Noel

Noellie231

Noel

Stars are dancin on the water here tonight
Its good for the soul, when theres not a soul in sight
But this boat has caught its wind and brought me back to life
Now Im alive, and well




Yet again, I'm slacking off in my writing. I know I've been back a week now, but the final edition of Mexico 2012 is better late than never. I hope you enjoy my rambling recollections. 3/24/12 How time flies by ever so fast. Sadly, tonight is the eve of my last full day in Mexico. I fly out on Monday, but Steph has to work so tomorrow is really the last time we’ll get to hang out until I come visit again. I suppose, my current life as a student requires that I leave this misconstrued “fantasy” world for the life of stress, work, and studying back in the States. I am most definitely proud of my country, but I am the first to admit we have our priorities in such a wrong place. Although I ... read more
Baah
Mission de San Jose
Organic pizza


Buenas noches! Sadly, it’s been entirely too long since my last entry. Looking back at the previous entries, I am reminded not only of the good and bad times abroad, but also of how thankful I am to document all of my adventures and mishaps along the journey. I write now from the cozy casita of my friend Steph in San Jose del Cabo, Mx. I flew into the southern tip of the Baja peninsula last Thursday, less than 24 hours after finishing my last exam and turning in the final paper of the quarter. This vacation was definitely in the “mandatory” category of my life. After a long, but unremarkable journey from home to Baja, I waited in Customs lines for well over an hour, praying that Steph’s boyfriend, Saul, hadn’t abandoned the airport pickup ... read more
Driving up the coast
Sunset at 9 Palmas
Not a bad view from the john

Central America Caribbean » Honduras » Bay Islands » Roatán September 18th 2011

You’re probably wondering why this blog update took such a long time in the making. One reason is because I have a tendency to write novels, if that wasn’t already apparent. This entry is about a week-long process, but my self-diagnosed ADD probably has a bit to do with that as well. However, the main reason this update has taken so long is because I needed some time to cool down and reflect on a very unfortunate encounter I experienced last week. Since arriving on the island, I have made a number of contacts with scientists, conservationists, and locals who just want to help rescue turtles from fishermen looking to make some money off hungry people’s next meal. Unfortunately, turtle happens to be a meat of choice for many islanders. Some people on the island started ... read more
Camp Bay Hostel
Came back to a rainbow over CCV. A sign of good times to come
Had to go on a dive to clear my head. It worked

Central America Caribbean » Honduras » Bay Islands » Roatán September 18th 2011

My time in Roatan has been great. The divemasters, boat captains, kitchen staff, housekeepers, well, pretty much everyone here is fantastic. They are all incredibly friendly and fun. Project work has been slow the last couple weeks, which is quite unfortunate. In case you didn’t know, or was wondering why I’m not in LL at the moment, I extended my time here 2 more weeks and now fly back the 25th. The reasoning for this was because I had a couple really successful weeks right before I was set to leave, and didn’t want to go back when I was finally getting some good data. However, as Noel Luck would have it, I haven’t been able to capture any of the turtles I have seen recently. I did finally start seeing them a bit more the ... read more
Get off me man!
Pipehorse!!
Anemone shrimp

Central America Caribbean » Honduras » Bay Islands » Roatán September 18th 2011

Apologies in advance, but you’re likely about to get an earful (eyeful?) of the good, the bad and the ugly. I still continue to meet some pretty amazing people every week. It’s great to be able to learn so much about different folks, but Saturdays are getting sadder every week. CCV runs, for the most part, on Saturday-Saturday trips, so from about 8-1 on Saturdays I am stuck saying my goodbyes on the docks. I have made some great friends here, though, and am confident I will have some wonderful dive buddies in the future! Aside from great divers (for the most part), I also managed to meet some incredibly generous people. Since I got here with my mask, snorkel and wetsuit, I accumulated a variety of goodies. Even better, I bought a really nice regulator ... read more
Yay trunkfish!
I think it's a flatworm, but I can't find a name anywhere
Harelquin Pipefish, usually very reclusive


Hello again! As usual, I am slacking off immensely in my blog updates. Rest assure, I am having a wonderful time and working my tail off! The last 2 weeks here at CoCoView have been a blast! Today was another sad day of guest turnover, and goodbyes to Izzy and Gen, two fabulous divemaster interns from Canada. They definitely helped make my first weeks at CCV unforgettable! But before I get too ahead of myself, let me start where I left off.... As I mentioned in my previous update, the last couple days at Fantasy were a bit hectic with the move and busy weekend, in addition to whatever sickness that chose the perfectly wrong time to plague me. I did get the chance to hang out on the West End again during my "mobile" period, ... read more
Catch of the day
Leave it to the ladies to catch all the fish
Puffer!


It’s official. I am now known as the “Turtle Girl” Sorry it has taken me so long to give another update, but things have been pretty crazy on the little island lately. Last weekend was an El Salvadorian holiday so Fantasy Island was booked solid Thurs-Sun, and my new resort, CoCoView had no room until Saturday, so I was in a pickle trying to improvise places to stay and where to pack/store all of my gear (yes, there is a LOT of it). I had also been dealing with a couple different sicknesses during the past couple weeks, so I would come back to the dock every day feeling completely drained and not feeling like going much of anything, especially writing. Anyway, long story short, things worked out fine, I had a bed to sleep in ... read more
Adopt me, please!
Joe and Tess releasing the turtle!
The hunt.


Well, if you read the previous blog you know that I finally got my hands on a turtle, 3 weeks later. I wasn't able to get out and track today because of the dive locations, but hopefully we can get close tomorrow and give it a try. It's pretty tough without the boat access I had planned for. The man who my advisor insists I need to use to help me track is not exactly the type I want my work to be associated with. He is definitely a nice enough man and very generous, but he keeps many animals on his property and the living conditions, especially for the primates, are unacceptable in my mind. I realize we are in a developing nation, but it breaks my heart to see animals housed in inferior living ... read more
Attackfish
The reef
Pretty, but nasty lionfish


(Apologies for redundancies, text was copied from my research blog: turtlechaser.wordpress.com) Since arriving at Fantasy Island Resort in Roatan in early July, I have spotted more that 20 turtles on dive surveys along the south coast of the island. According to locals, turtles of various sizes frequent the reefs here throughout the year. Unfortunately, due to some logistical issues, I was unable to begin tagging turtles during my first week here. Naturally, that was the time when I saw several calm, curious juveniles who almost seemed to be taunting me by swimming so close. Thankfully, other divers were able to photograph these turtles, as I was still waiting on my underwater camera housing to arrive. Once the housing, and the rest of my gear did make it to the island, I was thrilled to get out ... read more
Darren's heroic capture
Roderick about to get set free!
Measurements


When I leave I want to leave a memory filled with love The kind you don't forget When I go I want to be known As one who lived with no regrets (Gotta love shuffle....) Another day, another turtle. Unfortunately, no captures as of yet. We saw a decent sized adult on the reef during yesterday's afternoon dive, but he/she was pretty eager to swim away. Miguel (our divemaster) tried to grab him because he swam up first, got close, but couldn't get his hands on the animal. Even had he grabbed it, I'm not so sure how the swim to the surface would have gone. These adults are not only large (around 2-3 feet in shell length), but they are very strong as well. Today the other dive boat saw 2 adults on 2 separate ... read more
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