The final week at Mahahual

And so the end is here, time to say good-bye to Global Vision International (GVI). So as not to detract from my blog entry i have said what i really thing about GVI at the end. This is a very held back version but happy to share more on request.

So, the final week. All that praying to the wind God Paid off and we had a good week for diving. Up until this point we had sat around doing very little and we were starting to go slightly crazy!

We did manage to finish all of the sites that we were monitoring, which was quite exciting.


Me with all my monitoring equipment. 30 meter tape measure with a weight, slate and a pencil.

The tape is laid out, at a bearing decided by me, and then we write what is under the tape every 25 cms. There is another person that writes down the condition of the coral and if there is any disease. The data is all written up and sent somewhere........

Last dive was a fun dive. We picked our group and location. Renee, Sara, Christie, Andrea and Jo with Heather at the camera all at 007. We saw a turtle, a big barracuda and lots of other cool fish and coral.

As you can see from the blog i have had fun. I have met some great people and they have made this trip for me. I leave as a Rescue Diver, Emergency First Responder, Coral Reef Conservation and Underwater Photography level 2. There is an achievement in itself.

A few moments from the final week

I finally perfect my flips.
Swinging Andrea and Heather in the hammock, it was pretty high, i would have been scared!


Mixing up the cocktails for the final party. Illusion, Long Island Ice Tea and Jungle Juice.

Sara and Jo, without each other i think we would have gone slightly crazy. A great new friend and someone i hope to travel with a little later on.

My cabana, home for 10 weeks with Crystal, Amanda, Phil, Viv, Me and Renee. We had some good times. We were definitely the best in the kitchen and the most creative on the bread making front.

The next stage is back to Xcalat to try to get to the Atoll, again. After that off to Belize and then Guatemala. I am really looking forward to seeing new countries, diving on different sites and meeting new people.

Bye for now
lots of love
Sara
x


My final words on GVI:

The conservation project with Global Vision International has come to an end. Whilst i have met some great people and had a good time i have to say the following about them.

It was not what it said on the tin. It was badly organised, uninspiring, and the focus was more on the dive courses than the 'scientific' side. The project was sold as a serious scientific project and ,pre-departure, it all appeared to be quite professional. Sadly it was more like an expensive 18-30's holiday. There were no natural leaders and when things went wrong it was comical to stand back and watch.

It was not as professional as many people had expected. It was a bit of a joke, an expensive one. I just feel thankful that i wasn't at one of the other bases where staff and EM's sat smoking pot together.