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Monday, March 1, 2010

Week 7 in Pez Maya– Storms, Snakes and Unidentified Flying Objects

Week 7 started off with a party! Yes, it is our favourite way to start a week, and at the same time we had a chance to properly welcome the new five weekers. Another reason to celebrate was Erika’s birthday on Sunday, to which Charlie and Ryan made a huge effort to bake a special birthday cake. As the Sunday progressed like any other, with Tom Cruise in an airplane and Mel Gibson killing Englishmen, we looked into the night sky and froze for a second in our blankets. There was something there. Something that definitely wasn’t supposed to be there. It was glowing bright yellow and left an equally glowing trail all the way across the sky as it disappeared over the horizon. We only had one question. What the fudge? Many theories were suggested, from asteroids (no, they wouldn’t leave a trail) to comets (but are they really that close?) all the way to missiles (well, it was on its way to Cuba…) but none of them really seemed to make sense. Only minutes into our vivid discussion we were interrupted by a distant boom that only spiced up our theories even more. At that point, it was a mystery.

The next day saw the start of the diving week. Those of us not out on a dive were enjoying the day’s sun when something shocked us in the communal area. A green headed, brown striped body snake was slithering about in the shrubs, and later we would find it again around the hammocks. The volunteers rushed over and as always, brought their cameras with them to take photos and marvel at it. But that wasn’t the only surprise in store for us. That night, a storm was brewing. By the time it hit the shores of Pez Maya, we had torrential rain, thunder and lightning. It was not a whole lot of fun, but if nothing else, it reminded us of home…

The following day it had left us with a startling view. Fog was thick across the beach and erased most of the ocean from sight. We were unable to see the reef or even the lagoon through the dense mist. Luckily, an hour after sunrise, the sun had burnt most of it away and we could start the days diving. The waters had become so calm after the storm that they looked like liquid glass. In other words, perfect conditions for diving.

On Tuesday we found out the identity of our mysterious flying object. It was actually a satellite that had been planned (or so they say) to drop from orbit into the ocean at that time. It did take away some of the thrill but at least no one was hurt. On Wednesday the weather continued to challenge us. As the second wave of boats was out, divers had to be recalled due to an oncoming storm. Our trained divers knew exactly how to respond to this situation and surfaced immediately. Everyone made it back to shore safety whilst another torrential rain storm hit base.

On a happy note, we found a new dive site on Wednesday! It is called Labyrinth and contains some very cool coral and fish. Dive wise, everyone doing the Rescue Diver course is progressing nicely and we should all be qualified soon, so don’t be afraid of the water!

The monitoring is going great. We managed to finish one site and we are close to finish another two. Well done team!

With tomorrow being Forever Fun Hug Friday, we are looking forward to lots of hugs and love here in Pez Maya, along with another awesome week! Keep reading!

Peace and Love, Crouz & Maja
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