Love the oceans: Week 1 (training week)

When I met Pascal for the first time he told me, this is paradise. And I don’t think anyone in guinjata bay or in the world can disagree.

I love waking up every morning in our little macute house which is surrounded by coconut trees, soft sand and goats! Our days start and end pretty early here but the best feeling is going to bed after a hot shower. In the last couple of days we (there’s 5 of us in this marine research team) did several interactive workshops with Inés that covered corals, megafauna, dive etiquette, ocean trash research and many more topics. We went into depth about fisheries and practiced collecting data from the local fisherman. From the data we collected, we identified the fish and collected some general information. It is fulfilling to know that this data will later be used in understanding the local ecosystem and help in LTOs mission for conservation. The training week encouraged us to remember, understand and most importantly, practice what we have learned. Towards the end of our first week we did two dives with the second dive focused on observing at cryptic, non cryptic and benthic organisms with a go pro. We also used a transect line and quadrat during this fieldwork activity. It is wild that I now know so many species of fish in the Mozambique and none from the country I am from. I am really happy in choosing this internship and I am confident it will help me with my future academic goals. However, I am even happier that I am in a beautiful country and can go for a swim right outside my doorstep.

The LTO team is very professional and friendly. Being here I’ve noticed how much they help and support the local schools and community( they are really amazing)!! The most wholesome part of my week is when I go volunteering with pascal, bento and Mario during the swimming lessons for the inhambane women. The best thing about LTO is how they work to empower the local community in being their own agents of change. The second best thing about LTO is the Saturday morning breakfast.