Reports from the Field
Hey guys,
So sorry it's been several weeks since my last post. Thank you to everyone who has followed along and taken time out of their busy days to read my strange ramblings....
I can't believe that we're closing in on less than three weeks till I head back home. The time has simultaneously flown and also crawled. We have not made as much tangible progress as we hoped, but we also have learned an incredible amount, and I can definitely say I have a much better sense (and appreciation) for this field site and what lies in store for potential future endeavors.
I guess I'll back up and explain the most recent excursions:
Last Friday: A.A and I took the ferry out to the island of Contadora in the early AM again, and when we arrived we ran into the fisherman (Tito) who had taken us out on his boat to look for whales the previous visit. We went out again for an hour with him (only saw 1 whale this time 😥), but afterwards we sat with him for 15 or so minutes and attempted to go through some of the boat operator questions with him. I say "attempted" as he only spoke spanish with a heavy accent, and so it was hard for me to understand him fully. So we only got some of the questions answered, but he seemed happy to talk and we plan to come back with someone who can act as an interpreter and talk in more depth with him.
We only got about two social surveys from the tourists that day. We found that the easiest place to collect surveys is to intercept the tourists who are queuing up on the beach to board the departing afternoon ferry. The boarding process is supposed to start at 3, but if we show up around 2-2:30 there are often people waiting around. The boarding process consists of people checking in, getting their bags checked and then boarding a bunch of small fishermen boats to be brought back out to the large ferry that is docked about half a mile offshore. This causes a slow-moving line of people, which theoretically gives people more time to fill out the survey, but not much...
So sorry it's been several weeks since my last post. Thank you to everyone who has followed along and taken time out of their busy days to read my strange ramblings....
I can't believe that we're closing in on less than three weeks till I head back home. The time has simultaneously flown and also crawled. We have not made as much tangible progress as we hoped, but we also have learned an incredible amount, and I can definitely say I have a much better sense (and appreciation) for this field site and what lies in store for potential future endeavors.
I guess I'll back up and explain the most recent excursions:
Last Friday: A.A and I took the ferry out to the island of Contadora in the early AM again, and when we arrived we ran into the fisherman (Tito) who had taken us out on his boat to look for whales the previous visit. We went out again for an hour with him (only saw 1 whale this time 😥), but afterwards we sat with him for 15 or so minutes and attempted to go through some of the boat operator questions with him. I say "attempted" as he only spoke spanish with a heavy accent, and so it was hard for me to understand him fully. So we only got some of the questions answered, but he seemed happy to talk and we plan to come back with someone who can act as an interpreter and talk in more depth with him.
We only got about two social surveys from the tourists that day. We found that the easiest place to collect surveys is to intercept the tourists who are queuing up on the beach to board the departing afternoon ferry. The boarding process is supposed to start at 3, but if we show up around 2-2:30 there are often people waiting around. The boarding process consists of people checking in, getting their bags checked and then boarding a bunch of small fishermen boats to be brought back out to the large ferry that is docked about half a mile offshore. This causes a slow-moving line of people, which theoretically gives people more time to fill out the survey, but not much...
Having looked over the budget for our project, this time A.A and I decided to "splurge" a little bit and got a bit of a nicer hotel room. We justified it as this hotel is a bit closer to the beaches where we were going to do the surveys, which meant we would spend less time walking back and forth. In addition, breakfast was included in the hotel, which also compensated costs a bit. The hotel was owned by this very nice German couple who have been living on the island for many years now. Our first night coming back from dinner, we ran into the wife who was "exercising" their dog "Gordo," by throwing him coconuts to chase. Apparently the dog is obsessed with coconuts and will chase them forever. He collects them on walks and brings them back to the house. But he only likes the specific coconut he picks out - if the owners try to substitute or play with more than one at a time, he will only chase his coconut.
Saturday: We got only about 1.5 surveys done again. There were less people heading off island this day and as a result the boarding process was very quick. Since people were not waiting around as long as usual to board, it meant they had less time to fill it out. (I think one person only did half a survey).
That morning when we went down for breakfast (and to get better wifi signal) we met "Bella," the orphaned deer that the hotel owners had raised by hand. She lives wild with the rest of the Mule deer on the island (yet another story of introduced wildlife), but she returns almost every morning for some treats (carrots) and a sip of water (and some head scratches apparently)...
We spent the time between the ferry arrival scoping out some of the beaches on Contadora. Sometimes I have to pinch myself when I realize that I get to have this view/experience as part of my field work..
Sunday: We went out with a boat operator Guillermo, who is an acquaintance of our advisor, on his whale watch operation "Coral Dreams." He runs the only official whale watching company in Contadora and he emphasizes "responsible" whale watching. He is very respectful of whales, always maintains space for them to exhibit normal behaviors and never chases them. He also educates his visitors about how to recognize good whale-watching behavior versus bad. During our tour, we happened to observe several boats chasing the whales and attempting to get extremely close to them, despite regulations, which was very shocking yet enlightening.
After the tour we talked with him and filled out the Tour Operator survey with him. He was very passionate about the need for boat operators to go through regular trainings to ensure they are familiar with regulations and conscientious about the need to protect the whales. He also thinks that a major failing is that the trainings are not repeated regularly, to ensure that both tour guides and operators are kept up to to date with latest trends/methods.
We also asked two of the tourist who were on the whale watch with us to fill it out. Later around 2-3PM we went down to the tourist dock again and got at least 3-4 more surveys while waiting in line. Sunday seemed to be the busiest departure day, and many people were heading off-island. As this time we were boarding the ferry with the tourists, so they had more time to fill them out; and some of them finished on the boat. Sadly the tablet we were using is old and the battery life did not last the whole trip, so we were once again limited in the number of surveys we could get :(
From this expedition into the field we received a lot of good feedback on our surveys, the most important being that they are all "too long." We are working with the social-scientist advisor that is part of our project and trying to find a way to accommodate this feedback as well as ensure all the metrics are still included. It is a very slow, frustrating process of a lot of "back and forth," compromise and acceptance of the reality of the field. But hey, that's science for you.
This weekend A.A is heading back to Contadora this Saturday-Sunday (assisted by two other members of our advisor's lab, including a student who is bilingual). They are attempting to try both surveys: the original one (but in paper form) and an edited one that we have been working on, that is pared down and hopefully faster. I will not be going with them this time as my parents are in town and we are heading out to see Gamboa, the rainforest area a few miles outside the city, where I stayed when I was here in January through ASU.
Until next time.... peace, love and coconuts
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| Nothing like cheap dog toys |
Saturday: We got only about 1.5 surveys done again. There were less people heading off island this day and as a result the boarding process was very quick. Since people were not waiting around as long as usual to board, it meant they had less time to fill it out. (I think one person only did half a survey).
That morning when we went down for breakfast (and to get better wifi signal) we met "Bella," the orphaned deer that the hotel owners had raised by hand. She lives wild with the rest of the Mule deer on the island (yet another story of introduced wildlife), but she returns almost every morning for some treats (carrots) and a sip of water (and some head scratches apparently)...
We spent the time between the ferry arrival scoping out some of the beaches on Contadora. Sometimes I have to pinch myself when I realize that I get to have this view/experience as part of my field work..
Sunday: We went out with a boat operator Guillermo, who is an acquaintance of our advisor, on his whale watch operation "Coral Dreams." He runs the only official whale watching company in Contadora and he emphasizes "responsible" whale watching. He is very respectful of whales, always maintains space for them to exhibit normal behaviors and never chases them. He also educates his visitors about how to recognize good whale-watching behavior versus bad. During our tour, we happened to observe several boats chasing the whales and attempting to get extremely close to them, despite regulations, which was very shocking yet enlightening.
We also asked two of the tourist who were on the whale watch with us to fill it out. Later around 2-3PM we went down to the tourist dock again and got at least 3-4 more surveys while waiting in line. Sunday seemed to be the busiest departure day, and many people were heading off-island. As this time we were boarding the ferry with the tourists, so they had more time to fill them out; and some of them finished on the boat. Sadly the tablet we were using is old and the battery life did not last the whole trip, so we were once again limited in the number of surveys we could get :(
From this expedition into the field we received a lot of good feedback on our surveys, the most important being that they are all "too long." We are working with the social-scientist advisor that is part of our project and trying to find a way to accommodate this feedback as well as ensure all the metrics are still included. It is a very slow, frustrating process of a lot of "back and forth," compromise and acceptance of the reality of the field. But hey, that's science for you.
This weekend A.A is heading back to Contadora this Saturday-Sunday (assisted by two other members of our advisor's lab, including a student who is bilingual). They are attempting to try both surveys: the original one (but in paper form) and an edited one that we have been working on, that is pared down and hopefully faster. I will not be going with them this time as my parents are in town and we are heading out to see Gamboa, the rainforest area a few miles outside the city, where I stayed when I was here in January through ASU.
Until next time.... peace, love and coconuts
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