So I find myself again, sitting in a fast food restaurant, sipping on a drink in order to use their wifi. Today the location is Barcelos, a Portuguese restaurant with peri peri chicken being the favorite Batswana dish. Think of Barcelos as one step above the golden arches but not yet Olive Garden. Before learning about all the free wifi at these fast food joints, I was doing it the super local way, going to the airport to steal their flaky service. The last flight normally got in around 6 pm, but for reasons unknown to anyone, the premises remains open until ten with its only use for those four hours to be for the ten or so of us surfers to be catching up with the online community.
Chess, the rest of the Pitzer crew and I returned yesterday from our first week working with the Fisheries Department (we ship out next Monday for our next adventure). Little did I know when I signed up for this stint with the Fisheries that I was setting myself up for memorizing copious amounts of names like B. Lateralis and S. Negro Maculatis (still can't spell them though) as well as deciphering the difference between a hard dorsal fin and a soft one (but first I had to learn what a dorsal fin was). Not only that, but I also didn’t realize I had signed myself up for maybe permanently changing my musk. I don’t think I will ever stop sweating fish stench and there is no amount of soap Dove could ever produce to stop my clothes from reeking (I quickly adapted a set of clothes for dealing with the fish and others for relaxing).
We were shipped up north to a small village near the slightly bigger village-and extremely more "google-mapable" village- of Shakawe, located about 10 km from the Namibian boarder in the North and right on the Okavango Panhandle. Our camp couldn’t have been better situated, 10 meters from the flowing waters. There was a sort of natural jetty created which allowed the locals (and us) to park the boats safely without the sweeping current taking them off. Although it remained quiet for most of the day, fishermen would sometimes come in the morning with their catches and we could watch mokoros passing by loaded with the reeds which surround the delta which are meant for creating fences and baskets. The location was gorgeous with pristine views and lots of animal life. Besides the livestock who were brought by farmers to drink in the safe waters of the small bay, there were - without even leaving the comfort of the banks - enough birds to satisfy even the most intense bird nerd. The waters of the Delta are filled with more crocodiles and hippos then people in department stores the day after Thanksgiving, but fortunately due to the jetty they are kept primarily out of our little safe haven, that didn’t mean though that we wouldn’t see crocs’ heads drifting out in the deeper waters and every night we would hear hippos tromping through the reeds.
We were shipped up north to a small village near the slightly bigger village-and extremely more "google-mapable" village- of Shakawe, located about 10 km from the Namibian boarder in the North and right on the Okavango Panhandle. Our camp couldn’t have been better situated, 10 meters from the flowing waters. There was a sort of natural jetty created which allowed the locals (and us) to park the boats safely without the sweeping current taking them off. Although it remained quiet for most of the day, fishermen would sometimes come in the morning with their catches and we could watch mokoros passing by loaded with the reeds which surround the delta which are meant for creating fences and baskets. The location was gorgeous with pristine views and lots of animal life. Besides the livestock who were brought by farmers to drink in the safe waters of the small bay, there were - without even leaving the comfort of the banks - enough birds to satisfy even the most intense bird nerd. The waters of the Delta are filled with more crocodiles and hippos then people in department stores the day after Thanksgiving, but fortunately due to the jetty they are kept primarily out of our little safe haven, that didn’t mean though that we wouldn’t see crocs’ heads drifting out in the deeper waters and every night we would hear hippos tromping through the reeds.
Our purpose there was to assist in the sampling of the fish in the Delta. Every month the department conducts surveys at a variety of locations throughout its water. Every evening a net is set with different mesh sizes (in order to collect different sizes of fish) and every morning we would collect the nets. The setting and collecting the nets (along with the boat cruising to reach them) was the easy part, once the fish arrived then the fun began… First, we had to fish the fish out of the nets, not at all as easy as one would think. Fish can wind and tangle themselves so tightly into those nets that even for the expert de-weavers who have worked at the department for years, it can take minutes to get just to untangle one (of usually over 500) fish. Following the retrieval processes begins the sorting and recording process where each scaly creature must be grouped together with the rest of its family. Then each fish must be measured, weighed and cut open to determine gender and how developed they are. I am entirely sure that in this past week I have handled (along with dug around in their guts) more fish then I ever have eaten and possibly more than I will ever consume in my life.
The job, although tedious at times, was fun. It is hard not to enjoy yourself in the Delta, especially with three awesome friends and your cousin (who is not excluded from the awesomeness). We even were able to do a boat cruise on the last day where we did some pretty amazing things. Besides weaving ourselves in and out of the canals, we got off on a few islands and wandered through the palm trees and reeds, even using a crocodile path as our docking point. Going so deep into the Delta, and wandering around its islands allowed us to see places that very few, if anyone, has ever seen before. Everyday makes me appreciate this experience more and more; just being in the Delta is something that very few people ever get to experience, but on top of that we are doing things that are ridiculous. Not to mention that I am doing it with my cousin…
Working with Fisheries has given me new appreciation for those that fish and along with implanting a jealousy of fishermen’s hygienic secrets for keeping the stink off them. Oh, and Thanksgiving in the Delta with the cousin, YES PLEASE!
The job, although tedious at times, was fun. It is hard not to enjoy yourself in the Delta, especially with three awesome friends and your cousin (who is not excluded from the awesomeness). We even were able to do a boat cruise on the last day where we did some pretty amazing things. Besides weaving ourselves in and out of the canals, we got off on a few islands and wandered through the palm trees and reeds, even using a crocodile path as our docking point. Going so deep into the Delta, and wandering around its islands allowed us to see places that very few, if anyone, has ever seen before. Everyday makes me appreciate this experience more and more; just being in the Delta is something that very few people ever get to experience, but on top of that we are doing things that are ridiculous. Not to mention that I am doing it with my cousin…
Working with Fisheries has given me new appreciation for those that fish and along with implanting a jealousy of fishermen’s hygienic secrets for keeping the stink off them. Oh, and Thanksgiving in the Delta with the cousin, YES PLEASE!
No comments:
Post a Comment