Week 8 in Pez Maya- familiarizing with base duties, Playa del Carmen visit, coral/fish exams passed and farewell to Griffin!

aving found our individual comfort zones by now, in our own ways we, as a group, are beginning to become quite symbiotic with Pez Maya. Everyone is discovering new found talents and working to improve these skills; these skills range from simple mechanics, with everyone in the camp beginning to familiarise themselves with the compressor; to culinary wizardry, although with the introduction of our new base manager, Rhu – previously a head chef, Michelin Stars are now few and far between (as my hut found to our misfortune!), to managing to remain in one hammock for almost an entire day! Either way, the smooth operation of the base has continued - despite a few hiccups along the way.

Over the weekend the volunteers (with the exception of Frank and Regina) travelled to Playa Del Carmen for a night out and some much needed steak! We spent the night merrily, to say the least and many stories were told and re-told upon our return. After showering countless times in the worst, but best, shower in the hostel, we left feeling clean. However, I should add that organising and spending a weekend in Playa does not come without its stresses! Well done to Jonas, our self appointed Social Sec for getting that all sorted… Oh yea, we also went snorkelling in a lagoon somewhere on Sunday, but that really wasn’t the highlight of the weekend. The steak was. By a country mile.

Mid-way through week 3 for the 5 weekers saw everyone pass their Coral/Fish exam, so a massive congratulations to everyone! However, we cannot take our feet of the proverbial pedal as now there are monitoring techniques, coral diseases and a heap of other new bits of information to learn before we can actually become useful members of the scientific team here.

In the waters this week there have been several sightings of nurse sharks; in the lagoon, in the shallower sites, and even in some of the deeper ones. Also there are continual sightings of Lionfish, the enemy of the MBRS, and the staff are still on the hunt. Now the dive groups are split into smaller groups, the staff are more willing to wield their weapons – spears, it definitely is an interesting watch… not to mention a tasty meal once prepared back at base.

The clouds on the horizon are growing thicker, greyer and heavier every day. Only one wave has been cancelled so far due to the threat of weather, but in this instance the weather never came. And, fingers crossed, it never will!

We say another good-bye this weekend to Griff/Grifter/The Griffalo/Griffindor/The Griffinator aka Peter Gray (who found out that he is not stronger than Martin). His monotonous, dulcet tones, will be sorely missed… All the best in the future Griff!

Time for dinner now… i´m super hungry after another hard day so need to end this abru…

Week 8 (By Guess who)

Week 8 in Pez Maya- familiarizing with base duties, Playa del Carmen visit, coral/fish exams passed and farewell to Griffin!