Can you believe it 4 weeks in

Steve and Helen in the Mangroves
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Well can you believe it I am already 4 weeks in and thats the end of my first volunteer project in Central America.  Had a really good last week and sad to leave love diving to much.  Anyway to get the dread question over and done with no I still have not seen any dolphins or whale sharks.  Even though a resort boat did see two whale sharks on Thursday so it means they are back in the area which is good news.

Been in the mangroves again this week fighting my way through the trees to continue doing the research of new growth and those that are not surviving due to mass building work and development happening on the island but it is good fun.  As it was only me and Steve this week as Helen deserted us to do her dive master he got bored after two hours so we went home which was a bonus so got an early finish.

Beautiful waters off Cays brillant snorkling
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Been doing different parrot fish research this week measuring bite counts.  Basically you need to find a parrot fish note down its size and type then follow it around for 5 minutes counting how many bites it does in one area on the coral.  Quite interesting and very amusing as all you can see is the bunch of us racing around the coral trying not to lose our fish or each other which is quite easy.  Seen quite a few southern stingrays and turtles again this week and also thought we had seen a shark but no such luck.  From a distance it looked like a shark but as it got closer it was a Tarpon which was about 5ft massive things.

relaxing after hard mornings work on Cays
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Also seen some really good bait balls this week while diving and snorkling which is just mesmerising to watch, thousands of small fish just swimming and swarming around in a mass around the reef.  Later in the week there were 5 Tarpon all around them feeding off it just amazing.  Also been on a night dive this week on the full moon on Wednesday which was just brillant.  George one of the biologist kindly organised it for us and Graham the dive master from cross creek took us out as a group from Moon Hole to Eagle Ray Alley.  Saw loads of lobster and crabs and fish all hiding in the reef.  When we finished and were completing our safety stop the sea was so still and the sky so clear that you could clearly see the moon from under the surface and when you did surface it was lovely just black sky doted with star and big bright moon.

On dive boat with Tony
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Also been back to the Cays this week to work on the Conch project at the compound.  Was given the job of finishing the piping to connect to the main blower and water tanks.  So busy drilling and bracketing pipe to the edge of the out buildings, really fun work.  Then went out to check on the Conch pen on the way back to the main island.  Thankfully all 12 conch still present and correct and no more had escaped.

Well on my way to Roatan for a few days now in my free week to fit in a few more dives so I don't get withdrawal symptoms.  Roatan is the largest of the Bay Islands and has lots of high end resorts and lots of business from cruise ships but no fear I will be staying in budget accomodation.

The gang
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Well thats it for now will update you at the end of my free week, going to try and download some photos but connection here is really slow so may have to do them all again some time.