Week 3 in Punta Gruesa- beach clean, superheroes, boa constrictor, sharks

Week 3 in Punta Gruesa started with our weekly beach clean. We collected and sorted several kilos of plastic, glass, styrofoam and rope refuse. All of us are still perplexed by the mysterious 5 to 1 ratio of left-foot shoes, sandals and soles vs. right-foot shoes.

Friday night was the first January 2010 Phase Costume Ball. "Superheroes" was the theme, and many of the volunteers took a brief respite from their duties to make their scheduled appearances, including: Gecko Girl, all of the Mutant Ninja Turtles and Super Old Man.

Sunday morning (7:00am!), is our weekly base cleaning with all areas (kitchen, storage room and trash) sorted and cleaned. After last week’s thrilling scorpion bite (no sting, just a quick nip of its pincher to let the human know who is boss) of one expedition member, this week the entire crew was amazed by the sighting of a Boa constrictor snake in the Fuel Storage area. Cameras were clicking as the snake posed for her close-up!

The crew is organized into FISH ID and CORAL ID study/monitor groups. As of this week, all Fish AND Coral ID groups have passed their initial ID tests and are getting on well with further study and in water tests.

Mother Nature has sent us much of “the unrelenting wind” mentioned from previous phases, but Monday and Tuesday she graced us with beautiful sunrise mornings. Experiencing the first peeks of the morning sun’s red/orange rays rising from “beneath” the Caribbean Sea is truly glorious, and as we all go about our chores, a fantastic “Good Morning!”

Mother Nature feels we have passed her physical and mental tests and will share with us more of her secrets from the sea. As an example of her approval, Mother Nature has been granting most of us two dives a day with many sightings occurring, including this “Live Report” of a pod of dolphins:

“We had an amazing dive this week. We were on a spot dive and suddenly see a big nurse shark swim out from a crevice…right in front of us! The shark moved off slowly so we got a really good look. Then while we were on our safety stop, 8 dolphins (5 Bottlenose and 3 Atlantic Spotted) came to play, swirling around us!! They came up to us for a really close look. We were all so excited; I could hear our squeals mixing with their clicks!!!”

As week 3 comes to a close, we all feel our underwater adventures are just beginning and are grateful to be here.

May we all continue to use our heart, soul, mind and strength to continue to achieve our personal goals and GVI’s conservation mandate!!

Week 3 in Punta Gruesa- beach clean, superheroes, boa constrictor, sharks