7 Feb, Mon

Mon, 7 Feb. at 7:30am we had to be at Capt Morgan's dock ... seriously, that's the name of it. Nicole, Chris and i met Pamela, Chel, and Jose to go out in the boat to check out the mangroves and lagoons to see if anyone has been cutting down the mangroves or building where they shouldn't be. it was a sad, frustrating morning .... and HOT and sweaty walking through the mangroves :) unfortunately, we found several areas where the mangroves were being cut down for development. the mangroves are VERY important to sustain life in the sea. they clens and filter the water, stabilize the soil, and provide homes for hundreds of species of baby fishes, as well as homes for iguanas and birds, including the migratory ones from Michigan ! this one is 'raping' the mangroves from the land side where there are already existing houses. you can see the house at the top of the photo. and where the mangroves have recently been cut, .... along with the trash that is being thrown there ... on what they will soon take over as their OWN property ..... i'm sure they will clean it up once they finished their illegal activities .... NOT ! and clear evidence of water or ? being piped directly into the mangroves..... this lagoon has very recently had the mangroves all cut down and has been dredged to make a new marina. this project had been presented to the authorities, and was NOT given permission to proceed. it was discovered last week when they flew over the mangroves in an airplane. .... how they have been able to get this far without anyone of authority knowing about it, is beyond me. it is located very close to the Chepes Beach where we went last week ... i mean just around the corner! they needed heavy-duty equipment to do this job! didn't anyone see or hear anything unusual? and this area was also developed by cutting the mangroves and dredging, and is now home to a dive shop and resort. it also did not have permission to develop, ... is in the process of being sued, .... but is fully operational .... WITH a permit to operate! now go figure that one out! this is another new project that is being developed without permission. after they raped the mangroves and destroyed any vegetations' ability to hold the soil, they installed BOARDS to hold the soil back .... another very recent 'project' obviously underway. mangroves have been cut and a small stream has been dug out. we walked this 'stream' for about 35min, and never did come to the end of it ..... can you imagine what the DEQ, DEA, and EPA would have to say about this? and BICA has no authority to do anything about it. they can only bring it to the attention of the 'municipality'. there was, however, a bit of beauty to our day. they call this the Tourist Tree because it's bark is red and it peels. haha this beach is on the South Side of the island and has many nice homes on it for rent. the beach and snorkeling is right out front. it's beautiful ! the rest of the day i worked on my other projects. in the evening we went to the Tranquila Bar because it was their 7th anniversary; and they were serving 15Lemperia drinks .... that's less than 1USD. i think the entire island was there. we left at midnight, longer than i had intended to stay ... but the party was still rolling .... until 4am, so i hear. i think this little one was spying on everyone !