Manjula goes blogging...

Getting to turtle beaches is often an adventure in itself. It does not have to be a remote beach- just an unfamiliar country, culture, and language can make things very interesting. I arrived in Athens, Greece and knew that to reach Vounaki Beach I had to get to Kalo Nero in the Peloponnesus. Tried to describe to one of the bus drivers what I wanted to do - he seemed to understand and dropped me off in the middle of the city, and mumbled something to an elderly passenger. Before I could say anything, the old lady had picked up my bags and we set off on a fast trot across Athens and I was delivered at a bus terminal. Up at the ticket counter, my conversation with the agent went like this:
M: Is there a bus to Kalo Nero?
Agent: Nay
M: Really?
Agent; nay, nay
M: oh dear! no bus today??
Agent: Nay, nay
Finally he showed me the bus schedule and something clicked. I realized that “nay” in Greek is “yes”! I could have hugged the man! Got on to the bus and at about midnight, thanks to the woman next to me, I was dropped off at a street corner - the town was asleep and in complete darkness. I watched the rear lights of the bus disappear into the night. Okay! now what?? As I was pondering my fate, a short man came peddling on his bike out of the darkness - he belonged to the turtle project. Hooray! I had finally arrived in Vounaki…

Posted by Manjula Tiwari at 12:14 AM | Permalink

I think the rainy, stormy days were my favorite beach days in Tortuguero. As part of my study, I had to walk the entire 18 miles of beach up close to the vegetation, approximately once a week - you can imagine what it was like walking on a black sandy beach, on a very hot day, in very soft sand, leaping and dodging an increasing number of green turtle body pits. It was wonderful when the weather was stormy - coming from the land of the monsoon, I love the rain and long walks in the rain, I love dark clouds, strong winds, and a stormy ocean with large crashing waves. Of course, having firm sand to walk on made it just perfect!

Posted by Manjula Tiwari at 09:39 PM | Permalink

Now, I grew up in a culture where getting a tan isn’t fashionable - no one wants to get any darker! However, working with turtles it is unavoidable.….It had been a long, tiring day on the Tortuguero beach and even though it wasn’t completely dark, I was preparing to turn in for the night. I stood in the room brushing my teeth sleepily, the lights were not on, the door to the bathroom was open….I glanced over and found a set of white teeth smiling back at me from the mirror - what a shock! Then I realized that it was only my reflection - I had been burnt so deep by the Tortuguero sun that in the fading light most of me was invisible in the mirror…

Posted by Manjula Tiwari at 01:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I grew up in a place where the seasons were Hot, Hotter, and Hottest. So, it
is one of my dreams to see snow fall, to watch a snowstorm….perhaps one of
these days…but in the meantime I got to witness a sandstorm in the Sahara.
Swirling sand particles everywhere, sand in the house, sand outside the house,
sand in your mouth, sand in your ears and nose, and the insistent hum of sand
against closed wooden shutters - no escape from sand - it felt like the beach
had turned into a monster! The roads kept getting blocked by shifting sand
mounds and bulldozers had to work hard to keep the roads clear and prevent
accidents. It reminded me of descriptions of snowstorms….but I imagine falling
snow is more magical….

Posted by Manjula Tiwari at 12:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

While doing beach surveys in the Nicobar Islands, we had to wade across broad and often deep creeks that were also prime saltwater crocodile habitat. My local field assistant made sure we crossed when the tide was low (even then the water often came up to chin level) and during daylight hours when apparently the crocs are not moving back and forth between the ocean and the creek. In addition to these simple precautions, I was told, “Madam, throw your soul/life energy over to the other side before you cross the creek. Nothing can harm you then.”

Posted by Manjula Tiwari at 07:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I think the worst mosquito memories I have are from Shell Beach in Guyana - no bit of exposed flesh was safe from them either during the day or at night. They zoned in, in large numbers, and often my finest mosquito repellant could not save me from their endless onslaught. Plus they always managed to sneak into the most tightly sealed tents to sing and torment me through the night. How I longed for windy nights, when they would all be blown away to wherever strong winds carry bad mosquitoes. And how I envied Peter Pritchard - mosquito bites just don’t bother him! While the rest of us swatted, scratched, and swore, he could sit calmly and read poetry!

Posted by Manjula Tiwari at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Not everyone’s world is centered around sea turtles - of this, I am very aware. But an occasional reminder keeps life in perspective… I had one such moment while working on nesting loggerheads on Melbourne Beach, Florida. One night, I came across this couple who were bent over and scanning the sand very closely with their flashlights. They were obviously searching for something on the beach - perhaps, lost jewelry or a pair of sunglasses? So, I stopped to ask what they were looking for and if I could help. They looked up and said, “We are looking for nesting sea turtles.” I have to admit there were a few minutes of astonished silence before I could explain how big these nesting sea turtles get!

Posted by Manjula Tiwari at 11:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I was in Casablanca eating breakfast at good ole American Dunkin’ Donuts, wearing a wedding band, and feeling quite amused by the oddity of the situation….

When I found myself en route to Casablanca to begin sea turtle surveys in Morocco, I knew I would be working in a more conservative environment, but I still associated the city with romance, Rick’s Café, Humphrey Bogart, “As time goes by,” and exotic settings. Of course, Casablanca turned out to be quite different from Hollywood’s studio set up - a regular city bustling with noise and traffic and people. Morocco is one of the more westernized countries of the Arab world and in Casablanca one sees a fascinating blend of western and traditional culture. But, it is not necessarily the easiest city to negotiate as a woman. Alone in the city, between trips up and down the coast, I had to make adjustments to avoid being hassled. I ate at McDonald’s and Pizza Hut to avoid being mistaken for a lady-of-the-night at local restaurants where unaccompanied women are rare, wore a fake wedding band to ward off courting strangers, spun tales about an imaginary husband who was just around the corner, accepted sympathy from strangers because my husband and I had no children….but, these were minor drawbacks compared to the overall experience of living and turtling in a culture that is rich, warm, alive, curious, and non-sterile…

Posted by Manjula Tiwari at 09:28 PM | Permalink

While doing sea turtle surveys in Western Sahara, I came across this curious sight. On inquiring why this fish had been hung in the air along an empty stretch of road, I was told that some fisherman was advertising his fish for sale. But where was he? There wasn’t a human being in sight for miles and behind the little shack the land dropped off in a steep cliff down to a lonely, rocky shore with scattered shipwrecks. I have often wondered what would have happened if I had stopped and absolutely wanted to buy fish…

Posted by Manjula Tiwari at 10:47 PM | Permalink

It was a very hectic night in Bahia, Brazil. Matthew absolutely needed two fresh loggerhead clutches and blood samples to take back with him to Toronto early next morning. It was a hi-tech operation - people were deployed on three/four beaches, some of us rushed from beach to beach, and everyone was in cell phone contact. Alex, one of the station managers, and I were at the very far end of a beach, when we received a phone call from an intern about a loggerhead nesting on his stretch. His beach was a few kilometers away and we had to get there in time to collect the blood sample. So we started running - the tide was high, the sand was soft, the night was dark. Out of breath, we exited the beach and continued running through a posh, condominium complex to get to our car. There was a shout from the dark somewhere. There was too much adrenaline rushing through me to really stop and make sense of what was said. But I came to a halt as I heard a loud “stop” from Alex. A guard approached us with a pointed gun. Then the words made sense, “Stop! or I will shoot! Stop! or I will shoot!” Wasn’t I glad that Alex was there! Panting we explained that we were not robbers, that we were on a very honorable mission for this famous scientist from Toronto! The guard let us go, we got to the turtle in time, we were slapped around by the turtle some but we got our blood sample, we got the eggs and the blood to Matthew in time…but we couldn’t stop talking about how Matthew’s project almost got us shot!

Posted by Manjula Tiwari at 07:31 PM | Permalink

I was quite unprepared for this fishing village while doing sea turtle surveys in Morroco. Not thatched huts, not mud houses, not coconut-frond homes on stilts, but rooms carved into the steep cliffs along the beach. Leaving their families and houses somewhere inland, they live on the coast during the fishing season, making these rooms in the rocks cozy and comfortable homes. They do occasionally catch turtles in their nets - they produced the green turtle skull lying in the foreground.

Posted by Manjula Tiwari at 06:04 PM | Permalink

It was a very dark night on Galathea Beach on Great Nicobar and I was out looking for nesting leatherbacks. As I approached the creek at the end of the beach, I switched on my flashlight. I had no intentions of stumbling into the creek. The forest guards had assured me that it was stocked with “salties” (affectionate term for saltwater crocodiles) - the “baddies” of the croc world! Suddenly, my flashlight caught two pairs of glinting eyes! HUGE salties judging from the size of the eyes and the gap between the eyes. I made sure there was enough distance between us. As I was processing all this, the two pairs of eyes rose from ground level to at least 2m off the ground and starting moving in my direction! uh-oh! monster crocs?? I will not admit to the emotions that passed briefly before the creatures took shape in my flashlight. I had to laugh……..just cows!! harmless cows!!

Posted by Manjula Tiwari at 09:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Posted below are my most recent email exchanges with Jack Frazier. As you will see, we correspond about very deep, philosophical issues.

Manjula: Hello Jack! Rumor has it that you are about to become a blogger!!

Jack: Well, sort of!! I said I would look into one or two blogs, but so far I have not had the chance. Do you think the world will be different if I blog?

Manjula: We'll never find out unless you blog!

Jack: Ok! I guess with that I have no option but to venture out onto the blogging
field, and blog away. But, will my friends and family ever forgive me for this??
The existential questions of life - were they meant for bloggers? oh, what to do!!??

Manjula: Would you mind terribly if I posted our exchange on my blog page?

Jack: Manjula! What are you trying to get me into here? Here I am, an unblogged bloke, and you are proposing to just blog me to your blog page? Do you really think that is blog material? I mean, even if the word does change, do you really think it will matter?
But, the real question is: will you be splitting the royalties with me?

Manjula: I will split the royalties with you - cross my heart!

Well folks, I’ve promised to share the royalties, so look out for Jack’s first blog!

Posted by Manjula Tiwari at 09:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Matthew’s recent blog took me back many years to how I got interested in turtles. I had just got my Bachelor’s degree and wasn’t interested in pursuing the next degree. I just wanted to do something fun outside! I had been skin/scuba diving around the pillars of the Pondicherry pier during high school and college as well as helping maintain marine tanks for the fish we caught. So, it sounded perfect when the Madras Crocodile Bank was willing to hire me along with a friend to build marine tanks for them and fill them with fish. We were also required to volunteer for the ongoing crocodile research on temperature sex determination. Soon the tanks were built, some fish caught, and I was deeply involved with croc work - I just loved the challenge of working with crocodiles and began to dream of a career in crocodile biology. Around that time, the Madras Crocodile Bank needed someone to do sea turtle surveys in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands - the islands had not been surveyed in almost a decade and many of the islands had never been surveyed before. So there, a sea turtle project was put into my hands. I had never seen a sea turtle before, I had never really considered working with them (I loved crocs!), I had never traveled that far on my own, I had never been responsible for a project….and there I was, launched into a sea turtle project on some very remote beaches, completely on my own to figure things out and learn about turtles and return with data…well, that was the beginning….

Posted by Manjula Tiwari at 11:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I found him lying belly flat on the sand, his arm deep into the beach and a pile of eggs beside him. What? Didn’t he know he was breaking the law? I proceeded to tell him that he was not supposed to take turtle eggs from the beach. He stood up and explained he needed them for one meal. Looking at this completely emaciated figure dressed in dirty rags with a desperate expression on his sun-scorched face, what could I say? I walked on and he gathered his bag of eggs, followed me for a mile, and then disappeared into the forest. Questions raged through me: should I have prevented him from taking the eggs? but why was my first reaction to stop him? I was a foreigner, a temporary visitor, and he was a local resident - did I have the right to tell him what to do in his country? Was his opinion taken into account when the laws were established? Did it really matter if he took a few eggs - after all so many nests were washed away on this dynamic beach or dug up by nesting females? How could my mind be in such a dilemma when faced with such a simple situation? I read and talk about law enforcement on beaches and community-based conservation, I am studying population dynamics - shouldn’t I know the answer?

Posted by Manjula Tiwari at 05:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

It’s the weekend and what better time to catch up on work! My long to-do list is lying in front of me, but I am procrastinating…… I am busy calculating the total number of miles I walked on Tortuguero beach in one field season. I’ve come up with 2,106 miles (3,370 km). Hmmm…but I need to put this number into some perspective. So, here’s what I figured out. I have walked any one of the following:

 Miami to New York (round-trip)
 Santiago, Chile to Buenos Aires, Argentina and then to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
 Accra, Ghana, to Ougadougou, Burkina Faso to Casablanaca, Morroco
 Beijing to Bangkok
 Sydney to Perth

I really must get back to work now!

Posted by Manjula Tiwari at 03:19 PM | Permalink