This month has been full of adventures and new knowledge. Seychelles is such a beautiful island and I feel lucky to be able to call it home. My office is located on a beautiful beach called Petite Anse – white sand and turquoise water. This beautiful bay is full of marine organisms, my favorite are the bumphead parrotfish. It has been very exciting learning about the new organisms and understanding their biology. I love teaching and marine science, and this opportunity at WiseOceans has brought my love for both together. Interacting with guests and teaching them about the environment has been very rewarding. It’s wonderful to see guests excited about the marine organisms they see on their snorkeling trip.
I also had the chance to complete my PADI Open Water course here in Seychelles. I saw marbled rays, a group of bumphead parrotfish, a huge school of batfish, a whitetip reef shark, and lots of more beautiful organisms. Seeing these organisms from a different angle gave me a bigger appreciation of their environment.
Last week, I went on my favorite snorkel. It was at 8:30 in the morning and I was assessing the visibility. And with my surprise I saw a gray reef shark and as I was heading back to the shore, I saw a green turtle. What an amazing morning!
During my time here, not only have I been immersed as a marine educator, I have also developed a love and fascination for our reef restoration project. Samantha, the reef restoration officer, has taught me so much about the species of corals and the process of restoring our reefs. A couple days ago, I transplanted my first coral and it was an amazing experience. I am looking forward to rescuing more coral fragments in the future and seeing them grow.
In addition to my time with WiseOceans, my experience on Mahé has been full of adventures. My favorite was hiking Morne Blanc, which was a lot of effort but the view at the end of it was worth the thigh burn! I also had the chance to go to the Beau Vallon night market. The variety of food by the ocean side was a marvelous experience. My favorite was the coconut octopus curry!
All of my wonderful experiences here in Seychelles has been accompanied by an amazing team and I am looking forward for all of the experiences ahead.
