I made permanent marks on the reef...20 actually...

...but it was for science.

After dinner on my arrival day I was chatting with the two British boys on the base: Benjo (the main marine researcher) and Robin (a general volunteer). They taught me the game dopple and Benjo brought up that he wanted to get some permanent quadrats put in to one of the reefs the next morning. I had gleaned from previous conversation that Robin wasn't a diver and I was keen to get in the water, jet lag or not, so I cheerfully said I would help. At lunch the next day everyone was shocked at him for taking me diving on my first full day, saying that I needed my rest, so now it is put down for historical reference - I volunteered to go diving, I was no coerced. (In fact, I quite wanted to!)

It was a hassle getting out for the dive, however. Apparently the boat motor has to be kept locked in the office when not in use because otherwise it may be stolen by local fishermen. So as Robin and I carried down bags of dive gear and the fuel tank I looked back shocked to see Benjo in nothing but his swim shorts, straining under the weight of the engine like Jesus with his cross.

The three of us alone took the boat out to the reef and Benjo and I dove while Robin snorkeled. When I first got in I was shocked - the corals were like nothing I had ever seen before, not even in Zanzibar. Huge lacy plates of Acropora were everywhere - species i have never seen out of an aquarium and certainly not in that magnitude. Just stunning. And inside the delicate branches of these corals are tiny tiny fish - whole families of damsel fish who have claimed a coral head for their own, sometimes accompanied by a small red coral crab or blenny.

My job for the dive was to hammer in two nails at opposite corners of a quadrat that Benjo placed on the reef at 10 different sites. The first one was a bit dodgy - I can't even hammer that well on land - but soon I got the hang of it and it left me plenty of time to investigate the wonders of the East African reef.

Apart from lunch, a shower, a nap, and dinner, that was about it for day one!

This morning I went to meet Benjo in front of one of the hotels up the coast to look at some tidepools he would like investigated before a community meeting where I got the full who's who of Watamu marine conservation - People from Turtle Watch, Watamu Marine Association, Kenya Wildlife Service, and then Benjo and I from ARocha. It was great to meet everyone and to hear their practice presentations and ideas for upcoming meetings with the boat guides and tour operators of the area. They want to do a workshop with them to get everyone on the same page about marine park do's and don'ts for various species, ecosystems, etc. It's quite an interesting thing and it might be an exciting thing to be a part of while I'm here, if it actually takes off.

Grabbed a chapati before catching a ride back on a motorbike "taxi" with Benjo, then a truly magnificent lunch of samosas.

Later, I was surprised by a crash on the roof and got outside to see a parade of local monkeys go through the compound.

Monkey in a tree outside of my door

Monkey on the roof of the washing building

Monkey on my roof

Find the monkey with the washing

Things are going well and I'm starting to get get settled in a little bit, I'm adjusting more to the heat and not feeling jet lagged, really, which is great. Things will get better as I get a real routine down, right now I'm just figuring things out while everyone else has an agenda to do, so sometimes I feel a bit lost and out of place, but I think that by the end of the week I will be getting into some projects that should keep me feeling occupied and purposeful.

High point of the first two days: that first glimpse of the reef
Low point: biting into what I thought was a candy...then realizing it was soap...