8/8/2019 EGB66 Chris Arnold Diary Extract August 2010

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GVI Volunteer Diary Extract

Name: Chris Arnold

Age: 38

Gender : Male

Country of Residence: UK

Start Date: 6th August 2010

Volunteer Program: GVI Marine, Pez Maya, Mexico

My alarm wakes me up at 05:30 in time for me to be ready to start the duty our hut has for 

the day. Today is Grounds, which means we have to rake to sand to the front and rear of themain complex and the paths to and from the huts and showers. By raking the sand we

reduce the number of Sand Flies by exposing their eggs so they bake in the sun. Breakfast

is called around 06:30… today we have pancakes with bananas or honey or maple syrup…

and we eat whilst watching the sun rise over the Caribbean sea

With breakfast over I start getting my dive kit ready for the first wave of divers due to leave at

07:15. Today my group consists of 4 GVI volunteers and our GVI leader Nikki. Then comes

the shout for “Boat Push!” and we all head down to the beach to turn around the 2 boats

“Vision” and “Ka’ay” and push them to the water’s edge. They are pulled out of the sea and

onto the safety of the beach each evening.

We finish kitting up, do our buddy checks, and trudge down to the boat to load our kit. With a

final heave we pull the boat into the water and walk it out into chest deep water. The captain

starts the engine and we all climb aboard when instructed. The weather has been stormy

recently and the swell stops us from passing through the main reef to deeper waters so we

motor North, up the coast to a calmer, shallower site called the Gardens.

We anchor the boat close to the reef then kit up and do our buddy checks. Today our group

will be practising Point Intercept, where Nikki will point to various Corals, Algae, Zoanthids,

Corallimorphs, Tunicates and Sponges for us to identify.

On the Captains command we backwards-roll into the warm Caribbean Sea and descend asa group to the sea bed. We fin across a landscape of Manatee and Turtle Grass towards the

reef, stopping every now and then as Nikki points out life forms for us to identify. We

continue at the reef taking turns in our buddy pairs, writing down the identification on a slate.

As Nikki turns from the reef to converse with us she suddenly lets out a squeal of delight and

motions, frantically, for us to look behind us…. As turn a large animal shape comes into view

and it takes me a moment to recognize what I am seeing. I can’t believe my eyes… just 5

meters away is a Manatee... The creature is about 3 meters in length and was just floating

there. It gently turned away from us and, with a subtle movement of its tail; it gracefully

glided out of view.

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We all floated there, stunned and elated by the unexpected sighting. Gathering ourselves we

continued with the rest of the dive but I was eager to get to the surface to tell everyone what

we saw.

For the rest of the day, as each wave of divers went out, there was great excitement of a

possible repeat sighting of that wonderful creature but, alas, it didn’t so. Our talk over dinner was of the lucky 5 that saw the Manatee… This was most certainly my best day at Pez

Maya.

About Global Vision International (GVI)

GVI is an internationally based volunteer abroad organisation which offers volunteer 

programs in Africa, South America, Asia, Europe and Latin America. Formed in 1998, GVI

provides support and services to international charities, non-profits and governmental

agencies through volunteering opportunities and direct funding, filling a critical void in thefields of environmental research, conservation, education and community development.

Various types of overseas volunteer work are offered including volunteer holidays, gap year 

volunteering, short term volunteering, long term volunteering, volunteer internships, intern

abroad programs, student volunteer abroad programs and employee volunteering trips

abroad. Available subjects include marine biology, environmental research, teaching and

scuba diving courses in various locations around the world.

For more information on volunteering abroad, please visit http://www.gviusa.com or 

http://www.gvi.co.uk.