EPIC ADVENTURES Archives | TRAVELS WITH TAM

A Vacation that Matters

December 15, 2015 By Tam Warner 22 Comments

On December 5th I joined REEF on a fish survey trip to St. Lucia in the Caribbean Sea. If you have never heard of REEF, they have a simple mission:

Reef Environmental Education Foundation is a grass-roots organization that seeks to conserve marine ecosystems by educating, enlisting and enabling divers and other marine enthusiasts to become active ocean stewards and citizen scientists.

They have 3 major projects, and they are 1) Grouper Moon Project, 2) Fish Survey Project, and 3) the Lionfish Eradication Project (Lionfish are an invasive species in the Atlantic). The trip to St. Lucia was a survey trip. It is important to survey the reefs and check the health of the fish and corals. A healthy coral reef is full of life! These surveys go into a huge database, and scientists can make recommendations and do research on specific areas with the data gathered. There were 18 volunteers who went to St. Lucia to dive, and while diving, document the present species and their abundance. We discovered 218 species in St. Lucia! Pretty remarkable, really. It was my first REEF expedition, and I enjoyed it immensely. It was wonderful to be surrounded by people as committed to the oceans and to conservation as I am. You think I know about fish? Not on the level of most of these surveyors! They are amazing.

15 dinner — Dinner at the Beach Restaurant

We stayed at Anse Chastanet Resort, and did our diving with Scuba St. Lucia. I have rarely stayed at an all-inclusive, and I must tell you Anse Chastanet exceeded my expectations. The service is incredible, and the food fabulous. The chef had a different menu every evening, giving us many choices throughout the week. It was fun to discover new dishes, and they had an Indian Food night. There is a significant Indian influence on the island, and this is reflected in the food. When slavery ended in 1838, plantation owners brought in indentured servants from India to take their place as a cheap labor force. After the contracts were up, most of those from India stayed and made their home on the island, and their customs and foods found its way into the culture of St. Lucia.

2015-12-10 19.24.58 — After a day of looking for fish! It makes one hungry!

Scuba St Lucia, the dive business on the resort’s property, is simply one of the best I have ever seen. The boat, Miss Bertha, was big and roomy with plenty of space for 18 divers. The dive masters were knowledgeable and solicitous, adapting their dive style to ours. REEF divers dive SLOWLY in order to find fish. I thoroughly enjoyed my dives with them, and cannot give a stronger recommendation. Dive with Scuba St Lucia, and you will be as impressed and happy as I was. I guarantee it! My group had Errol as a dive master, and he was superb. One of the crew, Bradley, was on the spot when I needed help. Because of my back issues (I have eight pedicle screws and four rods holding my spine in place) I cannot lift tanks. Bradley made sure I did not have to. Everyone working the boat was incredibly hospitable.

Have you ever taken a vacation that combines volunteerism or Citizen Science on your trip? I have done several of them, and I have enjoyed each and every trip. Several travel companies offer volunteer tourism and/or Citizen Science. I’d love to hear about other experiences!

Home from St. Lucia!

December 13, 2015 By Tam Warner 6 Comments

What a wild and crazy week it has been! I returned to Dallas early this morning, around 1230a.m. I still haven’t caught up on my sleep, but I have caught up on my laundry. I will be writing and posting about the events in St. Lucia this week, and in the interim, please enjoy these photos of a beautiful week spent above, and below, St Lucia’s surface!

DCIM100GOPRO — The famous Pitons of St. Lucia

A lovely rainbow off of Anse Chastanet Resort's Beach — A lovely rainbow off of Anse Chastanet Resort‘s Beach. Anse Chastanet Resort has a fabulous staff, and absolutely delicious food!

My lovely view for the past week. — My ocean view for the past week.

jade mountain — Above the rooms of Anse Chastanet sits Jade Mountain Resort, where rooms start (depending on the season) at $1300.00 per night. Jade Mountain is one of the Caribbean’s most luxurious resorts.

These cool flowers are called Crab Claws! Easy to see why!

Pitons in clouds — The pitons in the clouds.

15 ja brown chromis — There are plenty of fish in the sea!

A gorgeous, full rainbow after a soft rain!

Off to St Lucia for Citizen Science!

December 4, 2015 By Tam Warner 1 Comment

St Lucia's Famous Pitons. — St Lucia’s Famous Pitons.

I am super excited to be on my way to St. Lucia with REEF.org on December 5 in order to do Fish Surveys. REEF: Reef Environmental Education Foundation is a grass-roots organization that seeks to conserve marine ecosystems by educating, enlisting and enabling divers and other marine enthusiasts to become active ocean stewards and citizen scientists. I have contributed data to their database for many years, on and off, but this will be my first opportunity to actually meet other, and very active, members of REEF.

REEF has three main projects: the Grouper Moon Project in the Cayman Islands, the Lionfish Project, and the REEF Volunteer Fish Survey Project. The Nassau Grouper is a Caribbean icon but was reaching very low numbers. The project began by witnessing a spawning event in the Caymans, but has now grown to educational efforts, tagging, and study. I saw a Nassau Grouper in Cozumel during October…I had not seen one for many years, so I was overjoyed. Lionfish are an invasive species in the Atlantic and the Caribbean, and REEF has programs to try to minimize this fact, including Lionfish Derbies to remove them. Lionfish are actually quite tasty, and hopefully more and more people will begin to fish for, and eat, the Lionfish.

I have been entering data to REEF’s Volunteer Fish Project Survey for many years. I confess I don’t always do it when I dive in the waters they survey, but it is imperative to get population numbers right, so if I am immersed in another project or in photography, I don’t keep track. I have wanted to go on one of REEF’s sponsored trips for years, and now I am getting my wish! Diving vacations that matter! I will post photos and blog from our base in St. Lucia, a place I have never visited. Exciting!

Monday Funday: Sponge Porn!

November 22, 2015 By Tam Warner 20 Comments

No, I’m not talking about Sponge Bob or any of his pals! I’m talking about sponges, the real sponges growing on the ocean floor. They are always beautiful, of course, but I had the thrill recently of seeing them spawn!

At first I thought it looked like those ocean vents in the very, very deep ocean, the ones that are smoking with heat from the earth’s core…then I realized, it is sponge sex! Sponges have both eggs and sperm, and can reproduce either way. As to why a sponge decides to send out sperm to fertilize other sponge’s eggs…it is a mystery too deep for me to solve! Here are some gorgeous sponges and enjoy the dive video!

coz 10 jan pal pinn sponge fingers — Gorgeous sponge fingers, or tubes.

coz creatures jul 06 fire coral — Encrusting Orange Sponge

coz vb 12 parrot camo and sponges of color — Barrel sponges and sponge fingers…see the parrot fish hiding?

sc 10 fran barrel arrow crab sea pearl baby — You never know what you will find in a sponge barrel!

Fab Photo Friday: Camera Gifts for People on the Go!

November 20, 2015 By Tam Warner 7 Comments

I LOVE cameras. I love to play with cameras. After I get to know a camera, I like to buy accessories for my cameras! The camera becomes my friend, so to speak. I know so many people with huge cameras, DSLRs, expensive housings for underwater and for photography on the go (hiking, kayaking, gliding, boating, etc), and they take amazing photographs. Professional level photographs. The problem with these fabulous cameras and housings? Most people cannot afford them. Not being able to spend thousands of dollars on professional camera equipment is certainly not unusual, and those who cannot spend that kind of money still want to capture great images. If this describes you or someone you know, here are my two favorite lower cost cameras for both land and underwater.
<br /> GOPRO cameras are awesome. They aren’t perfect, but they are awesome. I just purchased a GOPRO Hero+ with an LCD screen. The GOPROs that come with an LCD screen are necessary for me…I’ve spent many years using GOPROs without LCD screens and I usually miss what I am trying to film! So completely aggravating! I either hold the camera up too high, or too low. So, I bought the Hero+ with an LCD screen, and I love it. It is not the top of the line GOPRO camera, but so far I’ve had pretty good luck with it. And the best thing? All GOPRO cameras come with cool accessories! The GOPRO can go anywhere…parasailing, diving, climbing, skiing, hiking…just any activity at all! There are chest mounts, head mounts, and mounts you can put on a surf board! There is no end to where these little GOPROs will go. If you are a beginner, I highly recommend the Hero+ with an LCD screen and wifi. Yes, they are wifi enabled! There are accessories for anything you can imagine! Whether you want a beginning camera or a higher level GOPRO, you can check it out through these links to Amazon. Amazon even sells used GOPROs! Many of them have barely been used because the owner has just “traded up” the GOPRO line. You absolutely cannot beat it for the price.

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<br /> Another camera that is fantastic for the money is the Canon Point and Shoot. I use the Canon Powershot G15 as both underwater camera and land camera. There is a newer version out, the G16, but I haven’t traded up yet because I have been so happy with the G15. The day when I trade up is coming though, because unlike the Canon Powershot G15, the G16 is wifi enabled. There are a few underwater housings that will house the Powershots, from the Canon housing to the Recsea housing. It depends on how serious you are about taking underwater photos. If you are wanting a land only camera, it is small yet powerful, with a lot of accessories such as macro lenses, telephoto lenses, and great filters. Again, Amazon has terrific prices for Canon cameras, whether you are looking for a Powershot Point and Shoot, or a DSLR.
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Over the years I have used a lot of still cameras from Sony to SeaLife to Sea & Sea and Canon. The Canon G15 has been my favorite. One of these days, I tell myself, I am going to buy an amazing DSLR with a huge housing…but so far, the Canon Powershot G15 and the GOPRO Hero+ has kept me entertained. I have several friends who are professional level photographers who use Nikon and Olympus and are extremely happy with them. I’ve never tried those brands, though I would certainly like to! Strictly from my own experience, to beginners and intermediate photographers, I can happily recommend the GOPROs and Canon Powershots.

Happy shopping!

The Downside of Travel

November 10, 2015 By Tam Warner 12 Comments

Gorgeous Golden Fall in Maroon Bells. — Gorgeous Golden Fall in Maroon Bells, Aspen, Co.

Travel is good for you. I believe that simple truth, and there is no dearth of literature to support it. However, there can be a downside: illness.

My parents liked to travel, and they took my brother and I on the road to Florida every year of our childhood…until flying became the way to go. During my childhood I had mumps, measles, and chickenpox…in Florida. All on vacation. I also sustained injuries on those trips: dislocated hip (from jumping waves), and a Man of War jellyfish sting (thankfully a small one, because it was incredibly painful).

dad holding our hands in ocean — Ft Lauderdale, FL…the scene of many illnesses for me!

The trend has continued throughout my life. I either get sick on vacation, or immediately afterward. I was in Cozumel most recently, and I returned home last Monday. I functioned with painful joints and a lowgrade fever through Friday, and Saturday put me into bed where my fever spiked to 104 degrees. My joints were on fire. Today my fever is finally broken and I feel human. I haven’t been able to eat much, my joints still hurt a bit, and I feel completely worn out.

I sent my doctor an email and asked him if I should come in for a blood test to see if it was Dengue (again). He said no…if I’m feeling better there is no reason to do it. It could be Chikungunya, another mosquito borne disease that causes fever and joint pain, similar to Dengue Fever. Mosquitoes swarm in Cozumel during the wet months, like October.

I do hate getting sick. I’ve been sick on every continent I’ve visited! There are two left…I wonder what Australia and Antarctica will do to me. For now, I am planning a trip to St. Lucia in December to help do reef and fish surveys. I wonder if there are many mosquitoes in St Lucia. I hope not.

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