Sun, 7 Feb
not a very nice day, but better than yesterday. after breakfast around 8:30 Marie, Nick and i took the boat out. the plan was to put another square on the sand under water and dig down into the sand to see what they could find. with the goal being to see what was under the sand that the stingrays might be eating. when you were little, did you ever go to a picnic and they had a huge pile of sawdust, and you dug in there to find pennies? that's what it reminded me of. they were digging and i was watching underwater. i was laughing at them, they looked funny digging in there. they decided it was a ridiculous assignment and called it quits after 3 squares. Marie did find an unusual star fish that i'd never seen before ... i think it's a Two-Spined Sea Star, but i wouldn't swear to it.
Here's a pic i took with my camera .... i still need to practice using it ... :(
as we were going back to the boat, Marie said "look" ... just as i looked up, i saw an Spotted Eagle Ray propel itself out of the water and fly through the air. OMG it was awesome! it was quite far away, but i still saw it! i saw Eagle Rays when i was diving in San Pedro in December. they are absolutely awesome! they are like a stingray, with a wingspan of about 6 feet. they are black with white spots and a huge long long tail. their head/face/nose looks kind of like a dolphin
Here is a photo of an Spotted Eagle Ray i found on the internet; hopefully i'll be able to post my own photo ... not likely, but i can always hope !
when we got back in, Ray and Alex were in the sea grass finishing up what we started yesterday but aborted because of the weather. we joined them and worked until lunchtime. we had the BEST chicken burritos i've ever had, complete with homemade tortillas that Yvette made. she also made a very unusual potato salad that i loved. it had potatoes, eggs, corn, and something sweet.
at 2pm we went out to observe and record stingray behavior. Fagan is gone for a few days, so Buck took us out in the boat outside the reef, in water about 30ft deep, we are snorkeling and find a stingray, and follow it and record everything it does, searching, hovering, eating, swimming, etc etc etc .... i guess it's best to follow it for 2 HOURS ! ..i lasted a little over an hour and i had to quit because my fingers were numb from being cold and i couldn't write any more. oh, we use underwater pencils and paper! it's cool! it wasn't very warm today, so hopefully on a warm day, i will be able to stay longer. ...but 2 hours is a long time to be in the water, even on a hot day ... and not really moving much, just kind of hovering and watching. i also want to mention that snorkeling out there was an awesome experience in itself. there were lots of BIG fish down there! it was lots of white sand and then it turned dark dark blue ... just dropped off into oblivion! i also saw my first floating jellyfish, which i managed to avoid. no photos today either. i had my hands full with pencil and tablet and my eyes glued to a stingray!
Here is a pic of Buck :
since i don't have much to show today ... i'll tell you about our composting toilets :) they use no water nor chemicals. they are above ground, quite a ways above ground. you only put in the toilet things that you've already consumed, :) .... and also your toilet paper--nothing else. then after you have made your 'donation' you scoop a cup of sawdust and pour it down the toilet, close the lid, and leave. :)
The building on the left is the shower and sink; there are 2 in that building, one on each side. since there are only 3 of us volunteers here, i have one all to myself.... for now....
The building on the right, is the composting toilet.
photo of the inside ... looks normal, just like porcelain, huh?
Here is a picture of my walk to the bathrooms :) it's a garden paradise here, as well as an island paradise !
at dinner i shared videos and pictures of my monarch butterflies with the group. they were interested and asked questions :) then i went to the library and worked on my blog. it started sprinkling just as i was heading to my room.
as we were going back to the boat, Marie said "look" ... just as i looked up, i saw an Spotted Eagle Ray propel itself out of the water and fly through the air. OMG it was awesome! it was quite far away, but i still saw it! i saw Eagle Rays when i was diving in San Pedro in December. they are absolutely awesome! they are like a stingray, with a wingspan of about 6 feet. they are black with white spots and a huge long long tail. their head/face/nose looks kind of like a dolphin
Here is a photo of an Spotted Eagle Ray i found on the internet; hopefully i'll be able to post my own photo ... not likely, but i can always hope !
when we got back in, Ray and Alex were in the sea grass finishing up what we started yesterday but aborted because of the weather. we joined them and worked until lunchtime. we had the BEST chicken burritos i've ever had, complete with homemade tortillas that Yvette made. she also made a very unusual potato salad that i loved. it had potatoes, eggs, corn, and something sweet.
at 2pm we went out to observe and record stingray behavior. Fagan is gone for a few days, so Buck took us out in the boat outside the reef, in water about 30ft deep, we are snorkeling and find a stingray, and follow it and record everything it does, searching, hovering, eating, swimming, etc etc etc .... i guess it's best to follow it for 2 HOURS ! ..i lasted a little over an hour and i had to quit because my fingers were numb from being cold and i couldn't write any more. oh, we use underwater pencils and paper! it's cool! it wasn't very warm today, so hopefully on a warm day, i will be able to stay longer. ...but 2 hours is a long time to be in the water, even on a hot day ... and not really moving much, just kind of hovering and watching. i also want to mention that snorkeling out there was an awesome experience in itself. there were lots of BIG fish down there! it was lots of white sand and then it turned dark dark blue ... just dropped off into oblivion! i also saw my first floating jellyfish, which i managed to avoid. no photos today either. i had my hands full with pencil and tablet and my eyes glued to a stingray!
Here is a pic of Buck :
since i don't have much to show today ... i'll tell you about our composting toilets :) they use no water nor chemicals. they are above ground, quite a ways above ground. you only put in the toilet things that you've already consumed, :) .... and also your toilet paper--nothing else. then after you have made your 'donation' you scoop a cup of sawdust and pour it down the toilet, close the lid, and leave. :)
The building on the left is the shower and sink; there are 2 in that building, one on each side. since there are only 3 of us volunteers here, i have one all to myself.... for now....
The building on the right, is the composting toilet.
photo of the inside ... looks normal, just like porcelain, huh?
Here is a picture of my walk to the bathrooms :) it's a garden paradise here, as well as an island paradise !
at dinner i shared videos and pictures of my monarch butterflies with the group. they were interested and asked questions :) then i went to the library and worked on my blog. it started sprinkling just as i was heading to my room.
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