Travels with Tam

Last Night in Cozumel

July 30, 2013 By Tam Warner Leave a Comment

It has been quite a trip! The first week my cousin Kathy came to dive with me, followed by the boys, my son Wes and his musketeers Cooper and Charlie, followed by fellow volunteers from my trip to Mozambique last year, Felix, Marcel and Daniela, and last but not least, my daughter, Alexandra.

It has been fun, but exhausting! I was constantly in the water.

Randy and I spent our last evening at Primas, one of our favorite restaurants in Cozumel. It overlooks the ocean and is on the top floor of a condo complex. Primas used to be one of the most popular restaurants in Cozumel, located on the town plaza. It moved five years ago or so. Most of the waiters are still there, but we sadly discovered that the former maitre d, Juan Carlos, passed away recently. He was only in his 40s, far too young to die of a heart attack. Matteo is our buddy at Primas, he brings us our drinks, and certainly knows my dinner order, every time we walk in. What was the Cheers saying, where everyone knows your name? Well, they certainly know our drinks and food.

We enjoyed dinner with Mark and Lyn, our next door neighbors, and our new Cozumel attorney and his wife, at La Cocay on Calle Ocho. La Cocay has the best food on the island, bar none. The meal was so enjoyable, Felipe and Maria are from Merida and love Cozumel, and their company was delightful. Maria was fun to talk with, she certainly has a mind of her own, an admirable quality in my estimation. Felipe told us stories of the Yucatan’s history, and it was fascinating! Apparently, the Yucatan (like Texas) was its own country for quite a while. In the 1840’s Mexico tried to conquer the Yucatan, so the Mayan workers (much like slaves in America) were armed, and Mexico was defeated. The Mayans were tired of their treatment and wanted their freedom, so they made a deal with Mexico: Yucatan would become a part of Mexico if they would help the Mayans gain independence and better conditions. Many of the Yucatan’s leading families were murdered, and the Yucatan went back to Mexico. This was 15 or 20 years before our Civil War. Interesting, right?

I confess myself ready to go home, which is strange for me. It will be a full house: my daughter has moved back home for a while in order to save up to buy her own place, and my son and his girlfriend are planning to move to Austin, but first, they will stay with us. Wes just graduated college, so they are coming to us from California with their dog, Layla, and cat, Gibson (can you tell my son is a guitarist?) to join our two dogs, Luke and Lucy, and our daughter’s dog Remy, and her two cats, Strider and Bella. A zoo, right? Absolutely! I’m looking forward to it, though. It will be far from dull. It will probably be the last time the four of us live under the same roof. They leave the nest, but they do come back to visit!

Well, we received our First Class upgrades on our flights (travel hint: travel mid week if you want to be upgraded!), but though I have worked like crazy today, there is still packing to do in the morning. See you stateside!

My best dives in Cozumel!

July 25, 2013 By Tam Warner Leave a Comment

Seriously, Seriously! Really? Really. I think I just had the best dives I’ve ever had on Cozumel. Thank you, We-B-Divin-Cozumel and the best dive master, Yasser Rosado! My daughter came into Cozumel, and she hadn’t been diving in two years. Off we went to Palancar Caves, and Cedar Pass, her LEAST favorite dives on the island. Allycat really does not care for too much current, and Cedar Pass is usually a high current dive. Yasser knows we don’t like going through the “swim throughs” at Palancar Caves, so we stayed above the corals…and we are so glad we did! We sighted 2 Black Tip Reef Sharks above us! They were small, and darting around the top of the reef. I took video of them, they were just a little too far away to take photos. We saw them several times on the dive, always above us. During the next part of the dive I sighted a glorious Eagle Ray across the reef, and began swimming toward it. I was ready with video because usually Eagle Rays see divers and head the other direction, but this one just kept on coming and kept on chewing whatever it was it was eating, and I ended up swimming right next to it for a bit. They are so incredibly beautiful, with beautiful wide wings with Cheerio shapes, and a long, beautiful tail. What a gift, just to be with it for a little while.

We also saw two big Green Moray eels, and one of them was sleeping! Kind of spooky, they look dead lying there with their eyes open.

A nurse shark made an appearance, as did turtles who were awake! Also, Southern Stingrays. Really, just incredible, wonderful, perfect dives at Palancar Caves and Cedar Pass. Cozumel is generally what I term, “relaxation diving”. Yes, all dives are drift dives and sometimes the current can be a little strong, but for the most part, the dives are easy going, with incredible visibility (100 ft plus) with gorgeous coral, tons of fish, and some exciting animals once in a while. It is not challenging diving (very rarely, anyway), and in 20 years I never saw any shark except Nurse Sharks (though last year we did see a Black Tip Reef Shark’s head with no body floating around). Pilot Whales and False Killer Whales made a one day appearance last year as well. No humpbacks, whale sharks or Manta Rays. It is always a true pleasure to dive Cozumel, but if you are looking for big Pelagic action, this is not the place to look for it.

The follow up to these dives were the next day, when I took photos of a family posing with a large-ish Hawksbill turtle. Rays, sharks, eels….great dives. Francesa and Santa Rosa Shallows never fail to delight with its variance of color, fish, and animals. Not to mention all the cool little things like shrimps, Christmas Tree Worms, Fireworms….you could spend forever under the ocean and never get bored.

Never been diving in Cozumel? THAT is something you should rectify immediately! Check out Villa Coronado!/

More Tofo Volunteers Arrive in Cozumel!

July 23, 2013 By Tam Warner Leave a Comment

Marcel and Daniela arrived from Cancun around lunch, as we had a night dive planned. It was so wonderful to see Marcel and Daniela! It seems like no time has passed at all since our time in Tofo a year ago. Randy and I took everyone to the other side of the island for a drink. We were all excited for the night dive, it was Felix’s first, and Daniela and Marcel’s second (but they said their first night dive was not a big deal). Felix was a bit on the nervous side, but that is completely normal. We got to the boat, a 35 foot luxury liner compared to the zodiac in Tofo, where we were briefed, and we descended during twilight. It is best to do a night dive with beginners at sundown, the darkness comes on gradually, almost unnoticed, and it eases them into the experience. Night brings out different fish, different animals, and I so very much wanted them to see an octopus.

It would be really unusual for one to do a night dive in Cozumel and not see an octopus, but hey, you never know. I was worried during the dive until we spotted that first octopus, then ahhhhhh….I relaxed and enjoyed the next 5 octopi! Huge crabs, eels, open corals, lobsters, brittle stars…night diving is wonderful. And the colors are amazing! Using lights really shows the beauty and color of the reef and the corals. Just gorgeous. They LOVED the night dive (of course!). Afterward, we went to the Money Bar to eat. Diving makes one hungry!

The next morning Felix left us for Cancun and home to London…he starts an internship next week, so…holiday time is over for now for him! But 3 weeks in Mexico was a great way to celebrate his graduation! On the way home from dropping him off at the ferry Marcel wanted to know if we could do another night dive! Sure! I’m always up for a night dive! So the three of us went again, and had another great dive. There were several first timers on the boat for the night dive, so there was nervous energy down below.

Everything went well, though. Home to bed for our early morning dive adventure!

Off we went the next morning to Punta Palancar and El Paso de Cedral. Diving with us were Carol and Brian. Brian is a quadriplegic, and still is able to dive. He was a Salvage Diver in the Air Force, and I thanked him for his service. I don’t know if that is how he was hurt, but salvage diving can be quite dangerous. After they “gear” him up, the dive master on the boat holds Brian’s tank and that is how he dives. I am full of admiration for him…he and his wife are obviously strong minded individuals.

The dives were beautiful….we saw turtles and groupers and giant parrotfishes and eels and a nurse shark….very beautiful dives. We went to dinner with my husband and daughter, Ally, and our next door Cozumel neighbors, Lyn and Mark.

It was a fabulous meal in great company. We very much enjoyed it.

Alas, all wonderful things have an end, and Marcel and Daniela headed out this morning for Cancun to Philadelphia, then Daniela home to Munich and Marcel home to Zurich. It was so natural to be together, as though no time had passed. We discussed doing another volunteer trip together…maybe to Thailand. We will try to make that work! It meant so much to me that they came to Cozumel to visit me this summer…we had a very strong group in Tofo, and I feel connected to all of them. Living in the same house with people for weeks does tend to create bonds of affection, and I am very fond of Felix, Marcel, and Dani. Hasta Luego, mi amigos!

Do and Go and See NOW

July 23, 2013 By Tam Warner Leave a Comment

Crazy day. Today is Daniela’s birthday, and right now Felix is baking her a cake and playing some techno disco music. Where to start? First, I received an email that Rex is not doing very well and he is in the hospital. (My father-in-law). Apparently he has fallen and broken his tailbone, has a ruptured lumbar disk, and has had a somewhat difficult time cognitively. I’m very sad about it…he will go into rehab after he gets out of the hospital. I hope cortisone will work for his disc. It is troubling to watch our parents become infirm, it certainly lets us know that time is passing. I am glad he has done so much travelling in the last 5 years, he has been everywhere. None of us know when we are going to have problems, so we have to grab every moment, and I believe he has. I have always known this truth, I grew up going to the funerals of those who never made it to retirement, so I have always taken opportunities when they come my way, to travel, meet new people, experience new things. Age is creeping up, people my age have become ill, so I am going to do and go and see, before I cannot.

First dive this morning I saw a honeycombed whip tail stingray, the most dangerous ray in the world (or so I hear). Not close enough to go to the trouble for a photo, but it was big and beautiful. This was ray day….the whip tail, blue spotted rays, an electric ray, a Jenkins stingray, but no mobulas or mantas. Quite interesting animals on the second dive this afternoon: a Spanish Dancer egg case, for one thing. It looks like a gorgeous pink ribbon. The dive this afternoon was a mess: they forgot to bring my weight belt, prescription mask, and fins…. That was not the worst of it, though. We did the dive, I cannot see very well (no prescription mask), and of course I cannot push myself out of the water onto the boat, though I tried and ended up swallowing too much salt water. The reef, Salon, is only 10 minutes out of the bay, and when we return from a dive we “beach the boat”. Beaching the boat means that the driver runs at top speed ONTO THE SAND. It can be a bit harrowing, but today, I flew up out of the boat and landed in the middle, on a metal rod that runs the length of the boat. Embarrassing? Completely. I am quite sore. You know, it has to be said, I am a true walking, talking disaster zone. I am clumsy, often falling for no reason except I guess I don’t look where I am going, I am accident prone, and I cannot seem to stop these stupid incidents from happening. And yes, I spent most of my childhood in the corner, always in trouble for something. No matter where I go, these things follow me, I guess it is just part of being who I am. It ain’t easy being me!

Tomorrow we are off to Villancula and Bazaruta Archipeligo: Daniela, Ben, Suzanne, Marcel, and myself. I hear it is beautiful up there, especially around the islands….calm, warm seas, no current, hopefully a bit of a rest. I won’t have access to internet until Sunday night (as far as I know at the moment) so I will check in then. As everyone says here, cheers!

PS: Just had the big birthday celebration for Daniela. Darren (former bartender) mixed up some punch and everyone ended up playing some sort of truth telling card game (of the questions were mostly sexual in nature, and I have to say, they took it easy on me!) It was one way to get to know everyone!

A Giant Manta Ray and White Tip Shark!

July 22, 2013 By Tam Warner Leave a Comment

May 16

moz 12 office honeycomb throat — Beautiful Office Honeycomb Eel

Marcel and Ben continue to work on their Advanced, and the Open Water Group passed their tests so they are certified and working toward their Advanced Diver, well, except Melissa. She is dating the dive instructor though, so I have a feeling she will pass. They all seem to enjoy diving….if they like it here, they can dive anywhere. It is lovely to hear them all talking about their dives, so excited by everything! I love it.

Today we all circulated and signed petitions regarding the massacre of sharks and rays yesterday. The Foundation for the Protection of Marine Megafauna is rushing them to Maputo (the capitol) tonight. Most of the fishermen here have small rowboats, but this was a much larger, motorized boat. They have been told to fish 3 kilometers from shore, but they were in the bay. Even so, it is not illegal here, hopefully it soon will be. Darren, the marine biologist from the Seychelles, filmed it and there are many photos of the event. Let’s hope the government will understand that tourists are here to see these animals in the ocean, not being butchered on the beach. Rumor has it there is a Chinese mystery man in Maputo who pays top dollar for shark fins….some of the local guys who work in the dive industry are trying to find out his name.

I feel as though I have been here much longer than 10 days. I have become much stronger physically as the hills and treacherous stairs to the beach are unavoidable. It has been good for me. I have been diving every day since Friday, and I’ve done 3 ocean safaris. Launching the boat is no picnic, either, everything here involves physical exertion. I’ve started to know the scientists and divers….grad students, research assistants, biologists, they are all doing awesome work. I usually dive and safari with Ben and Marcel, and Darren is on every ocean safari as he is here from the Seychelles to measure and film Whale Sharks. Not much luck for him yet!

There have been few sightings in the last couple of months, and I sense a little concern. Great news filtered in today: a Humpback Whale was sighted off of Barra (one of the points of the bay)! I would love to see one. They come here to breed in late May, early June, so I may get lucky. I am also posting a photo of Marcel doing his laundry, and yes, I have to hand wash my clothes, too. A first for me.

I am very glad I decided to do this trip, and I hope it will be the first of many. I am diving in the morning and again in the afternoon, Friday morning a group of us leave for Bazaruto, a chain of island off of Villancula….it is said to be beautiful and serene, with incredible snorkeling. I am looking forward to it.

The Marine Megafauna Foundation in Tofo

July 21, 2013 By Tam Warner Leave a Comment

I attended a talk on Manta Rays last night by Dr Andrea Marshall. Casa Barry Lodge hosts the Marine Megafauna Foundation, so the researchers are based there. Casa Barry is up a hill, then down a hill, from the volunteer house, but hey, everything in Tofo is up or down a hill. Andrea Marshall is so charismatic…her passion for the conservation of Manta Rays is infectious. I saw a Discovery Channel special on the work she does with mantas and that is what sparked my interest in coming to Tofo. I want to help support this effort to the best of my ability. (I am scheduled to go to Komodo with a research team on Mantas January 2014!)

Andrea arrived here 10 years ago to do her graduate work, the first study of Mantas, and 10 years later there are 87% FEWER MANTA RAYS. I’ve been here a week and I’ve seen only one manta, and no whale sharks. The reason for this is obvious: today, on the way to Outback reef for a dive, we saw a fishing boat pulling up sharks and rays in a NET. It is not illegal, these animals are being fished for their fins so quickly they cannot sustain the population. After our dive (where I saw a mobula ray!) we saw them dragging sharks to the market from the beach, so we followed, and everyone is standing around watching guys cut them up. The rays were just babies. These people are so poor, the life expectancy is so low here, that the locals just cannot understand that they can make more money over the long haul by keeping these animals safe. For them, it is about RIGHT NOW. Eating right now, making enough money to last for a month for fins, they do not comprehend that the reason the tourists are here are the animals they are killing. It is so sad, so demoralizing. We all walked away in disgust, anger, and deep sorrow. Here are photos.

I have started doing fish surveys and research dive logs, and today I am learning to search the whale shark database and mark the shark ids. They use the NASA system for charting stars to chart the spot pattern on the sharks. I’ve also contributed turtle id shots. The dives the last two days have been much better…Mozambique is not easy diving. It isn’t easy, period. The walking is very difficult, up and down hills to get anywhere, but I am managing. Today there were a few older divers…it was nice not to be the oldest one in sight! I have to admit that it is a mixed blessing…I do feel stronger every day, but I also feel worn out and in pain a bit. I am pacing myself, and I will absolutely be able to complete this program.

I am comfortable here, this is not luxury, but it is fine. Compared to the people of Mozambique I am living like a Queen in this volunteer house. I feel like I have known this group forever….the bonding takes place so quickly when living in the same house.

My admiration for these people grows daily. My 22 year old roommate, Leslie, is from Switzerland, and has done volunteer work all over the world, including Antarctica! After 2 months here, she is off to Simon’s Town (right outside of Cape Town, South Africa) to work on the Great White Shark project. A small Great White was seen here day before yesterday…it was speared by local fisherman, of course, so it is probably being eaten by now, its fins on their way to China. These animals are going to be gone in 10 years if something is not done soon.

I confess I am feeling sad today to miss my daughter’s 25th birthday, but I think it was more important that I was there the day I gave birth! Happy, happy birthday, sweet and darling girl, I love you so much! I wish you could be here and meet these amazing people! What a way to travel the world! They really are an inspiration.

I’m exhausted already….an ocean safari, dive and manta ray talk yesterday; today an early morning dive, computer work, and two talks. Oh, and laundry. It is never dull here.

RESTART! REVITALIZE! REVAMP!

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