Following our incredible dive on Manta Reef, we spent the afternoon on a cultural tour around the village. We helped prepare dinner, played games with the kids, and took dance lessons from Júlia (she’s a great teacher)! On Sunday, we had a pottery workshop where we made a variety of ocean-themed bowls, mugs, and even a wine cooler! It was a fantastic experience, and we cant wait to see our finished pieces in a few weeks.

We have now been divided into two teams: Team Matapa and Team Cassava. Throughout the week, we alternated between fisheries research and transect dives. On Tuesday, Team Matapa spotted a common octopus at the start of our transect, which was very cool. We also got to start using the hydrophone this week, and we recorded lots of whale vocalisations!

Team Cassava had a busy day at fisheries on Wednesday, with over 900 fish brought in, especially Crocodile Needlefish and Talang Queenfish. They did a great job counting them all!

Thursday’s dive for Team Matapa was aborted due to a very strong current, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. From the boat, we watched mobular rays performing somersaults out of the water! After logging Team Cassava’s data, we headed inland to watch the sunset for Bella’s birthday. We celebrated with homemade apple crumble after dinner and enjoyed a wholesome movie night with “Moana” on the projector.

On Friday we got to carry out a snorkel transect! The water was very clear, and we all managed to avoid the (many) urchins. We were able to stay longer to explore and take some cool photos. It was a great way end to the week!