What a gorgeous area Boothbay Harbor is! It has been quite a while since we visited, but after viewing these photos again, I might need to change that!
Ecuador and Volunteer Tourism
Leaving Ecuador on the red-eye through Miami last Thursday to my home in Dallas, I have to admit I was quite tired. My trip to Puerto Lopez, Ecuador in order to dive Isla de la Plata (the Poor Man’s Galapagos) for the Marine Megafauna Foundation, to photograph Giant Manta Rays, was both challenging and inspiring at the same time. There were inevitable low points…after all, we were in the developing world, and one always has to brace to see harsh reality.
I stepped into volunteer tourism 2 years ago. I did a month of volunteering (diving) in Tofo, Mozambique for All Out Africa. Tofo is also the headquarters of the Marine Megafauna Foundation, directed by lead scientists Dr Andrea Marshall and Dr Simon Pierce. The Marine Megafauna Foundation has several expeditions each year, calling upon supporters and volunteers to perform “citizen science”. I planned the trip to Ecuador about a year ago, anticipating the excitement of diving with the largest aggregation of Manta Rays on the planet! I was not disappointed! I cannot even describe the numbers of Mantas at Isla de la Plata….swarms and swarms of them! It was Manta heaven! The bonuses included Humpback Whales and Mola Molas….along with a huge population of sea turtles.
Volunteering is not all fun and games. The volunteers are asked to take ID photographs of the Mantas, as they are identified by the markings on their bellies. The other volunteers had been coming for 5 years to do this, but this was my first year. It took some adjustment to the diving itself…cold water, lots of current, often with surge…conditions which are not easy. For my comfort, it takes a couple of days to get used to new conditions. Then, it took a while longer for my camera and I to adjust! The boat ride from Puerto Lopez to Isla de la Plata is at least an hour, often over choppy water. A bit of challenge for my spine, which is held together by 8 Pedicle Screws and 4 rods. As I said, this was a challenging trip, not a restful vacation.
Home base was Puerto Lopez, a small fishing village in Ecuador. Puerto Lopez is very backward, as I discovered. The hotel was nice and clean (Hotel Pacifico), but the sidewalks were crumbling, the roads bumpy and potholed, and least attractive, the town’s sewer system seemed to be a river that emptied out into the ocean on either side of the town. I skipped hanging out on the beach due to this “waste” procedure. The fishing market was also located on the beach, lots of dead fish and sharks laying around, not very attractive, or fragrant.
Oddly enough, there is an incredible Italian restaurant in this town. I cannot remember the name of it now….Bella..something. Excellent, amazing food. The Whale Cafe was also a favorite. The food in town is, for the most part, starch and fat. And don’t ask too many questions about the food’s origin. I avoided beef while there, mostly eating fish. I did not become ill, so it seemed to be a good strategy. I cannot express how tired of rice I am….and plantains. Not sweet plantains with sugar and cinnamon, these are served as we serve potatoes. Often, they felt like rubber. No thanks.
The dogs of Puerto Lopez are enough to break anyone’s heart. I heard that the people love puppies, but when the puppies grow up, they get thrown out on the street. There are so many dogs…some healthy, some not. I had a pack of 3 I fed on a regular basis, and I would have loved to bring them home. It was hard to see, day in and day out, all of these animals with no one to care for them. While in Puerto Lopez, we saw a Humpback Whale adult mired in fishing net, a turtle in a net (we were able to free it), a dead turtle which had fishing line around its neck, a dead hammerhead in a net, and a Manta Ray with a steel hook about 2 cm from its brain (also saved). The developing world is not especially caring about animals…the poverty is so deep that its citizens are mainly concerned with feeding themselves. The Machalilla National Park of Ecuador is not supposed to be fished for 2 miles out from the island, but the fishing boats were a menace on a daily basis. I worried about getting hooked, the boats were zipping over our heads constantly, making for potentially dangerous conditions. Hopefully Ecuador will start enforcing the park’s protection….Whales, Mantas, Turtles are worth large dollars in tourism. But not if fishing boats are putting divers at risk.
Volunteer Tourism is not about “vacation”, it is more about serving a cause, regardless of what that cause is. It is a working trip…the diving off Isla de la Plata is hardly relaxing! The diving in Tofo, Mozambique is not relaxing either. One must be very careful…if there is an accident, help is a very long distance away. So why do it? I do it for two reasons, one, because I care about these animals and want to participate in their conservation, and because I enjoy the challenge (even when I doubt myself). We are destroying our earth, plain and simple. I have chosen the ocean and its creatures as my number one philanthropic focus. I support other causes as well, but my main focus is on the ocean.
So! Where to next? Well, I have decided to join Marine Megafauna’s January 2016 volunteer expedition to Komodo, Indonesia! For now? I plan to continue adventuring far and wide, and diving as much as possible! My motto is “do it while you can, don’t wait!” What are you waiting for?
The Journey Ahead
September 10th was one year since my husband’s (Randy) shocking double lung transplant. Randy was having some breathing issues, but his respiratory failures from August 2013 were shocking events that rocked our family and friends. He was critical for 3 months, on life support for 12 days. Our gratitude to the donor and his family is boundless. This donor saved many lives, not just Randy’s. His heart and liver were also used as donor organs. (To read about the ordeal, visit the category, An Unexpected Journey, lung transplant, on this blog.) Today we celebrated his one year anniversary as a REBIRTH Day, with a brunch at Lark on the Park. HAPPY REBIRTH DAY TO RANDY!
Our celebration this morning was lovely, and delicious (Lark on the Park is a fabulous restaurant, across from Klyde Warren Park)! While sitting at the table I looked around and felt so fortunate to have my family intact. And not only intact, but growing! Next year BOTH of my children are getting married! It is a joy to realize that next year will be a year of celebration.
The last few years have been so difficult. Not just for me, but for our entire family. The Wheel of Fortune turns, and it seems as though it is turning upwards for us. We all have good times and bad times in our lives, and I fully realize that it is not possible to live in the sunshine all of the time. The warmth of the sun is very welcome.
One year is an important milestone. He’s working out, walking, and even played golf last week! My daughter made a toast this morning, and said that she and Wes (my son) are very glad that tube dad is gone, and their real dad is back. (Tube dad was one week post transplant, and he was angry and frustrated and could not understand why we couldn’t understand what he was saying. He had a tube down his throat, that’s why!)
In two weeks we will be at Randy’s 40th high school reunion (yes, I know he is so old!), and toward the end of the month we’ll be in Kentucky for a family wedding. This will be the year of the wedding bells! My son and his fiance will marry in May, followed by my daughter’s wedding in October.
I know this post is pretty random, but the truth is, I am feeling very hopeful. Hopeful that the wheel is turning toward happier times and good health. It is hard to believe it has only been a year since things were at their lowest ebb. I feel like the sun is coming out after a long, dark winter. Here’s to the Journey Ahead!
Fab Photos Friday: A Wrap Up of Isla de la Plata, Ecuador!
I have spent the last two weeks as a volunteer diver in Ecuador. The diving here can be tough, and it is not easy to get out to the sites, either. Luxury is not available in Puerto Lopez. But I thought the boat was as comfortable as I could have hoped for, and the hotel is nice and clean. It has been an incredible experience, diving with the scientists of the Marine Megafauna Foundation, and with the dive company, Exploramar. I will talk about my experiences here in a future post, but for now, enjoy the scenery!
Tam’s Drama on the High Seas in Ecuador!
Tam’s Drama on the High Seas in Ecuador!
Here I am, in Ecuador, on a volunteer dive trip, and it is drama after drama around here! Isla de la Plata, Educador is one happening place! [Read more…] about Tam’s Drama on the High Seas in Ecuador!
In the Ocean, Not all Entanglements End Happily
A Humpback Whale Fluke is unique and used to identify the animal.
In the Ocean, Not all Entanglements End Happily
Don’t you love seeing whale and animal rescues on YOUTUBE or tv or the news? I know I do. Like the one with the whale that was freed and thanked her saviors by giving them a breaching display for over an hour? Not all of these stories end happily, though. In fact, most of them don’t. [Read more…] about In the Ocean, Not all Entanglements End Happily