided to see Damrak, the Red Light District and the Amsterdam Dungeon to name a few places. After wondering around for a couple of hours I went to the airport again to get on my next flight to Abu Dhabi. Little did I know, just before we got in Abu Dhabi a sandstorm hit, and we just got there in time! But that meant that my already two hour layover would turn out to be over 5 hours.. Not what you wanted after traveling for more that 24 hours..

After most of the sand and dust had settled I took off to my final destination, the Seychelles. I swear, the first breath I took there felt almost like inhaling water! The air was sooo, as the Danes would say, "fugtig!". But after I finally got the hang of breathing over here, went trough immigration and gave the airport people my info so they could send me the bag, I was free! My pickup dropped me off at the apartment I'm staying in the first days, after showing me places to eat and the dive centre, where I would show up the next day and start to get my PADI Open Water diving license!

The first thing I did when I was finally alone was to take a shower! After traveling for about 50 hours, with hardly any sleep and certainly not a shower it's safe to say it was amazing! Like ohh my dear lord amazing!! After that I then went to eat at one of the place my driver recommended and it was just by the beach, which made the below average food not really matter. But when I was done eating I could finally go to sleep! After I moved the big fan from the living room and into the bedroom, the heat wasn't so bad and I fell asleep right away.

The next morning I was ready at the dive centre at 9. After filling out some paperwork I started my training, first in the pool (lame) where we covered all the basics. But after we had done that, and showed that we have basic swimming skills it was time to dive in the Indian Ocean!

I will never forget my first dive! The pressure on your ears, the sound your regulator makes with each breath, and the waves hitting the side of the boat above me. On that first dive I saw countless reef fishes, a sea turtle, an octopus and poisonous urchins to name a few species. It was simply amazing!

After the first diving day was over I went back to the apartment, grabbed some fresh fruit and headed down to the beach, where I took a long walk in the sunset. A perfect ending to a perfect day.

I hope you liked my first entry in this journal, and thanks for reading! But since I need to be back at the dive centre tomorrow morning I think sleeping would be a smart option now! If the next three months will be as good as the first day I will consider this trip a huge and definite success! Warm regards (and I mean that quite literally, since it's always around 30°C here) from Aron in the Seychelles to you, dear reader.

Aron's adventures in Seychelles

First days at base

Travels and the first day