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..)
