Blogging, Beaches and Big Lizards..

Hey all! Sorry for the lack of updates. Things have been moving pretty slowly here with our project, but we have nonetheless been keeping busy. We haven't had a chance to go back out on the water to see whales (hopefully Thursday?) but the word around town is that they have arrived (or are at least starting to arrive) so we're hoping to see some action soon! In the meantime, my project advisor has been trying to establish connections with some of the local companies - boat owners mainly - to introduce our project and get their permission to approach/set up interviews with their staff - tour guides - and tourists on their boats. As most things go in this country, the progress is a bit slow. People are receptive to our project and are happy to support the Smithsonian's efforts, but actually making contact with people can be tricky.

Then my project advisor had to go out of town for a couple of days for an emergency trip for another project he is part of, so we had two days of standstill. It was not a total loss as A.A and I got a chance to do some literature review as well as check out this very cute coffee shop that is just down the street from our apartment (which has both delicious chai lattes as well as reliable Wifi so all in all...)

We have also had a chance to be part of a very unique "rescue/rehabilitation" situation. About a week ago my advisor was out on a boat and encountered a female sea turtle who had gotten entangled in fishing gear and nets so severely that she had lost the front half of both front flippers. They managed to get her unstuck and my advisor arranged for her to be moved to our facilities. She currently is hanging out in one of the large marine pools next to our office and a local veterinarian has come by to check on her. Per the vet's instructions we have been assisting in medicating/cleaning the ends of the turtle's flippers to stave off infection. This means climbing down into the pool, lifting her onto a cart that we lower into the enclosure and holding her still while someone doctors the wounds. Sadly there is not much else we can do - the turtle is amazingly resilient and has figured out how to swim and maneuver with her stunted flippers and we just have to give everything time to heal and help her try to recover and get her strength back. My advisor is hoping that an engineer may be able to develop some prosthetics for her to help her be even more mobile. Her chances of survival in the wild are very poor so she is likely going to live the rest of her life in a nearby wildlife center that is run by the Smithsonian. There are plans to build a new enclosure there, designed to educate the public on the dangers of fishing lines and nets, to hopefully help save other turtles from this same fate. It is heartbreaking to see this innocent, beautiful creature have her life so horrifically damaged by ignorant human action. But I am glad that we can help her to survive and hopefully her story can maybe save the lives of other marine life in the future.

Due to the desire to keep this rescue under the radar publicity-wise, for now, I cannot share any photos or extensive details about this case. 

While I can't share a photo of the injured turtle, I can include a picture I took of one of the healthy turtles that is already living at the wildlife center

We also saw some big iguanas and even a family of sloths!

In other, some what happier news: yesterday A.A, our roommate and I decided to chase the sunshine and followed some local advice to take a ferry to the nearby island of Taboga. The island used to be a popular destination for marauding pirates that used to frequent the waters along the coast.

I did a quick google search and learned the following things about Taboga:

• The island was originally called San Pedro, but was later changed to Taboga, which was coined from the Indian term aboga, meaning "many fish."

• The island was used as a retreat or "rest and recuperation" clinic for workers building the Panama Canal. It was originally utlized by the French and then the U.S took it over in 1905. 

• In 1915, the island was turned into a vacation resort for canal employees and their families, and it was known as "Hotel Aspinwall." During World War I, Aspinwall became an internment camp for German prisoners. 

Today Taboga is a well-known vacation spot for both Panamanians and foreign tourists. It's very close by and for $20 round trip the fast ferry can get you there in about 20-30 mins. The whole place definitely has that "island" feel to it. The main street is lined with hotels and cute little seafood restaurants, the locals blast music and provide beach umbrellas and chairs to rent. It is the perfect place for a day at the beach, (but it is not complete until you've also had one of the local specials: a delicious piña colada out of a carved pineapple). 

The coolest thing was finding a piece of purple seaglass! For all of you beach-going youngsters who were sea glass collectors like myself, you know how rare that is to find! :) 

Today (Sunday) is an R&R day (sitting on a beach in the hot sun all day really takes it out of you ;) ) and we plan on using the day to run some errands and go grocery shopping. Later this week we are going to spend a night out on Contadora (Wednesday), to observe the tourist patterns and hopefully catching a ride with one of my advisor's colleagues who has a boat he offers whale-watching tours on. Thursday, my advisor plans to pick us up and take us out to do some whale behavior observations. So hopefully next time I write I'll have some awesome whale pictures to share. 

Until then...Peace, love and Piña Coladas