I’m sat by the sea in a tropical country again. This time it’s for the research part of my Master’s degree in Tropical Coastal Management. After much deliberation (with at one point me seriously considering throwing a dart at a map of the Caribbean) it was decided that St. Lucia was the place to be.
I arrived yesterday after an 8:35hr flight (and a night at Gatwick Travelodge). Currently I’m staying at a quaint little hotel named ‘Casa del Vega’. We (my partner in marine biology crime Josie and I) were picked up by the owner from the airport. During the hour long drive from one end of the other she answered all the questions we could think of about St. Lucian life. We also had a guided tour of all the damage caused by last year’s hurricane Thomas and other local sites such as the prison and mental hospital. We also found out that there was no running water that day on the whole island due to repair work on the damn – just like CCC!!
Our evening was spent sat on the balcony watching the cruise ships go by and the sun go down. The hotel is on a hillside going down to the sea. There’s a rocky cove at the bottom that I can’t wait to snorkel in. The room that we had was great. It was big and had a huge walk in wardrobe. However, we had the opportunity to move to one with a small kitchen so it was out with the space and in with the home cooked meals. The owner even took us to the supermarket this morning to get supplies.
At the moment we are in the capital city, Castries, as we have to sort out research permits and official things like that. In the next few days we’ll be moving to Soufriere; where there is a marine protected area and more tourists that aren’t cruise ship passengers.
More info on what I’m actually doing soon!
Love
Abi
xxx
PS Here's great video of where I am and the owner, Mrs Compton :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOi9Yzq3Kws
Thursday, 7 April 2011
Tuesday, 3 August 2010
Hard to get to Dumagete, Harder to Leave
Next on our itinerary was Dumagete on the southern coast of Negros. However, we had a problem in the that the ferry from Bohol to there wasn't running that week. So after some discussion we decided that we had to backtrack to Cebu and get a ferry from there. We stayed the night in Moalboal a village almost completely dedicated to diving. Nick had stayed the week before and a friend of his was doing his dive master there. We had a good night playing pool in their favorite bar before heading to Dumagete the next day.
I really enjoyed my stay in Dumagete - so much so I left a lot later than I had expected. The town had a large university and s o the atmosphere was really cool. In amongst a lot of chilling out I did some cool stuff as well as having some good nights out.
I visited Centrop (The Center for Tropical Conservation Studies) where they are researching and breeding some of the Visaya's endangered animals including the warty pig, spotted deer and bleeding heart pigeon. We even got a personal tour by the zookeeper! We also visited the Marine Labs of the university which had some interesting displays and some live specimens. It'd be a nice place to work :)
I also got to some diving whilst I was there. We went to dive an island called Apo which is a great example of how MPAs and ecotourism can work. I also did a 'muck dive' in Dauin which there is dark sand beach.
Finally I went to visit the twin lakes and some water falls on a day trip.
As well as the sights I think the thing I will remember Dumagete for is the cake! There were loads of great (and cheap) cafes and bakeries which you could get amazing gateaux and muffins.
Dumagete was where Nick (and also Helen who had joined us on a holiday from the Thresher shark Project) and I said our goodbyes and I headed off to the next stop on my journey.
Abi
xxx
I really enjoyed my stay in Dumagete - so much so I left a lot later than I had expected. The town had a large university and s o the atmosphere was really cool. In amongst a lot of chilling out I did some cool stuff as well as having some good nights out.
I visited Centrop (The Center for Tropical Conservation Studies) where they are researching and breeding some of the Visaya's endangered animals including the warty pig, spotted deer and bleeding heart pigeon. We even got a personal tour by the zookeeper! We also visited the Marine Labs of the university which had some interesting displays and some live specimens. It'd be a nice place to work :)
I also got to some diving whilst I was there. We went to dive an island called Apo which is a great example of how MPAs and ecotourism can work. I also did a 'muck dive' in Dauin which there is dark sand beach.
Finally I went to visit the twin lakes and some water falls on a day trip.
As well as the sights I think the thing I will remember Dumagete for is the cake! There were loads of great (and cheap) cafes and bakeries which you could get amazing gateaux and muffins.
Dumagete was where Nick (and also Helen who had joined us on a holiday from the Thresher shark Project) and I said our goodbyes and I headed off to the next stop on my journey.
Abi
xxx
Beautiful Bohol
So I have put up the photos from Bohol but not explained what I've been up to - so here goes!
We (Nick and I) got the ferry from Cebu to Bohol at lunch time. The terminal was pretty well organised and it was a bit like going to the airport with checking in and whatnot. The ferry was also pretty comfortable but we were disappointed we couldn't go outside. When we arrive we went straight to or accommodation Nuts Huts which were in the interior of the island. Once we were dropped off it was a bit of a trek on a dirt track to get there and then lots and lots of steps but it was well worth it. We stayed in a traditional wooden hut which looked out onto the Lomboc river. The river was the gorgeous shade of Wedgwood green.
The only thing which spoilt the tranquility a few times a day were the cruise boats the went by on the river. They were set up for tourists to have dinner whilst listening to some dodgy live music - that we were also subjected to. We went for a swim in the river up to the falls and we even saw one boat with a wedding reception on it!
Whilst on Bohol we got up to all of the typical toursisty things including going to the Chocolate Hills - which looked exactly like the photos. We also went to see the Tarsiers at the Tarsier Sanctuary. It was a really good day and we got to see the little primates really close up. There was also a film telling you about them and Nick and IU went on a massive trek inside the protected forest area.
After Nuts Huts we moved on for a night at the Bohol Bee Farm. This was an organic farm that was set up by a local woman. Originally she also kept bees there but most of the hives have been moved to another part of the island. The room was really nice as was it's surroundings. We had a tour of the farm where we saw where the herbs, fruit and veg were grown. I got to hold a frame from the bee hive and didn't get stung and we had a go on the loom that the ladies were using to make cloth for the crafts. The food at the Bee Farm was amazing. the best thing were the salads as they all came with lots of edible flowers in them :)
After that we tried to make our way to the next island our trip.
Abi
xxx
We (Nick and I) got the ferry from Cebu to Bohol at lunch time. The terminal was pretty well organised and it was a bit like going to the airport with checking in and whatnot. The ferry was also pretty comfortable but we were disappointed we couldn't go outside. When we arrive we went straight to or accommodation Nuts Huts which were in the interior of the island. Once we were dropped off it was a bit of a trek on a dirt track to get there and then lots and lots of steps but it was well worth it. We stayed in a traditional wooden hut which looked out onto the Lomboc river. The river was the gorgeous shade of Wedgwood green.
The only thing which spoilt the tranquility a few times a day were the cruise boats the went by on the river. They were set up for tourists to have dinner whilst listening to some dodgy live music - that we were also subjected to. We went for a swim in the river up to the falls and we even saw one boat with a wedding reception on it!
Whilst on Bohol we got up to all of the typical toursisty things including going to the Chocolate Hills - which looked exactly like the photos. We also went to see the Tarsiers at the Tarsier Sanctuary. It was a really good day and we got to see the little primates really close up. There was also a film telling you about them and Nick and IU went on a massive trek inside the protected forest area.
After Nuts Huts we moved on for a night at the Bohol Bee Farm. This was an organic farm that was set up by a local woman. Originally she also kept bees there but most of the hives have been moved to another part of the island. The room was really nice as was it's surroundings. We had a tour of the farm where we saw where the herbs, fruit and veg were grown. I got to hold a frame from the bee hive and didn't get stung and we had a go on the loom that the ladies were using to make cloth for the crafts. The food at the Bee Farm was amazing. the best thing were the salads as they all came with lots of edible flowers in them :)
After that we tried to make our way to the next island our trip.
Abi
xxx
Thursday, 15 July 2010
Sailing and Cebu
I left Napantao very early on Wednesday morning and headed to Maasin. Here I met the crew of the South Sea Nomads. Rich was a former SO at CCC and, along with Katie, Kitt and boat captain Arial, had built a boat which they were sailing to Malaysia in order to set up a dive operation. They had arrived at CCC and few weeks earlier for a Saturday night and we had also bumped into them whilst in Maasin. Luckily for me they were due to start their epic voyage on the day I was leaving CCC and offered to take me along! The boat was moored on a small island close to Maasin which was a bit of a holiday resort – but mid week it was really quiet. The paperwork they require took some time coming through so we stayed there for my first night. We had a BBQ on the beach with some really yummy fish and veggies.
The next day we set off (a little later than planned) for Cebu. It was really cool to see the crew (inc. puppies Jack and Lettie) get so excited to be starting something they had been planning and working on for so long. The crossing was good and I fell asleep at the front of the boat (and got quite sunburnt too!). We arrive into Cebu just as it was getting dark which made the city look really pretty but made docking just a little more stressful. But all was well in the end and we set off into town for a TGI Friday and a few drinks.
The next day was pretty stressful one for me. I had lots of things to sort out and buy before setting of travelling proper and spent most of the day in the two big shopping malls of Cebu. In the evening though I went to the cinema which was great. It was a big cinema but the tickets were about £2.50! They played the national anthem before the film (like they do before just about anything) and the power went down for a few minutes in the middle of the film.
On Saturday morning I said goodbye to the crew, thanked them for their kindness and wished them luck for the rest of the journey. I set off to SM mall to meet Nick, from the Thresher Shark Project, who would be my travelling buddy for the next couple of weeks.
The next day we set off (a little later than planned) for Cebu. It was really cool to see the crew (inc. puppies Jack and Lettie) get so excited to be starting something they had been planning and working on for so long. The crossing was good and I fell asleep at the front of the boat (and got quite sunburnt too!). We arrive into Cebu just as it was getting dark which made the city look really pretty but made docking just a little more stressful. But all was well in the end and we set off into town for a TGI Friday and a few drinks.
The next day was pretty stressful one for me. I had lots of things to sort out and buy before setting of travelling proper and spent most of the day in the two big shopping malls of Cebu. In the evening though I went to the cinema which was great. It was a big cinema but the tickets were about £2.50! They played the national anthem before the film (like they do before just about anything) and the power went down for a few minutes in the middle of the film.
On Saturday morning I said goodbye to the crew, thanked them for their kindness and wished them luck for the rest of the journey. I set off to SM mall to meet Nick, from the Thresher Shark Project, who would be my travelling buddy for the next couple of weeks.
Last Adventures at CCC
Lots of exciting things happened in my last few weeks at CCC. Tim and Petchy, the new SOs, did really well in learning the ropes and with my last SDP finished I was able to get in the water and diving on surveys a lot more. However, we all took a break from diving to spend a few nights in the provincial capital of Southern Leyte, Maasin. It was the 50th anniversary of the region and we had been invited to take part in the celebrations. The first evening we went down to the Capitol – a big grassy area in front of the government buildings. There they were holding the Miss Southern Leyte beauty pageant on the massive stage. All around were food and other stalls; it was just like a festival. The next morning was the main event and we gathered on the main street for the big parade. Everyone seemed to be taking part from school children to government officials at all levels. Every so often there was a marching band and majorettes to keep the pace. We were near the end of the parade and all walked with our matching t-shirts behind our banner. It was really fun, despite the light drizzle, and everyone watching liked to wave and cheer. I felt really proud and honoured to be invited to take part in such an important occasion. When the parade finished, back at the Capitol, there was a short ceremony and Rach, Holly and I were invited to sit on the stage during it. I got to meet the governor of Southern Leyte but it was a little embarrassing as we were all wearing shorts and t-shirts and looking a bit bedraggled while everyone else were in the poshest outfits! Afterward we were free to enjoy all of the things that had been put on such as stalls with crafts from each of the regions in S. Leyte. And of course there was also time to fit in some shopping in the ‘big city’ for things we don’t get at Napantao. That evening we had our own celebrations as it was Holly and Rach’s birthdays while we were away. The next morning all the girls went to a beauty salon for birthday treatments.
On Saturday we had yet more celebrations for the birthdays (inc. Emily’s too) and my last Saturday night. We all went into Liloan to a bar for BBQ and karaoke which was lots of fun.
On Wednesday it was time for me to say goodbye to CCC and hit the road for a few weeks of travel. Tuesday was a really emotional day as I had a lot of things to sort out and really didn’t want to leave. On Tuesday evening we had the traditional goodbye after dinner. Everyone especially Rach and Holly were really nice and I even got presents! I had to say a few words and said how inspirational the people I’d met and the things I’d seen were.
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