Monday, December 13, 2010

Saved by a Cyclone

I’ve now officially left the realm of the Bridled Tern and returned to the land of the Laughing Kookaburra. Thanks to an approaching cyclone, I managed to escape the floating prison otherwise known as the Finnmarken a day earlier than scheduled. The fleet started the evacuation plan several days ago, leaving me with no dredging vessels to observe marine fauna from; 3 days of sitting around the Finnmarken with nothing to do but watch the same movies over and over…and over. But thanks to the marvels of modern travel, on a one hour whim, and after 4000 kilometers of flying, I am now sitting comfortably in a nice house with a view the Pacific Ocean; one ocean closer to home. It’s summer here obviously, and humid from all the rain Australia has received in the last week. I know the U.S. only cares about its news, but basically the entire south east of OZ was flooded with record rainfall for a few days. If only the weed-whacker across the street would take a break and go whack something else so I could hear the cicadas.

It will be nice to have a few days to recover from all of the turtle sightings, organize my gear, and finish up my application for Moss Landing Marine Labs. I’m not entirely sure I want to invest 5-6 years of my life at that institution, but I’m curious to see if I’ll be accepted. I can already tell that the minute I return home, I’m going to have that burning urge to go travel again. I think a pit stop back home will be good for me though. It will give me a chance to relax a bit, see some familiar faces, let Reef know I’m still alive, and figure out what to do next. I have a feeling Argentina and Antarctica are in my foreseeable future.

Still keeping an eye on the wildlife; I spotted this lizard on Mindi’s door step. I think it’s a Blue Tongued Lizard, the second largest skink and very common in Australia.

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