Work in the Sun, Fun in the Rain

This week has gone fairly smoothly. Preliminary work for my initial project has been done and 4 of my 30 transects completed (I think). I’m studying the ecology of Protoreaster nodosus also known as the chocolate chip starfish. Nobody really knows much about them so it’s really exciting to find this stuff out. At the moment I’m looking at five different habitats on the front and recording how many starfish and their size etc.

The research station is definitely becoming home. Our group has commandeered a table (of four) in the upstairs study area and when not in the water, we can be found there most of the time working (or at least pretending to work!) The main lodge also has a computer room, offices and a small library upstairs and a dining room and kitchen downstairs. Everywhere is pretty much open and we go most places barefoot which is really nice.

The food is brilliant. The Indonesian kitchen staff work practically round the clock 7 days a week to keep us fed with lunch and tea. It’s usually rice, veg and fish in varying sauces which actually is yet to get boring. Sometimes there is a treat of sweet potato chips or pasta. I think they tone down the spiciness of the cooking for us though and a lot of things are fried. The best days are Tuesdays as this is when they cook fresh doughnuts for us just as we get in from our last dive. Also when there is a birthday on the island they make an amazing banana marble cake for everyone.

We’re kept pretty busy with work and stuff but there is always time to chill out on a kabana or hammock. Thursday is ‘de-gas’ day where there is no diving. This means it pretty much a day off for everyone. Although this week it rained solidly (but we still ran around on the beach) On a sunny day, I reckon Bounty Bay (the only beach where we are allowed to sunbathe in bikinis) will get pretty packed. Because everything is outdoorsy we’re getting a lot of exercise in. I will be a volleyball pro by the time I get back.

As Thursday is a day off, Wednesday is social night. All the tables are taken outside and we eat extra yummy food and drink (moderate amounts) of beer and stay up late. This week we had some locals come over from the main island to demonstrate their marshal art which was actually very dancy. Of course afterwards some of the male dive instructors had to have a go with varying degrees of success.

Everyone on the island is friendly. Most of the westerners here are English, American or Canadian. We seemed to have formed a group of mostly dissertation students who arrived together. The locals are also really friendly. There are several shops on the island which sell snacks and sarongs and other bits and bobs. Everyone says hello when you walk past. We all have landlords that do our laundry and fill our mandi (a big bucket of water to wash with) and mine helped put up a hammock on my balcony.
My hut is basic but nice. It’s on stilts and has a balcony/veranda outside. There are two beds in the room and I share with a girl called Heidi. However, she only spends 2 nights on Hoga and the rest on Kaladupa because she’s doing an anthropology dissertation.

I think that’s enough info for now and that’s all I can think at the moment so I’ll go back to inputting data into my Excel spreadsheet.


Abi xx