ex66 094 chatty report

8/14/2019 EX66 094 Chatty Report

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Phase 094: 2nd October to 11th December 2009

Here we are sitting in the office on radio

duty, reminiscing over our time here at the

beloved Pez Maya. It has been an eventful

10 weeks, to say the least, and every minute

has been full of excitement and fun. From

power ballad karaoke in the kitchen, to

frolicking with the fishes, to dancing with a

pod of dolphins, we have a load of memoriesto take home with us.

We think back to our first meeting at the

Hotel Colorado in Playa del Carmen and

remember the first awkward yet enthusiastic

introductions to our new family. Little did

we know that by the end of our time here, we

would become extremely close to these

strangers. Riding in the collectivo to base

was full of random conversation – everything

from possum gigging (who knows what that

is…) to bacon-flavoured toothpicks to fire

dancing, and of course questions about what

the next ten weeks were to entail.

As we arrived at base, we were greeted by

the lovely staff and introduced to what would

become our new home. The mozzies were

persistent in getting to know us quite

personally and the heat was nothing short of

blazing. Yet we were all full of jittery

excitement, well happy to be in paradise.

The first two weeks were packed full of

learning, learning, learning. Coral and fish

tutorials drilled the target species into our

heads, with catchy phrases to help us

remember them (Cop of a feel of Nathan,

anyone? Get it…Colpophyllia natans…

hehe). Lectures on the Sian Ka’an

Biosphere Reserve, coral reef ecology, fish

anatomy and threats to the reef helped us

learn more about the beautiful ecosystemwe were now living and diving in

everyday.

A typical day started with 6 am wake up

call to hut duties - readying the boats,

communal clean up (i.e. emptying the poo

bag and cleaning up everyone’s….stuff),

raking the grounds, or the favourite kitchen

duty, when everyone aspired to earn the

sought-after Michelin Star! After scarfing

down breakfast, BOAT PUSH was called,

which always got the heart pumping.

Diving began bright and early at 7:15 to

ensure everyone two dives a day.

Hammock napping, coral and fish reviews,

data entry and compressor duty filled the

down time until lunch, when – yay! - we

got to satisfy our ravenously hungry

stomachs yet again. For those of you

thinking that you may trim a few pounds,

be forewarned…it ain’t gonna happen. The

afternoons were filled with more naps and,if you were feeling really ambitious, yoga



or a run on the beach. The day was

completed with mood music and a lovely

dinner. And of course, give us this day, our

daily briefing and forgive us our safety

trespasses, as we forgive those who don’t put

their dive gear away. Amen.

The weekends

were a source of

great fun, with

everyone anxious

to have a day and

a half off after

working hard all

week. We

particularly

looked forward toSaturday nights,

when the staff

cooked delicious

food with, yes, meat!!! These nights were

always assigned a theme by our social

coordinators, with Disney characters and 80s

night the favourites. Somehow, despite the

lack of clothing options, everyone got

creative and really dressed it up. Sundays

were usually spent hanging out on base,

going cavern diving in cenotes to see the

amazing stalactites and stalagmites, or riding

bikes around the impressive Mayan ruins of

Cobá and Tulum. The Americans also

particularly enjoyed teaching the Brits how

to celebrate both Halloween and

Thanksgiving, two holidays which can never

afford to be forgotten. Thanksgiving turned

out to be one of the few times everyone said

they were stuffed at Pez Maya…we think it

was a success!

A unique experience to our phase was the 7th

Annual Turtle Festival that occurred in

Tulum the second week of phase. As a

group, we came up with educational games

to teach kids about turtle conservation, and

volunteered over the weekend at various

events. These included a Friday night

festival, Saturday beach clean and sand

castle competition on the beautiful Tulum

beach, and extravagant performancechronicling the journey from turtle nest to

the ocean. The

weekend was

completed with

a baby turtle

release in

Akumal onSunday. It was

a busy yet fun

weekend and we all had a good time

getting off base and interacting with the

local community.

Other community work, for those who were

interested, included teaching English to the

kids who live in Punta Allen, a fishing

town about an hour away, or the army, who

came to visit base periodically. Twice aweek, those teaching the kids would take

the bumpy journey down the road to arrive

to screaming children excited for their

lesson.

We

quickly learned how much they loved

drawing and playing Bulldog…hopefully

some of the English we taught them will

stick. Those working with the army had

the opportunity to teach them phrases such

as “Put your hands up!” “Step out of the

vehicle,” “Do you have any weapons or

drugs?” and “Can I search the car?”

The army was also good for a few games of beach volleyball, and let’s face it, even

with Pez Maya

rules we’re pretty

sure they kicked

our you-know-

whats.

Remember, when

in doubt, the

score is always 7-

7.



A highlight of the trip for many was the rare

incidental sighting of (drum roll, please…)

DOLPHINS!! Yes, 12 lucky few of us got

the privilege of boating and diving with a

pod of about 12 dolphins, a rare experience

here at Pez Maya. Other creatures we got tosee on occasion included boa constrictors,

crocodiles, stingrays, eels, turtles, and

sharks. One that we saw most often was the

southern stingray, which can get 2-3 meters

long.

They

like to

hide

themselves in the sand, so keep your bananas

peeled! When the lagoon opened, several

people saw bull sharks in action, swimming

across the early morning horizon as they

were hunting for their breakfast. Turtles

were also an exciting sight, particularly when

we went snorkelling to the reef offshore.

The end of phase has been full of

monitoring, and with everyone’s hard work

we’ve nearly managed to complete five

monitor sites! The five divemaster candidates are also busy finishing their

training, and will be complete by the time

phase is over. Everyone is beginning to

think about the luxuries of home that they

have been away from for so long, and is

anxious return with Christmas around the

corner. The talk of Christmas cookies,

mince pies, and roast dinners has kept our

mouths watering and the thought of being

wrapped up by a warm fire is a welcome

change to the uncharacteristic heat thatmakes up a Pez Maya “winter.” Yet we

will all be sad to go, to leave this base that

has become our home and the great friends

we have made during these amazing ten

weeks. Thanks to all the staff for their hard

work to keep things running and the

expedition members who made this an

unforgettable experience. We love you all!

ex66 094 chatty report

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