Let the field season begin...

After what seems like forever of planning and organising I am in the Turks and Caicos for my fieldwork!!!

The journey was...heavy. I took the train from Aberdeen to London King's Cross, then had to take a tube to Victoria station. Of course the platform I needed was the furthest from the train platform I arrived on, and it was 5pm! Then it was back off the tube, up ALL the stairs (well in the lift) and across to the Victoria train station to get a train to Gatwick Airport. A quick shuttle bus ride to the hotel and I had made it!

Me standing outside Union Station in Aberdeen with ALL my bags!

Getting through airport security wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I did have to give the people checking my bags a short lecture on ocean currents to explain the current meter I had with me. Thankfully, the underwater cameras, dive computers, digital microscope, and salinity/temperature logger were not as difficult to explain. The flight was uneventful and I arrived in Providenciales to beautiful Caribbean weather - 30°C and sunny with a light breeze! 😁

First day on the island was spent unpacking, organising equipment, grocery shopping and helping the Turks and Caicos Reef Fund set up for their "Cocktails for Conservation" party.

My sofa has been taken over by the science equipment. I'll be too busy to sit down anyway 🤣

After being on the island for over 36 hours I FINALLY got in the ocean on Saturday morning for a snorkel. We saw FIVE turtles! The water is hot, I definitely only need my rash guard and if it wasn't for my pasty Scottish skin and red hair I would be warm enough in just a swimsuit. We did some maintenance on the site - cleaning markers, looking for any mooring ropes that need fixed/replaced and generally checking the health of the site. I was also photographed and videoed by the Sandals Foundation who sponsored the set up of this snorkel site and wanted some new footage. Guess I am a movie star now!

A beautiful little green turtle that joined us on our Saturday morning snorkel

Sunday is being spent planning the specifics for the coming week. I have my equipment all sorted, labelled everything that needs labels and am just about to look at the map and make a game plan for the first day of data collection. We are then heading out to a coral reef that needs to be mapped. It might be Sunday, and shops might be closed. But the ocean is always open 😁