08/07/2013 - Living Curieusely
Greetings from tiny Curieuse Island, home
to more Giant Tortoises than human beings. Us new volunteers have settled in
nicely over this past week, and as the token American among them, let me wish
any fellow Yanks out there a happy and BBQ-filled Fourth of July.
There are three lessons I have quickly
learned in my short time so far at my new home away from home that I wish to
impart on those who have never been to this particular island paradise. The
first is that no matter what you try...Citronella, DEET, nets, long clothing,
coconut oil, voodoo...nothing will keep the mosquitoes at bay. They seem to
especially favour the ones who hate getting bit the most. Secondly, no matter
how excited you may be to meet the Giant Tortoises, they will exceed your expectations.
I cannot stress this enough. They each have their own unique personalities, and
never fail to brighten your mood, even when you’re exhausted and sunburned
after a 6 hour Coco De Mer survey. I dare you to tickle a Giant Tortoise’s back
legs and not smile when he perks up. The local favourite of the GVI camp, Mr.
A1 himself, number 107 (pictured in one of his shameless poses), is always
willing to greet each survey team at the entrance to the mangrove swamps. His
shameless ploys for attention get him fed liberally by everyone. If you don’t
happen to have any orange slices on you, look for the mangrove trees with the
red bark...he likes those leaves the best. Just a word of caution: if your
camera is a bright color like mine, don’t put it too close to him, because he
will try to eat that as well. The third and final lesson (and perhaps the most
important): keep the beer cold. Nothing quite eases you down from that long day
of surveying like a nice, cold, local Lager in the evening with your new
friends and teammates, and nothing disappoints like looking forward to that and
coming back to find a box of warm bottles.
This week was a banner week for the Coco De
Mer surveys. We tagged and logged the 3000th juvenile palm on the
island. Yes, we had to endure climbs, scrapes, cuts, falls, and hanging over
cliffs to get it done, but the milestone’s significance was not lost on us, and
we saw some amazing scenery in the process. Previous reports claimed there were
only about 3000 of these majestic trees total on the island, but the GVI
surveying teams have already logged over 4000.
Whether testing soil salinity in the
mangrove swamps, logging the Coco De Mers, measuring tortoise shell lengths,
snorkelling to spot sea turtles, or tracking the movements of the local bird
population, our group has been busy from the get-go. There is so much
conservation work to be done on this island, and everyone is happy to be
involved. The rangers on the island appreciate our presence, and have even
inquired about commissioning some of our more artistically inclined team
members to complete a mural on the walls of the building that houses the new
baby tortoises. It will be exciting to be able to leave our own special mark on
this place (once we decide exactly what our epic masterpiece will look like).
During the “down-time” of base life, we are
all thoroughly enjoying the perks of the Curieuse life. I just hope after a
month of living a stone’s throw from the ocean, I don’t get spoiled by the
beach life. At times there can be a fight over who gets that hammock spot
overhanging the beach for a little light reading in the shade on a warm
afternoon, but there is always a group up for a little beach volleyball to pass
the time. I’ll admit, we aren’t the best diggers and spikers, but with a little
(or quite a bit) of practice, we’ll be ready to take on the staff in a
no-holds-barred volleyball battle for the ages. Occasionally, Digby, the
overgrown-puppy of a guard dog who lives with us, will come out in the middle
of our games and sprawl out in the sand. I think Reggie, the camp manager,
sends him out on purpose to disrupt our practices. Be ready, staff members,
we’re coming to take that volleyball title away from you...
-Nate Grady, USA
0 comments:
Post a Comment