Luka, Jade, Zana, Lottie and Izzy
It was a busy but epic first week!
At the start of the week, we had morning lectures where we got a general overview of LTO and how data collection ties into conservation efforts, which was really interesting. We also headed out for a beach clean together. It was cool way to explore the beach for the first time and get to know each other a bit better. As class progressed, we learned more about the different fisheries in the area and got a deeper look into a lot of the projects LTO runs. It was a lot of information, but definitely helped everything start to click.
By mid-week we did a village tour with Pascoal, LTO’s Community Outreach Manager. We had a look around the school in Guinjata which is the school we’ll be assisting at later in the expedition, and then we went to Pascoal’s home. He showed us the different plants he grows around his land and we got to eat our body weight in Fioses – a local delicacy like a small doughnut, usually eaten at celebrations. We also drank coconut water fresh from the coconut trees and played football with the kids in his family. Such a lovely day!
Thursday was our first day of fisheries at Paindane. The first catch had a juvenile scalloped hammerhead in it, which was insane to see up close! They’re critically endangered so it’s not good that they’re caught so regularly. Otherwise, it was a pretty quiet day at fisheries because the weather was rough, so not that many fishermen went out. Honestly, that was kind of lucky because we’re still getting used to how the logging process works, so we weren’t exactly speedy.
On friday, we did a fun dive in the morning and then the first transect dive for Izzy, Luka and Zana. Both dives went pretty well and we couldn’t believe how loud the whale songs were underwater. The transect dive was actually really fun and later when we analysed the footage, we found a few things we can improve on with our filming and photography for next time. Logging took a while again, but it’s already starting to feel a tiny bit smoother.
The weekend was super chill. On Saturday our fun dive got cancelled because the conditions weren’t great, but we all needed the rest after a big week. We spent the day hanging out at Jay’s (LTO’s diving partners), eating pizza, swimming, and then finished it off with a movie night watching 2 LTO documentaries, 1 about Pascoal and 1 about Bento (one of LTO’s field officers, and swimming coordinator).
Sundays we use to venture out of Guinjata and see more of Mozambique. Sunday was SO fun. We took a trip out to Tofo, a local tourist town, to surf and some of the group got surf lessons and absolutely smashed it. The vibe in Tofo was really cool. We had Japanese food for lunch, explored the markets and visited a historical site where we learned more about Mozambique’s history. Later, we went to a restaurant just outside Tofo for dinner and watched the sunset with an incredible view. Such a good end to the week.
Feeling refreshed and ready to go again next week!
