World Cup Cricket Final

The World Cup Cricket Final today eclipsed everything else. Thankfully the online streaming was working when I was up at 6 AM to start watching. Curtis was backing Sri Lanka (even betting against us!) - for shame! Same with one of the other supervisors, though they all say they are backing India to my face. Except one who said I would be crying the next day. Humph. I’m not sure I can talk to them again.

My wonderful husband followed my exhortation to watch the game (and previously the semi-final), knowing what was good for him, since I’ve been an ardent supporter of the Boston Red Sox. I didn’t even buy a cap in Grenada because the only ones available have Yankees logos (there are strong ties here to New York). However, having perhaps watched half a cricket match before in his life (likely in a bar in Ireland), he had no idea of the rules, or much of the game. Not letting such a minor thing stand in his way, he watched the game online, with Wikipedia and an ESPN cricket “explanation blog” open at the same time. If that’s not adorable, I don’t know what is.

My hopes sank to below sea level when Sehwag and then in short-order Tendulkar got out. Yikes, this is the end, I thought. Before I spiraled into despair, Curtis, to his biased credit said “be cool, be cool you guys will be ok”, and Kester checked me by saying “what, you think there isn’t anyone else on the Indian team?! You have many good players”. Indeed. And our team proved him right. We handled our opposing tensions with beer, naturally, even though it was still 10 AM. After all, its sundown in India right now - the place that counts!  The whole house celebrated with me when we won – more perhaps from amusement than anything else. Who’s crying now? Not me, imagining the fireworks that must be exploding across, India!

New Turtle Mama's

There were a number of new turtles on the beach last night. I named two of them after my sister and brand-new niece. New turtles are uncommon, and these two seemed new to the whole chamber-digging experience, in addition to being new to the beach. One dug a hole that was too wide and kept sliding in herself! This made egg counting a challenge.

Use your imagination to see right flipper scooping

The turtles dig their chambers beautifully. It is done with the shorter rear flippers. Here is a brief human-attempt description: Imagine putting your hand in a sock and stretching your fingers out. Then, palms down, form a scoop and pick up some “sand” with your fingers so that you carry it in your fingers (palm still facing down/backwards). Then toss to the side (towards your pinky). If you can understand these instructions – congratulations! You’ve passed the amazing imagination test and may be eligible to win a prize from the amazing imagination society!

The turtles form perfect scoops with their flippers, and systematically scoop sand out first with one flipper followed by the second, so that the hole maintains an almost spherical shape while getting deeper. They will also not do any extra work, so if some sand falls on their flipper they will toss it off before reaching in to dig out some more sand. They gauge the depth of the chamber by the length of their flipper – when they cannot dig out any more sand they stop and lay their precious eggs.

My hope is that by the time my niece is potty-trained, her namesake will have figured out how to dig the perfect chamber.

Seven Sister's Waterfall

Seven Sister's

The entire group went on a brief trip to the Seven Sister’s waterfall in the rain forest for the morning. It’s one of the many beautiful waterfalls in Grenada. It has a particular edge for the adventurous – you can either do an easy walk to the last waterfall or get a guide to the first and then hike through all 7. The catch is that after seeing the first one, the only way to see the intervening five is to jump down each one, the last of which is 30 feet tall. And once you’ve started, you’re committed – there is no going back. The enthusiastic 18-year old (who I am going to call F from now on to stop being ageist) of course was gung ho from the first time we heard of it. Me, well, I’m a tad more cautious given that the only thing I’ve jumped off is the side of the pool into the pool. It seems like quite a leap (ha ha) from that to plunging 30 feet into a rock-filled pool, although I’m as ready to jettison reason as the next 36-year old.

No guides were available that day and the path was incredibly muddy because of the rain. So, despite my reason-tossing capabilities, I decided not to hike up with F. Undaunted, he threw off his slippers (we were told the last waterfall was an easy walk from the parking lot) and proceeded to hike up a narrow, steep hill in the mud barefoot in search of waterfall jumping. Over an hour later, the supervisors went to look for him, and found him tangled and muddy, still searching for a waterfall with enough water to jump down. Instead of returning disappointed, he cheerfully went straight into the main falls and then jumped down the smaller one, which though not probably as satisfying, at least got the job done! I too got into the waterfall pool despite the cold water (eventually), after the ladies gave me a hard time. I have to confess it was wonderfully refreshing - my first swimming in a waterfall experience. 

Mini-jump

My perfect Grenadian hiking slippers....

World Cup Cricket Emergency

Today was the India-Pak World cup semi-final cricket match. A HUGE deal, for those of you not in the know. I was agitating to get back quickly from night survey (the game started at 5 AM, and we usually don’t finish up at the beach till 6:15 or 6:30 AM). While we were clearing up on the beach Kimron talked to some fisherman who were relaying the latest score (India was batting) and debating who would win. Argh! Can we just get going??!! Kimron sped up the hill to the house only for me to find that none of the online streaming sites were working. Double Argh!! Another volunteer of Indian descent from the UK was as frustrated as I.

Kurt's bar: Kindest bar owners in the world

 The only other possibility was of course Kurt’s bar (which opens at 6 AM and has a TV). So, we raced up to the bar only to find that the TV wasn’t getting match reception. Foiled again! (triple argh!) Seeing our frustration, the owner of the bar took us across the road. Not knowing where he was going, we followed dumbly and found a young woman and her mother chopping vegetables outside. He had a word with them, then said we could watch the game there. I thought at first it was a B&B, but it turned out to be their beautiful home! Without thinking too much, I plopped my still-sandy self down on their bed to watch the first innings. Then it dawned on me, how unusual this was – who opens their home before 7 AM for strangers for of all things a cricket emergency?! Both of us were touched beyond what I can describe here, and will never forget the Frasers for their kindness. To top off the “argh’s“ Tendulkar got out 5 minutes after we got there. BUT, it was all worth it because we won the game! Yeah!

I had a minor crisis of confidence on the beach last night. We had three turtles come up one after the other and spent four straight hours with them. I made a few mistakes, and this while explaining things to the new volunteer. Embarrassing! I didn’t get the flipper tag on right, so had to take it off and do it again. So much for being an old hand – it must take years to be as smooth at the supervisors. I am determined to do better the next night, but also accept that I am a novice.I guess there are bad work days even in Grenada.

Flipper tags are put into a soft fleshy part of the two rear flippers, sort of like the area between your thumb and forefinger. The tag itself is like an earring with a number engraved on it, and although the pliers used to put them in look like instruments of torture, it seems to me much like getting your ears pierced. The turtles definitely feel it, but I hope it doesn’t hurt for long. I feel terrible for having to do it twice. Sometimes they come off and leave large holes. Ouch. Poor ladies.

Flipper Tag. Source:www.georgiaseaturtlecenter.org

PIT tags are better. These are small microchips that go under the skin of the turtles’ right shoulder. They don’t fall off or get covered in barnacles, and are reliable and virtually permanent. Unfortunately, Ocean Spirits has not been able to get funding to get more PIT tags (they cost about US$15 each + shipping costs), but we still scan all turtles to get the ID for those who have them (so far most do).

Lazy swimming at Bathway

I walked down for a swim at Bathway beach with some of the other volunteers after ages. The water was lovely and warm, and a rock shelf formed a natural pool which lessened the impact of the crashing waves. Gazing up at the cloudless sky and being drawn steadily down the beach by the current, I decided to try and do this every day for the rest of my time here. It’s good exercise, trying to swim against the mild current – I rarely move more than a few feet. I must look rather bizarre from the shore – swimming earnestly (i.e. flailing) in place in about 4 feet of water. Whatever counts as exercise works for me! One downside of swimming in the sea is of course the salt, which burns my eyes and nose to such a degree that I develop a tremendous empathy for cocaine snorters. On the plus side, all that salt it seems to have cleared up an oncoming sore throat and my sinuses to boot. So, basically this is my new blissful solution to almost everything.

St. Patrick's finale

The St. Patrick’s celebration concluding day of music was today. I went with Kimron’s brother Curtis, who also works at Ocean Spirits and agreed to baby sit me for the event. This time there were DJs all along the street and a (so-so) live band in the parking lot at the end. The streets were lined on both sides with dancers celebrating. Kids weaved in and out, people hailed each other (unusual! ), and stood around in clusters. The revels ended at midnight, and like Cinderella’s ball, the town turned slowly back into Sauteurs.

Victoria Food Fest

Today three of us volunteers went to the Victoria food fest, which is held on the last Saturday of the month, and has all the traditional Grenadian foods. We were clearly not thinking properly because we ate dinner before we left. It was smaller than I expected; one street was blocked to traffic and there were stalls selling food all along it. There was of course music, and a group of drummers whose main enthusiasts were kids aged 3-10 who were dancing away. I tried the potato pie (a very sweet desert) and ginger beer which had a very strong ginger flavor. Sadly there was no veggie oil-down the national dish, or veggie roti (a wrap filled with vegetables or meat).

St. Patrick's Month

St. Patrick’s day celebrations goes on for a month here because of the namesake St. Patrick’s parish (i.e. county/district) that we live in. I had to see this because of my husband’s Irish heritage, though I’m sure there is nothing like this on the Emerald Isle. The events in Sauteurs include school debates, community programs and culminate in a final weekend of fun. I went to the stand-up comedy night with Kimron and some of his friends. The main street was strung with green and white flags and was thronged with people compared to the normal 8-12 you may see here and there on a regular day. Near the stage in a big parking lot a DJ blasted great music, while an event tent did brisk business selling drinks. Along the sides of the road people were cooking on barbecues, eating, drinking, chatting and singing out and dancing to the popular songs.

We were among the first few there, but instead of starting at 7 PM as the program said, it started 2.5 hours late. I gather that Grenadian time is like Indian time – it ticks to its own whimsical drummer. Not that it mattered, as we found a bar facing the action, got drinks and sat outside watching the fun. While I people-watched and soaked up the atmosphere, Kimron and his friends chatted and ribbed each other. I had the slight sensation of being baby sat – one or the other of the guys sat with me, talking, and answering my endless questions (Kimron told me I should have been a journalist!). When I said I was ok, and not to worry about me, he said “its ok, this is the way it is in Grenada, we just want to make sure you’re having a good time”.

Some of the skits were hilarious, including one about applying for a US visa, where one candidate told her buddy the questions she was asked, and he memorized them and of course the questions changed with ridiculous results. The crowd was raucous and when it was over the cheerful crowd streamed home. The Grenadians could give the Irish a few ideas on how to honor their patron saint!

Living together in the program house

The volunteers at Ocean Spirits cut across all age, sex and professional lines, but have one thing in common – a love of animals and the outdoors. We spent a hilarious evening once looking at favorite animal videos on YouTube. There are five of us in this first batch – 3 men and 2 women ranging in age from 18 to over 60 (what a great thing to do once you’ve retired!), and with backgrounds as diverse as medicine, high-school and managing a shop. Since there are 4 supervisors, it’s a small group, and we’ve got to know each other quite well, and some have some very interesting stories (for example, from being a dealer in a high-end casino). Predictably, there are different personalities among the group, but we have so far managed to get along and maintain mostly companionable relationships.

There are two 3-bedroom houses, with two supervisors in each. Two to three volunteers share single-sex rooms and a bathroom. A large living room has books from volunteers past, and a data entry table, there is a small bright kitchen and an equipment room where everything is helpfully drawn on a wooden board and labeled. Despite the warmth here, I’m only just getting used to the cold showers (sort of), and have moved on from inching in with feet and elbows. Its not high-end luxury, but clean, airy and comfortable with as you know, a killer view.

Equipment board

The household chores are divided up each week and include things like cleaning the floors, cleaning the sand out of the car, and cooking and clean up (2 people per evening who are allowed to put on whatever music they like while they’re at it).  The turtle-related activities are morning survey on Bathway beach (2 people per day), night survey on Levera beach (5-6 people per night), preparing kit bags for night survey, and beach profiling (team of 5). During beach profiling, we use fixed markers spaced 30 m apart (labeled A to Z) to measure the distance that the vegetation has grown and to the storm line (highest point that the waves have reached on the beach). This is to measure how the beach changes over time. We use these same markers to measure the location of each turtle’s nest, so that 1) the turtle’s hatchlings can be identified or 2) if the hatchlings don’t come up the nest can be dug out to see what happened.

The workload isn’t much and is actually enjoyable. Because each person is head chef only once a week (and sous chef a second day), the dinners are excellent and creative. Breakfast and lunch are prepared individually from common food (anything without a name on it) in the fridge. Hence, people label everything from beer to bananas (I’m not kidding!). There is room for interaction as well as for individual space should anyone want it. The place runs like a well-oiled machine (except of course when some idiot sticks a cheese roll in the toaster or leave gobs of food on the counter). But we get over it and things stay generally sunny.

Staying on (and BBQ)

I'll be seeing another sunrise on Bathway beach!

Today was a barbeque organized by Ocean Spirits, which comes as a mighty meaty relief for the non-vegetarians among us after weeks of vegetarian fare. The same crowd of supervisors, local assistants and volunteers get together at the main house to cook and eat together.

The most exciting thing that happened today was I decided to extend my trip for 2 weeks, because I couldn’t bear the thought of leaving in 3 days. The idea was my husband’s: “If you’re having such a great time and don’t have to rush back, why don’t you stay on?” Genius! And so understanding. That’s why I married him! I managed to change my ticket before going to the beach at night, and left with a singing heart even though it was still raining.

As I sat counting shooting stars and waiting for turtles that didn’t show on the beach that night, I wondered what it would be like to unhitch from career progression worries and live a life like this instead. After adjusting to a lower level of economy, it seems like it could be comfortable. And happy. There is something almost reassuring about the big worries being the rain or poachers. Although, I am all too aware that the simple life is never simple, and that most Grenadians struggle with unemployment, lack of opportunities and work hard to grow their own food, it’s still nice to dream.

Work calls in paradise

It poured all day today. Sheets of beautiful, warm rain obscured the outlying islands and indeed part of the hill near the house. Another perfect day to work indoors all day; I even met my deadline 2 hours early!

Someone called the turtle hotline to report poaching activity on a nearby beach (not a beach we work on). Unfortunately, by the time the team rushed down, the turtle had left and the eggs were gone. Apparently, someone passing convinced the poacher to leave the turtle alone even though they took the eggs. This makes me so thankful for the relative safety we provide on Levera beach. On a side note, we volunteers are told not to engage with poachers in any way, but to call or radio the house, and let the cops deal with it.

The heavy rain continued into the night. Usually it is just a passing light rain. I suppose it wasn’t so beautiful when sitting soaking wet on the beach with the wind and sand blowing, huddled under a small tarp that attempted to keep the rain off the team in vain. They came home drenched at 2:30 AM. Fortunately the three turtles that came did so early on, and there weren’t any after that.

To make up for the long night, Kester made delicious pancakes for everyone for breakfast. He generously cooks up this treat at least once week which we eat with the island’s special nutmeg syrup. A note on the coca-cola crates that we use as chairs and legs for the table outside (see photo below): It looks cheap, but its ingenious as the sand from us and the equipment sifts right through.

Breakfast pancake treat!

Turtle tourists

Today I got to experience what a full day behind a computer is like in paradise. Honestly, it was great! Although the deadline was stressful, being able to look out on the blue and green landscape and imagine being on the beach at night, made it all worthwhile.

We had three turtles on the beach. Kimron has the eyes of a leopard and can see amazingly well in the dark. He plays this game as we walk along in the darkness – “do you see a turtle?” Head turning and eyes straining up and down the beach, I analyze every bump, lump or shadow, but come up with nothing. And sometimes there is nothing – he’s just messing with me. I’ve been right probably twice. Once I was so sure it was a boat (after mentally noting where the few boats were on the sand) that I bet a beer with him, which I predictably lost because the turtle was of course just in front of the boat! It is incredible that even though the turtles are huge, they can still be hard to see from a distance. Once you’re close, there’s no missing either the tracks or the turtles.

Kimron counting eggs. I'm proud of my night photography!

Tonight, I feel almost like an old hand at this. It gave me a twinge thinking that this was my 3rd last night on the beach. It’s going to be difficult to leave. One turtle was 162 cm long! Wow. And she was breathing and grunting very loudly. Had I been an innocent sleeper on the beach who had never heard of a turtle, I probably would have had a minor heart attack if one lumbered up on me in the middle of the night!

Around 11 PM about 15 chatty locals came to see the turtles. This is getting more common as the season progresses. Luckily for them (and unluckily for the turtle) there was one (near the boat) that was just finishing up her sand-throwing nest disguise. They wanted to take photographs and Kimron very kindly but firmly explained that no flash could be used. They were determined and the conversation took a rather bizarre turn “what if I see a turtle before you all see a turtle, then its my turtle, and I can take photos if I want”, “I came all the way from the UK to see a turtle, I need a photo, man”. We held firm politely, but I can understand why there is a police detail later in the nesting season. The entire group then decided to come with us on our patrol (and find their own turtle). Mostly, they were young guys (swaggering and being cool), and gals (laughing and hanging on every word). They asked a lot of good questions and were genuinely interested, so I think it’s a good thing. It is far better to have people interested in having the turtles alive and thriving rather than lost forever.

Soccer final (and cooking)

Today was my cooking day. Volunteers take turns two at a time to cook dinner for everyone. It is served promptly at 6 PM so that the night survey team can get ready. Since today I wanted to go to see the soccer final, I started cooking early and left my friendly 18-year old sous chef to serve it and cook the rice (quite a coup on my part: escape so I didn’t have to bite my nails and watch to see whether people pushed their food around their plates while trying to swallow some nutrition for the long night ahead).

The soccer final was exciting! I got to ride down with the team in a commandeered local 14-seater bus with at least 20 people in it. The music was blaring and we had to stop off and pick up more players. This is how its done: the bus stops half in the road, and 1-2 people start calling to the house up the hill. No response. So yelling and teasing starts, and finally a kid gets out and makes his way up through the banana trees, but usually by this time the player is on his way down with his kit. Then the whole van has to be re-jigged to fit everyone in. Repeat. By the end I felt guilty because it felt like my camera bag was taking up enough space for another person. Ah well, at this point I’m pretty much the team photographer, so I gotta go in the team bus, man!

The game was close and exciting. I was conflicted with trying to take good photographs and at the same wanting to get involved in the action. If only all dilemmas in life were this easy – eye in viewfinder vs. eye on action! Sadly, we lost the game 2-3 as the other team got 2 early goals that they capitalized on.

Catamaran snorkeling trip

Snorkeling cove at tip of bay

Today all us volunteers booked a half-day catamaran trip out of the capital St. George’s to go snorkeling, which I’m excited to try again. St. George’s feels like a big city after Sauteurs. Everyone doesn’t say ‘morning to everyone else. Imagine that! Though in its defense, people here are helpful and friendly as elsewhere on this lovely island. I was looking for an internet café that afternoon to print out some documents (real life intrudes even in Grenada on occasion), and wandered into a shop that said “printing”. It turned out to be what looked like a centuries old printing press, with a bar in the back (naturally!) where 5-6 men were starting the evening early. “Afternoon, sweetheart” “welcome to the bar” “how can I help you?” they chorused out in a completely non-threatening way, and then helpfully walked out to show me the way to the internet café which had closed at 2 PM because it was Saturday (of course!). Similarly on the buses – they are invariably rather squished, long rides but again there isn’t a sense of unease, trepidation or creepiness with the men, unlike when riding Indian public transport. It’s quite a revelation and a relief.

The catamaran trip was lovely and peaceful out to the snorkeling cove and underwater sculpture park. Yes, some artist really did make giant iron statues and sink them into the bay. The fish were amazing to see – blue/purple angel fish, black and yellow Sargent (or soldier) among others, and an eel hiding in the corral. Everything was surprisingly brown under the water – the grass, the giant clams, the sponges. This area has only recently become a marine park, so hopefully things will recover.

About Ocean Spirits, Grenada

Ocean Spirits is an organization dedicated to saving Grenada’s sea turtles, and has been in place since 1999. You can read about their work here: http://www.oceanspirits.org/

Kester (R) with a volunteer

It is run by two outstanding Grenadians, Kester and Kimron, who have been working with the turtles here for over 6 years. They are knowledgeable, experts at what they do, and unimaginably patient with us volunteers who almost invariably forget something small (or large – such as locking up equipment). Their dedication comes through in all aspects of their work. There is little apart from caring deeply about ensuring the sea turtles’ survival for the next generation of Grenadians as they’ve said, that could make anyone spend 3 nights a week largely awake on the beach explaining what to do to streams of eager volunteers for 6 months a year. They handle both us and the turtles with nothing but gentleness. There are two foreign supervisors who come through an annual application process, and are equally committed.

Kimron

In addition to monitoring the nesting beach, collecting data and publishing research (including one in Nature which documented the Leatherback’s incredible journeys across the Atlantic using satellite tags), Ocean Spirits are involved in the community through primary school education and radio programs. They have set up a “Turtle Hotline” which people can call to report anything turtle-related such as someone selling a turtle in the market, reporting poaching activity etc.  Local veterinary students volunteer from St. George’s University in the nest monitoring to get some hands on experience with dealing with turtles. Intriguingly, I’m told most of the students in the university are foreigners (mainly from the US) because it is too expensive for Grenadians. This unfortunate fact seems to me a short-sighted disservice to Grenada’s own future professional base.

I arrived with lingering doubts about whether these types of volunteer placements were actually doing some good or were just “green-washed” vacations for outdoorsy people. I also wondered whether I was displacing local Grenadians. I raised this with one of the Grenadian supervisors who assured me that without the volunteers that come to work on this project, it would not be sustainable. They do not have the funds to pay people to work with the turtles, and understandably, few are willing to work these crazy hours for free when they have to provide for their families. Having been here for 2 weeks now, I see the value of the work we are doing. Poaching on Levera the main nesting beach is virtually non-existent because Ocean Spirits volunteers are there every night, we’ve had 2 calls on the turtle hotline, and everyone in the area knows about Ocean Spirits’ work. Most importantly, the statistics speak for themselves, as the numbers of turtles who have nested here every year has been steadily increasing. Last year they had over 600 nests. So in addition to getting to enjoy this lovely place, I can allow myself to feel like I’m also doing some good. Perhaps I can add “saving species” to my resume, though it’s not likely to get me very far in public health!

I found Ocean Spirits through Working Abroad – one of the many “volunteer vacation” organizations (http://www.workingabroad.com/). 

Morning Survey on Bathway Beach

Sunrise on Bathway Beach

Man-made ugliness

We do not do night surveys for turtles on Bathway beach. It’s a hub of human activity, and there are fewer turtles. So, two volunteers take turns to walk down to the beach to do a survey at dawn every morning to check for tracks, estimate whether a nest was made, and rake over the tracks to deter poachers. We rake Levera beach too. This is not a simple job as the turtles leave large grooves in the sand where the darker sand under the surface leaves a clearly visible trail.

This morning, there was a man digging intermittently on the beach. My first thought was  - poacher! My second was – what the heck are we going to do – we had forgotten to bring a phone or a radio, and it didn’t seem like a good idea to take him on as he was also carrying a machete. He kept walking in front of us, and digging at random. Before we caught up to him he went and had a dip in the sea. On describing the activity to the supervisors later on, it turns out he was probably looking for crabs to use as bait rather than following a turtle egg poaching pattern. Thank goodness we didn’t call out the cops!

Sometimes the only tracks we see are our own

We found 3 tracks in all – one looked like a turtle walkabout (a “false crawl”) where they come onto the beach but don’t dig or lay eggs. It was very close to another one and I couldn’t help wondering if it was the two ladies from a night ago.

Sandy Island

Ocean Spirits organized a trip for all the volunteers (5 of us + 8 Ocean Spirits + the Captain) to Sandy Island today which is about a 10-minute boat ride from Levera beach. It was stunning. We went snorkeling (my first time, and I’m hooked!), explored the island, drank fresh coconut water, and basically had an idyllic day. Two of the Ocean Spirits team are excellent free divers and one is a fisherman with expertise in spearing fish – so he caught the fish for lunch. We had a delicious stew for lunch (I had the veggie version with dumplings in it). 

We all piled into the small boat tired and happy for the return ride home (this is not as simple as it sounds in a choppy sea with no jetty, but getting wet is half the fun!). Ahh – this is the life!

Turtle sisters & morning turtle

Turtle sisters

I didn’t think it could get any better than my first midwife experience, but this night was a special one. The first turtle we found was at the far end of the beach literally between the rocks and the sea. She valiantly attempted to dig her nest but every few minutes the surf would wash over her and fill up her chamber. She tried to move, but there wasn’t far she could go. She tried for half an hour before giving up and going back to the sea. Thankfully, they often come back the next night.

Turtle Midwife!

Flying sand

On our second patrol we were sitting on the far end of the beach, when we saw a turtle coming out of the water right towards us. We hurriedly got out of the way (though they are so slow and ungainly on land that it takes them a long time to do anything). She wandered all over before deciding on a nesting spot. Once she had almost completed her digging, another turtle came up out of the water and decided to nest in almost the EXACT location! These turtle sisters were literally nose to tail. Ocean Spirits’ protocol is not to interfere. This made egg catching and tagging very difficult, so we had to radio the second team to help out. I tried to tag one while the other was covering her nest and kept getting what felt like buckets of sand thrown in my face. At one stage they were whacking each others' flippers and shells as part of their cover-up job. Whew, what a process. The great news was that one of them was the one who had come up earlier but struggled in the surf (we got her tag number). Good for her!

While getting up for my last patrol at 5 AM, I saw a dark shape close to our sleeping “camp”. When we looked closer, indeed it was a turtle! This is exciting because it is rare to see one during the daylight (by the time she is done, it will be). We had great opportunities to take photographs, as normally we are not allowed flash, and the red torches that we use don’t provide much illumination. We even radioed the house so the others could come and see. So, here they are so you can get a good look at a turtle in all her glory. And me with my head in her rear - the glamorous part of the job.

Heading Home

About Leatherback Sea Turtles

Having been here a week it’s about time to write a little more about the turtles and Ocean Spirits, the organization I’m volunteering with. First the turtles.

The predominant species of sea turtles that come to Levera beach are Leatherbacks (Dermochelys coriacea). Occasionally there are Hawksbill turtles too, but those are very shy and go back to the sea at the slightest perceived threat or intrusion. The Hawksbill mainly nest on other smaller islands, where later in the season expert divers from Ocean Spirits catch them to tag and thus keep track of their numbers.

Leatherbacks, the largest of all sea turtles, are between 1-2 meters long and weigh on average 250-700 kgs. They reach this enormous size on a diet of jellyfish, thus controlling jellyfish populations. Unfortunately, floating plastic looks a lot like jellyfish, hence their ingestion of it, which can kill them. They have a vast worldwide ocean distribution – Atlantic, Pacific, Indian and Mediterranean. They are ideally suited to cold water, diving and swimming great distances (they migrate thousands of kilometers between breeding and feeding grounds). They are unique reptiles in that they maintain their body temperature (being air-breathing, they are almost constantly swimming), and have a shell or carapace that is more leathery than bony, which enables it to compress when they dive (sometimes over 1200 m).

Females return to the beach where they were born to nest. This fact always amazes me – how on earth do they know where to go, many years later after swimming up to 7000 km with no road signs? I still get lost in Boston and I’ve been living there for over 3 years! Perhaps this is because road signs are almost as rare in Boston as they are in the Atlantic. Males on the other hand, spend their entire lives in the ocean after they’ve passed that first perilous test of digging out of the egg chamber and getting to the water. Only about 50-60% of laid eggs hatch, and after that many are lost to predation by birds, dogs, and other animals. We were shown video footage of even a crab running off with one. There are further dangers in the water from fish and cephalopods until they mature. Only approximately 1 in 1000 survives to adulthood. What happens in the intervening years between hatchlings reaching the ocean and the first time females return to nest remains a mystery.

As you may expect, they are also killed by human predation and activities – poachers dig up the eggs to eat or use as aphrodisiacs, rarely are the turtles used for meat. Turtle eggs aren’t very expensive on the local market, so other than these superstitious beliefs and a lack of awareness, there doesn’t seem to be a large incentive for their sale. Once they find a nest, poachers take all the eggs. Turtles are also killed by longline fishing hooks and lines, fishing nets, or are hit by boats. Their nests are affected by sand mining and coastal developments (resorts). These reasons are why the Leatherback is critically endangered, as are many other turtle species.

Thankfully, on Levera beach, the third largest nesting site for Leatherbacks in the Caribbean, there is almost no poaching due the work of Ocean Spirits. Teams are on the beach every night during nesting season, and both interfering with nesting turtles and of course poaching are against the law, with police backup available where necessary. Coastal development is a big problem here as elsewhere. A resort is coming up behind Levera beach, where they are planning to install a jetty. After clear cutting the forest, clay eroded down onto the beach. Hatchlings cannot dig through clay like sand, so they suffocate. Also, bright lights prevent turtles from coming onto the beach to nest. The Atlantic population however is in far better condition to the Pacific population, which is virtually extinct for the same reasons as they are endangered here.

Despite the gloom, there is hope as the numbers of nests on Levera beach has increased dramatically in the last decade or so, and with a dedicated staff, I have no doubt that the excellent work being done here will continue.

You can read more about them here:
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/turtles/leatherback.htm

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/reptiles/leatherback-sea-turtle/

Ocean Spirits: http://www.oceanspirits.org/

Football Match

Pre-match

Kimron's nifty Footwork

Gooooal

Today I went to watch Kimron the Ocean Spirits supervisor play in a football game between two local village teams in a national tournament. He used to play for the Grenadian national team! We drove over to an area called River Sallee where the game was being held in a local school field. Wonderful reggae boomed from huge speakers at the top of the stands lending a festive atmosphere, and the sheep and goats still grazing on the succulent grass topped it off.

The Coyaba team did some very professional looking warm ups in their black and yellow uniforms. The stands began to fill, though some had a vantage point from their front steps as a few houses were immediately adjacent to the field. Coolers and beer were in evidence everywhere. Beer and
sports seem to go together all over
the world! Here, weed adds to the heady mix.

Once the match started, the energy increased, especially in the second half when the goals started coming. Spectators continually shouted instructions to their team: “What’s this air ball, man? Put de ball on de ground and pass de ball”, “Put the ball in the hooole”, and my favorite “Goal now, money later”! This turned out not to be idle talk – I saw a lot of money change hands afterward, as betting is common. Our team won 4-1 against the home team, and there were a lot of taunts back and forth.

Post-match was a huge street party fueled by music and beer. The losing team and their supporters formed the bulk of it, but many from both sides stayed around drinking and chatting - families, kids, (and dogs!). Interestingly, the men seemed to be minding their kids almost as frequently as women were. All in all, a fun experience.

First Turtle Midwife Experience!

Night Survey Truck

My comfort level on the beach has increased exponentially each day that I’ve been here, and by now, my third night on, I am comfortable walking around in the dark. Earlier, I was worried about what I was stepping on, jumping out of the way when the waves got too close to make sure my shoes didn’t get wet, and always, always having my headlamp on while in motion. Since nothing ever jumped out at me and the ghost crabs scuttled out of the way, my worries must have unconsciously defused.

I was on the second patrol with Kimron when we saw a turtle coming out of the sea ahead of us on the way back. Strangely enough, they are much easier to see in the dark.  She took her time and came a long way up the beach which was great. However, as her egg chamber started to get deeper, water started to pool in the bottom. She seemed to feel it with her flipper but kept digging, and the chamber started to cave in because of the wetness. So we planned to move the eggs, which was just as well for me as you’ll see.

Here was my great opportunity to be a turtle midwife! I lay down on the sand behind her and we pushed sand back into the chamber so that I would not have to reach in so far. Of course I had put off wearing my rain pants so got damp – I think they have taken on a slightly malicious personality and are trying to prove to me how useful they are at every opportunity they get because of my early skepticism. When she started laying, boy she started laying! I barely managed to gently get two eggs before another four tumbled out. Some were rolling into the far end of the chamber, so Kimron pushed more sand in, and in that time probably another 8 came out! I quickly lost count. I started again for practice, but could only get two at a time into the bucket while she was dropping 2-5 every few seconds! I held one of her flippers away with one hand, grabbed the eggs with the other while trying to avoid banging into her shell with my head or slipping into the chamber head first! If I had had time to think about anything other than numbers, I might have laughed, but would probably have gotten a mouthful of sand, so it was just as well that I was intent on the task. The eggs were warm and covered in a clear gooey substance which dried quickly. It sounds gross, but really wasn’t.

Measuring turtle shell, L: 154 cm, W:112 cm

While all this was going on, a second turtle came up not far away, so Kimron went to deal with her. However, she was just on a turtle walkabout, and went back to sea without digging or laying, almost as though thinking, “nah, not today, she can barely keep up with one”.

I then dug a new egg chamber under Kimron's patient guidance. He drew a circle of the approximate circumference, and I began to lift out the sand with my hands. It’s surprisingly easy to do, and soon you have a long cylinder. The sand is moist and warm lower down and seems almost cozy. Eggs can develop into either male or female. Males develop in the colder regions of the chamber and females where it’s warmer (I’ll refrain from any wise cracks about the sexes here). We dropped the eggs in, added sand, put in a tape with the date and the turtle’s tag numbers, took measurements to mark its location, and covered it up thoroughly.

Since our turtle was a new one, I had the honor of naming her, and named her Asha after my mother, which means hope in Hindi. As she made her way laboriously back to the sea, stopping often probably from the effort of the night, I stood behind her silently in the starting drizzle and watched her go. I mentally wished her a long and productive life of freedom to swim the oceans and hopefully return here some day to lay more eggs for the continuation of her wonderful species.

Hike to Mt. Qua Qua

Grand Etang Lake

It was my day off today (we get one a week, though the daily tasks are pretty light apart from the night surveys), and although it’s been busy since I've been here, I decided to go on a hike with the 18-year-old volunteer who also has the day off. He wanted to do something "challenging" and somewhat sheepishly I had to explain that his challenging and mine might be a little different. Ah ageing! We decided on going to Mount Qua Qua in the national rain forest preserve. We left early, walked 15 minutes into the village to catch a bus to Grenville and then switched to one going to St. George's the capital. The buses are essentially large minivans, but they run frequently and are comfortable. In Grenville we had to wait for the bus to fill before leaving. This includes a spare cushion that goes over the aisle as an extra seat, and which is kept in place by persons on either side of the aisle sitting on a piece of it. It seems to work quite well; there was no slow sagging or landing on the floor with a thump on either trip.

If I had to use one word to describe the hike it would be "muddy". We first walked around a volcanic crater lake, two thirds of which was inches deep mud instead of trail. My companion had a great time wading straight through while I picked my way around the edges of each bog looking for any solid ground and in the process getting scratched, and only marginally less muddy. He almost lost his shoes twice, and by the end was probably carrying around an extra pound of mud. We heard monkeys and lots of birds, but because they were high up in the canopy were unable to see them. We made up for this by taking innumerable photographs of the trees and plants and general "rain-foresty" type flora. The rest of the hike up a long ridge was mostly clear of mud and beautiful. The view from the top was amazing, and extended all the way to both coasts.

We returned home to hear about the terrible tsunami in Japan. Living near the sea, and sleeping on the beach three nights a week, makes one aware of how quickly the weather and the sea itself can change. Yet, even in that awareness today there is a sense of being cut off from the rest of the world and the events in it.

Rum and Cocoa factories

Today the entire group went together to the local rum and cocoa processing factory. Due to their location in relation to each other, we started at the rum factory. At 10 AM. The rum is made from sugarcane in a plant that has the only water wheel on the island, which has been around for over 200 years. Actually, a lot of the plant looked that old, except for some new plastic pipes which shone out in the gloom. I grimaced at the brown frothy liquid coming out of the pressed cane and sitting in the vats and tanks like some witch's bubbling, hideous brew, and thanked the stars that I don't particularly like rum. However, at the end of the tour we saw the distiller and were told that this factory prides itself on 75% proof rum! Well then. I take it back about the brew - not much could survive in that! The bottling process was interesting. There were 2-3 huge plastic tubs, waist high, full of distilled rum, in which one man dunked a bucket and poured it over a cloth into another plastic container with a tap at the bottom, while another man filled the bottles through the tap. He had a little help from a little friend (I take it not an employee, as he was pretty cheeky and left when we did).
 

Cocoa pod and beans

The cocoa processing factory was interesting - the plants need the shade so it looks less like a tended orchard and more like a wild forest. This factory exports their beans to many top chocolate makers because they are less bitter than others.







These are my feet in cocoa beans going through the process of making sure they get exposed to the sun and properly dried. Someone somewhere is going to pay a lot of money for the organic 85% dark chocolate that had my feet in it!

First Turtle!

The night started off with rain, which is auspicious in India (if nowhere else). We waited it out fully decked out in our rain gear, because it doesn't seem to rain for long here. We left half an hour later than usual, and by the time we got to the beach it had stopped. I have to say, even after the rain the beach was fantastic. Scudding clouds showed a peep of stars here and there and the wind, though strong, was warm. The damp sand did what sand does, whether dry or wet - gets in most places unless you have awesome rain pants and a rain jacket!

The second patrol found a turtle at about 10:15 PM. Sea turtles come up at night to lay their eggs to protect against predators. We walked over with our headlamps off, and in the darkness (hard to see with dark clouds) could just make out a huge shape. These are Leatherback turtles - the largest, who are able to dive up to 4000 feet (~1200 m) and so their shells are able to compress a little because of the water pressure, hence the name.

Piece missing of right flipper

Her rear right flipper had been bitten off by something - likely a shark so she was having trouble digging her egg chamber (a small, but deep hole). So, Kimron the supervisor got down on his knees and helped her dig. We use red headlamps as they can't see that wavelength well and only stay around her rear so as not to fluster her more than necessary. When she was satisfied that it was deep enough, she got ready to lay (her two rear flippers cover the hole). Volunteer S (not me) got to play midwife and did a great job of getting the eggs out of the hole and into a bucket (only done when they're being moved). The turtle laid 105 eggs which we had to move because her egg chamber was too close to the sea and they would have drowned. The water line of the beach is high at the moment - only about 5-15 feet in places between the water line and the vegetation, which is also bad for the eggs, as the extending plant roots can grow through the eggs. Later in the season the water line apparently drops so there is more beach space.

A bucket full of eggs! Arrows show smaller yolkless eggs.

Finally, the turtle spent a long time covering the hole and then threw sand around all over and kept moving around to different spots to disguise the spot where the eggs were. How clever! If we are not moving the eggs, we have to put a rope in the hole before she finishes covering it up so that we can take measurements of where it is. Otherwise even having seen it, you wouldn't be able to find it.

She then made her way slowly back to the sea; a dark shape against a dark sea. Little diamonds of phosphorescence glinted in the waves around her and on the sand. Finally, with eyes straining in the darkness, the only way to see her was the dark space which the white froth of surf closed around, and then she was finally gone. It gave me goose bumps.

First Night Survey

 No turtles came up to lay on my first night survey. But it was beautiful on the beach - a brisk wind, the roaring surf and a sky full of stars. We had to get up every 1.5 hours to switch off the patrol, but our kind supervisors let us sleep in the early hours and did it themselves. It started to rain at 4:30 AM, and as soon as I cut off the tags and put on my new expensive rain pants, which I had hoped to return if I didn't use, it stopped. It rained just enough to make me buy my pants! No turtle tracks on Bathway beach either. This is just the start of the season so it may take some time.

Town of Sauteurs, Billy

Sauteurs main drag

 We explored the closest town of Sauteurs today. It is small and quiet with no pretensions. There is one vegetable shop, 2 bakeries, 3 small departmental-ish type stores which sell imported and local goods, a number of clothes shops and one restaurant. The restaurant has a fixed weekday menu, and the only vegetarian option on Monday was pea rice. I settled for the local juice made of available fruits and was blown away by the rich fresh blend of guavas and other fruit. Why aren't fresh juices like this available everywhere in the world?! It could turn people off Coca Cola.

My first impression of extraordinary friendliness is confirmed. Everyone greets everyone else. The bus driver greets random people on the street and other drivers, sometimes with just a quick beep. In the veg/fruit shop a man asked me if I was with the sea turtles (apparently we're the only foreigners in the area in this season), and when I said yes, told another volunteer who was looking for limes in the shop that he had limes in his garden and would drop them off at the house later that day. And he did! We are all getting used to this very quickly too, and now greet people we walk past, construction workers, people tending their gardens, people in the bus, and anyone who happens to walk past the house while we are outside. Its a wonderful warmth.

Cable with his fresh coconut treat!

In the afternoon, one of the project supervisors climbed one of the coconut trees in the garden while the other hacked open the fresh coconuts with a machete so we could share some coconut water. For many it was their first taste and they were hooked. There's nothing like fresh coconut off a tree (even if a little fizzy from starting to ferment). Even the dogs enjoyed the tender coconut flesh!

Billy the Kid

Soon after, the pregnant goat in the backyard gave birth to a beautiful white kid. Quite the action-packed day, and no real turtle work yet!

Turtle beaches, tracks and training

We did our first search for sea turtle tracks on two beaches today.

Bathway beach
No signs of sea turtles, but plenty of signs of humans. Plastic bottles, wrappers and other non-biodegradable junk washed up on the beach. I'd like to swear off plastic, but I've tried and its virtually impossible to do. Aside from plastic bags, there are boxes, packets, wrappings (one can't stop buying bread!), wires, impements, snow shovels (a necessity in Boston!), and so on endlessly. What I did learn here is that plastic bags really are the worst, because sea turtles eat them (as do cows and probably other wildlife). So I am going to erase their use from my life.

Levera Beach

Levera Beach
Levera beach is part of a national park, though an "eco-resort" is coming up either in it, or just behind it. It is exquisite. Not a soul to be seen, pristine sand, and an ice-cream cone shaped island across the way (which you cannot swim to becuse the currents are so strong you'd end up in the Grenadines).

Better still, we saw tracks from four sea turtles! They leave huge markings in the sand from their flippers while attempting to disguise where they had laid their eggs. We found one yolkless egg (more on this later) on the sand. They are nothing like other eggs I've seen. They are the size of a table tennis ball, and like a water balloon - soft but resistant and a little sloshy.

Training
We had a afternoon's worth of training on procedures for night surveys. A team of 5 goes to the beach at night and patrol the beach in turns waiting for turtles to come up to lay. Once she (Kimron the training supervisor affectionately referred to them in the feminine as do they all) starts to lay, the team jumps or rather, literally "falls" into action. The key piece seems to be counting the eggs WHILE THEY ARE BEING LAID! This is done by catching them IN YOUR HAND to prod the old memory (60-140 eggs). Thankfully, we will wear gloves, though whether for our benefit or the turtles' I don't know. Not only do you have to count the eggs (which apparently sometimes come out 4 at a time), but there are 2 types of eggs - yolked and yolkless, and you have to keep track of both! Wow, talk about memory practice! This stint in Grenada might keep the ol' dementia at bay. This is far more hands on than I was expecting! Its going to be a very interesting few weeks. I'm trying to imagine what its like lying behind a mammoth Leatherback turtle and catching its eggs in the middle of the night, but can't quite get there.

After dinner we (turtle volunteer group and supervisors) sauntered down to the closest village along a lovely dark road to go for a first drink together at the local bar. The bar was spartan but hopping. With men. Constructed of unpainted plywood, it was abuzz with old and young men playing pool at a table which took up almost all the space; we gradually drifted into the front yard with other clusters of people. A convenience store is attached selling soap, chips, condensed milk and other necessities you may have forgotten on your way to the bar, but which you can pick up before heading home. You can find the bartender here dealing with customers if he isn't behind the bar. Great music rounded it off. It was a wonderful way to end the day - anticipation for what lies ahead, a growing cameraderie among the group, and a flavor of the local scene.

Arriving in Grenada

First Impressions of Grenada

This has got to be a friendly place! The porters in the airport appeared to know many of the travelers on my flight, and stopped for a chat even if they were helping with someone else's luggage. I've traveled a lot and never seen that before.

The island is gorgeous - an explosion of green of every shade with cute little cottages interspersed along the winding roads. Although the island is just 21 miles long (12 miles wide), it took us an hour and a half to get from the airport in the south to the project house on the north tip. This is because the roads (nice roads mind you) are so curvy that for the entire drive there was probably only one straight stretch 100 meters long. And that had 2 speed bumps. Methinks the road engineers must have been weaving around after having some of the famous Grenadian spiced rum while planning.

The project house is in a beautiful location (though you'd be hard pressed to find one on this island that is not), on the top of a hill with a fabulous veranda facing out to the sea with islands stretching into the distance. Everything seems soft - the greenery in every direction, the sky with puff-ball clouds, the sea, the cooling breeze. Even the humidity seems gentle. And, its absolutely quiet - just birds and faintly the sound of the sea.

I am mentally patting myself on the back for coming here to get a taste of a lifestyle that may have been had I chosen a different path in college.  Hopefully I'll be as enthusiastic after Monday, the first night survey of turtle beach - 3 have arrived so far this season!