Very busy!

Hello Everyone!

Sorry it has been awhile since I've updated. I have been VERY busy this past week. Since returning from our camping trip, it has been very nice to get back into a daily routine on campus.

We have been taking trips to different places around the bay almost every day for different field lectures, and it has been great to get to see more of the peninsula. Earlier this week we took the boats over to where some of the fishermen work and had a lecture about aquaculture in the bay and how it effects the surrounding ecosystems. Then we got to play on the beach and look at shells for awhile before heading home. Later that day we went out into the mangroves to do some measuring and tagging of the trees. The school is beginning a project with tagging the mangroves so that they can better assess the destruction of the coastal environment.

Yesterday we took a trip to an island off the peninsula. We hiked from one side of the island to the other. The island is made up mostly of desert and mountains, but it was absolutely beautiful. Our hike ended at the Pacific Ocean. This was the first time I had gotten to see the Pacific, and it was quite possibly the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. Sorry Mom, but I think I've been convinced that it's time to move out here after I graduate. Once we reached the ocean, we had a lecture on rocky shores and the unique characteristics of their ecosystems. We also had plenty of time to play on the beach. I'm actually getting really tan!

This morning we went out in the boats and assessed the health of sea grass in different areas of the bed. Sea grass is very important because it is one of the basic components of the bay's ecosystem upon which everything else is built (and it's what the turtles eat). My first assignment, which is analyzing the data that we collected from the sea grass, is due later tonight. I also have a paper due on Saturday about issues with marine mammals in captivity.

In addition to that, I received the topic for my research paper today. I am going to be working with the locals, as well as with the ecological data being collected by the school, to determine whether or not ecotourism is something that would be beneficial to Puerto San Carlos in the future. Many people in the area want to build the town like Cabo San Lucas in hopes of bringing in tourists and income, but this would damage the commercial fishing industry, as well as the local ecosystem. My job, along with a whole team of students, is to determine what ecotourism options would benefit the local economy, while still preserving the ecosystem and allowing the commercial fishing operations to prosper. I am really excited about it!

As Mom keeps pointing out to me, I'll be home in less than 2 and a half weeks. I can't believe how fast time is passing! Talk to you soon!

-Erin