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Published: February 6th 2010
Hi all, thanks for the messages via the blog site.
Every Thursday at The Iguana Research Station we go on an excursion. The guys already here said one week they went to a beach on the island and helped dig up whale bones from a stranded whale a while back!
This week we set off to the North of the island, had my expectations but as you will see from the photos it was amazing.
The station has spare clothes left from previous volunteers so got myself a pair of trousers and a dodgy pink hat! Knew we would get muddy!
We all made ourselves a pack lunch for the beach we would be visiting via our hike and set off into the jungle and then the surroundings changed to the mangroves, very muddy! a few people neartly lost their shoes at some points!
The trick is to try and walk on the mangrove roots or "walk like a monkey" across the mud. After an hour we reached the "dead lake" a lake created in the mangroves by a hurricane in 1973. Mangroves are natural protection for coasts from storms and are home to
lizards, crabs and many birds.
Another hour through the mangroves and we finally reached drier forest, the trail was a bit overgrown but when we came through to the beach wow what a sight, sandy beaches, clear water the reef in the distance and no one else their but us!
We stayed at the beach eat lunch swam etc for a couple of hours then headed off again, this time along the beach and coastline rather than the mangroves. Helder the station director then stopped at the waters edge and said this way!
We then waded across the bay with our bags over our heads across the coral, was really cool! Then on the other side we had to walkm across lava rock, as Utila is a volcanic island and most of it used to be under water. Next up was blade grass, had to put my trousers back on as this stuff is supposedly lethal.
Then we arrived at Iron Bound beach, a very important beach for the Swamper iguana as it is near the mangroves as Swampers live in the mangroves but lay their eggs ion the beach in March.
We then headed through more woodland (dry jungle) and finally got back to the station about 3, worn out!
then i continued to help a swiss guy building a school house for the station........more about utila, the station and what we do in my next blog, takes ages to upload pickies but only cost a pound an hour in internet! Am still struggling to position photos they seem to have a mind of their own!
Then it was party time as we had a barby at the station as one of the station directors was leaving, ended up in bar on beach til 2!
Mark
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Dave (Bean)
non-member comment
Looks amazing!
Hi Mark, Looks like you are having a great time :) and the weather is definately better there! haha Sorry I didnt right sooner but with moving last weekend and work first chance I had to log on and see your stories was today. The pics look great and I dont think it matters where they are on the screen mate they look great ;) Hope your having a great time and I think we all wish we could be there too :) Dave