Wrapping things up..

Hello again!

So this may be my last update before I leave Puerto San Carlos to head home. There's only a week left in my program as of today, and we have a lot left to do. By Friday I will have finished my directed research paper and taken my final exam, which total 70% of my grade for the session, so it is going to be a very busy week!

Last Thursday we went on our second and last overnight turtle monitoring trip. The camping trip was very relaxing. We put up nets for the turtles and checked them every two hours and by the morning we had caught two turtles. We also went on a walk through the desert and learned about the different kind of cacti that inhabit the area. Mostly, I just read my book, laid out in the sun, did some swimming, and hung out with the other students. At night we made a campfire and roasted some marshmallows. They have strawberry marshmallows down here! Weird! And as usual, my tent got to wake up in the middle of the night to go out in the boats and check the nets. I must say, I'm still not a fan of waking up at 5:30am and putting on waterproof gear.

The following morning we packed up camp and headed back to Puerto San Carlos. After a few hours of downtime, we started back up again with a few lectures by a PhD student from the University of La Paz. She does research with sea turtle mortality numbers in hopes of coming up with solutions to the threats that the turtles face, mainly illegal consumption and bycatch. The next day, we went with her to the dunes to look for dead sea turtles. Luckily, my group didn't find anything, but another group found a few. Apparently, illegal consumption of sea turtles is a huge problem in Mexico. Because it is illegal, there is a black market for sea turtle meat that actually correlates with drug trafficking. So basically, drug dealers sell both drugs and turtle meat. Comforting.

Saturday night we went to a baile in town. It was... interesting to say the least. The dance was part of the Turtle Festival and the town crowned their queen at it. It was nice to get to mingle with the locals and do some salsa dancing! And on Sunday morning, I finally got to sleep in! I spent most of the day Sunday reading my book, which I finished, and lounging in the hammock. All in all, great day.

Today we went snorkeling in the rhodolith beds in the bay. I saw some really cool fish and coral. Overall though, I'm not such a big fan of snorkeling. I'm just not coordinated enough for it.

The rest of the week is pretty much filled with lectures and time off to work on my research project. My paper is due on Friday, the same day as our final exam. After that, we get to spend Saturday and Sunday hanging out and spending the last few days together. Monday, we go back to La Paz and stay in a hotel for the night and early Tuesday morning I will be catching my flight home. I should be back in CT at about 2am on Wednesday morning. But, my phone will have service again starting on Monday night!

Talk to you all soon! And see you soon too!

-Erin