Showers that Cleanse

Recently, I've had a couple of those cleansing showers. The ones that cause the water to turn brown from all the dust, dirt, or whatever. They require cleaning under the fingernails, and smell-checking your armpit until you've scrubbed it enough. You may have to shampoo twice to remove the salt crust from sweat or the ocean.

I love these showers.

Often, these showers follow camping trips, like the Baja Surf Trip two weekends back (previous post). That shower washed off three surf sessions, ~20 hours of driving, and two nights on the ground. I washed off sweated out alcohol and spilled hot sauce. There was a bunch of dogs at Cuatros Casas, all of whom were gross, and some of whom I petted. All of that came off in that shower, two Mondays ago.

Gorgeous and Glassy

Two Tuesdays ago, I went to sea with class to deploy my lab's Del Mar Mooring. Thankfully, the post-cruise shower only had to wash off sweat and grease; everything is clean when we put it in the water. Mooring recoveries, conversely, pick up all those same instruments after they've been fouled by all the biology in the ocean (e.g. algae, barnacles, mussels, etc.); I remain pungent from all the bio-scraping until I make it home, and take that shower.

Look at all that smelly biology on a previous mooring.
Photo Courtesy of James Broesch

My most recent cleansing shower was late Saturday night, following a day trip to an orphanage in Tijuana with Jeff. We went down with his family and Church Group to install a kitchen, fix door frames, lay gas line, and paint. We arrived earlier than the rest, allowing us to lay down a second coat on the soon-to-be installed kitchen cabinets, and even sneak away for our street tacos (news flash: Taqueria La Gloria makes their own corn tortillas!!). Upon returning, we were given the gas line job with two others. This was my first experience with anything plumbing related, but with Jeff's guidance we were able to finish.

Jeff surveying the line, Martin works at the orphanage

The shower that followed removed sweat from the Baja sun, as well as the grease, dust, and dirt the job required. It's weird to be able to wash off and return home so easily. While the line we set led to a water heater, the orphanage has no such luxury as the comfortable apartment I have made for myself. 

On Sunday, I woke up late, biked some errands, and read at the beach.

Somethings Interesting:
--Sunday was also Election day for Mexico. Exit polls show a return of the Institutional Revolutionary Party after a 12 year hiatus.

--Following Zanzibar, it took me 2 full days to get home, stopping in Tanzania overnight, and again in London. The shower that followed washed off the recent sleeping on airport benches, the bender with Spike on the way home, and the pit toilet on mainland Tanzania. 

--For info on the Del Mar Mooring, see my lab's website...
http://mooring.ucsd.edu/
Projects-->Del Mar

Ray holding it down.

Deploying the Camera

Hey Matt!

Lots of waiting.

The mooring is away.

Locals on a mission

Taqueria La Gloria

Wrangling Baja: A Chronology

Saturday, 16-June-2012

1012: Cross the San Ysidro Border into Baja, traveled south through Tijuana and Rosarito.

1204: Arrive K58, a surf community with camping and restaurants. Enjoyed lunch with a view.

1233: Paddle out into head-high, beach break tumblers. Very relaxed session, sun comes out halfway through. Smooth sets every 3-6 minutes, nobody to share them with but ourselves.

1437: Pack Wrangler back together, continue south along inland route through Ensenada. Naps were had.

Jeff without pants.

1812: Purchase beer, tequila, hot sauce, tacos.

1817: Turn off main road towards coast. First foray into offroading. Wrangler's new tires work great.

1840: Arrive at Cuatros Casas, surveyed campsite overlooking point break. Paddle into right-hand, machine-gun, waist to chest peelers.

Nick snags a peeler.

1958: Sunset ends session, starts campfire, and opens beers.

Sunday, 17-June-2012

0718: I wake up early.

0805: Jeff and Nick wake up. Discuss plans.

0856: Paddle into smaller peelers. Washes off smoke, grit, etc. from camping.

1002: Pack Wrangler back together, continue off road along bluff. No intention of returning.

1031: Come across giant shipwreck, road gets rougher.

Jeff surveys the wreckage.

1122: Meet back with main road. Tacos during Eurocup game, Spanish Announcer.

1148: Return North. The going was hot and clear.

1535: Make it through Ensenada, take coast road. 

1545: El Mirador provides gorgeous views of coastline, commercial fisheries, Isla Todos Santos. 

1618: Margaritas and burittos at K58. The surf is inconsistent and blown out. 

1720: El Compadre is purchased.

1824: Campsite is set, fire is made, Vlad is carved, El Compadre is opened.

The waves were small.

Monday 18-June-2012 

0810: I wake up, discover that someone took a dump in the middle of our campsite overnight.

0840: Nick and Jeff wake up. We are spoiled with waves here in La Jolla, and decide that the broken up mush we have before us isn't worth it; we pack up and leave.

0930: Arrive for breakfast in Rosarito, helps breakup El Compadre's headache.

1012: Nick snags shotgun for the trip to the border.

The road home.

1102: Decide to travel inland to Mesa del Otay border crossing. This will be our undoing.

1125: Begin waiting in line for border; USA lies about a quarter mile away from us. 

1538: Cross the border, 4+ hours later. Return home.

Jeffrey Campana

Transition to offroading.

Post-sesh euphoria.

Solving the world's problems.

Whale Skeleton 

Shralping

I feel sorry for the dog who lives there.

Tacos y futbol

Coast road mirador.

Mid-morning stretch

Desayuno de los dios

I can think of nothing less appetizing or more dangerous than  border line clamatos.

Thanksgiving Cruise

  I went to sea the days preceding Thanksgiving of last year. While I wouldn't be able to comment on the cruise now (it's been too long, sorry about that), I do have an informal cruise report I provided my adviser immediately following the cruise. Please note, I've edited the specific instruments to be intentionally vague.

Cruise Dates: 20-Nov-2012 to 24-Nov-2012
Cruise Goal: Mooring maintenance, instrument recovery
After a rainy departure, we awoke Monday to clear skies and a warning from the Navy. We were told on the radio that they were conducting bombing operations near Santa Barbara Island, and gave us an area to avoid. The captain of course obliged, adding a few hours to the 60+ hours of steaming we had over the entire cruise.
Monday afternoon brought us to the site of the rogue instrument, which Christian immediately unhooked. It came up less than 200m from the boat, and was spotted instantly. After a successful recovery, Mark got really excited about some small things growing on it.
More steaming as the sun went down, meeting us at sunrise Tuesday morning at CCE1. Christian and I hopped in the small boat and onto the buoy, swapped out the battery, and returned with minimal trouble. As Mark did his tow experiments, we got word that the system had returned data.

Small Boat Launch

Open-ocean Mooring 

On a personal note, I have only been seasick twice in my life, the second time being on that mooring as it bounced up and down. Resistance was impossible, as the horizon was visible only through a grate that moved with me.

Returning to Ship

Mark's tow experiments involved an instrument conducting profiles while the ship was underway. The instrument measured standard temp/salinity, and also had an interesting method to measure zooplankton as they passed.
We arrived at CCE2 well before the sun rose Wednesday morning, giving Mark's group the opportunity to run their zooplankton profiles before it was safe to drop the small boat in the water. When we finally made it to the buoy, we grabbed the system. It was neat to listen as the surface instrument collected its measurement for 0700. Back in the large boat, Mark again got excited about some biology, before his team helped us clean and swap the instrument.

Near-shore mooring

The small boat went back in the water, and the buoy went back together. We also had some pictures taken of us from the New Horizon as they brought themselves close. The way home saw us threading through the channel islands two hours ahead of schedule. This gave Mark more time with his zooplankton profiles on the way home.

Santa Rosa Island

Santa Cruz Island

After passing the GEOCE mooring late at night, we arrived back in San Diego at 0730, Thanksgiving Morning. 

I didn't have time to make it home, so I went to potluck out in North Park at a fellow Grad Student's place; I ate more food than was comfortable.

Surf Trip

So myself and two buddies went on a surf trip a few months ago to my house on the Central Coast. A few other friends expressed interest, but flaked for various reasons. While on the trip, I sent the following email in order to make them jealous.

UPDATE:
After a 6 hour drive broken only by In n Out, Nick, Jeff, and I arrived at Casa de Wilson. Friday morning saw huge close outs at my house, so we investigated Morro Rock. It was silly huge. Minimal waves and maximal paddling saw the arrival of the storm. 

We took refuge in an ocean front bar with spiked cocoa and bread bowls of clam chowder. We made it home for more cocoa and a collection of Disney movies. 

This morning, we awoke to head high A-frames dusted by light offshores. Super fun, super open, super waves tired us out before a nap and more Disney. An evening session saw smaller waves, but still consistent, peeling, and faster on the low tide.  

We sit now, exhausted and buzzing of more boozey hot cocoa, watching Fern Gully; we've decided Jeff is the dude character. 

Sam

P.S. All of this has been punctuated by meals raided from my dad's kitchen. Last night was BBQ chicken sandwiches and scalloped potatoes, tonight was fish and fresh bread.

We surfed again the following day before driving home.

Opinion on Climate Change

A question every earth scientist gets. My answer is something like the following.

I think the earth is constantly changing, and has been both warmer and colder than it is now. One of the definitions of an "ice age" is polar ice sheets, which we have now; we are then, in an ice age. 

The bad thing, it seems, is when this fluctuating temperature occurs faster than animals and plants are able to adapt. This is what is occurring now, with one example in a rattlesnake study.

Climate Changes Faster Than Species Can Adapt, Rattlesnake Study Finds

"We find that, over the next 90 years, at best these species' ranges will change more than 100 times faster than they have during the past 320,000 years"

The result is potential mass die-offs.

Safari Zuri

Due to an intense observational campaign and a 4 day Safari, this blog has been found lacking. I'll cover the Safari here, because it is most recent, and will follow later with a post describing our recent observational exploits, including going to sea 8 of 10 consecutive days.

My guide met me at the Kilimanjaro airport, and brought me to a basic campsite with an incredible view of Rift Valley and Lake Manyara. The electricity was out, but still our cook was able to create some delicious spaghetti with meatballs, and an opportunity to meet my (first) Safari partners. A pair of Dutch girls and a middle-aged German couple were going to travel through Ngorogoro Crater with me the following day.

We awoke early, and slipped out after some eggs and pancakes. Before 9am, we got our first view of the crater’s huge plain with dotted lakes as we descended to the floor. We soon saw cumba (warthogs), though gazelles, wildebeests, and zebra were quick to follow.

It was so much fun, just to drive around a look for stuff. Before lunch, I had seen baboons, some far-off lions, ostriches, a cheetah, an elephant, hyenas, and countless flying birds. We actually lunched next to the hippo pool, dodging the hawk-like kites trying to steal our food. The afternoon gave two rhino sightings, some closer lions, as well as all the other above animals. Our car was the first to sight one of the rhinos, which gave our guide something to brag about in Kiswahili to all the other drivers.

We made it back to camp around sunset, with another delicious dinner ready for us and a decent acrobatic show as entertainment. The next morning was Lake Manyara, a heavily forested National Park providing much closer animal viewings. Baboons, impala, and Giraffes were the standard, with some lucky elephant sightings as well; Giraffes are definitely my favorite.

After a stop off at the hippo pool, we left the park and returned for a hot lunch in camp. In the small town nearby, I haggled down some souvenirs and bade farewell to my car. My afternoon was spent on bicycle safari, taking me through herds of zebra and wildebeests before a banana beer in a mud-brick bar.

On the back of a motorcycle, I found my second camp and group. This time only a younger Italian couple woke with me the next morning to travel to Tarangire National Park. It was so nice, to see such different terrains each day, this time with dry hills and dotted baobab trees forcing the Tarangire River to snake through the region. It was that morning that I realized lions aren’t that cool; they’re so lazy, even when delicious-looking zebra are less than 100 meters away. 

Following my own lunch, a group of elephants passed AROUND the truck, prompting me to bring myself down from the moon roof and take pictures through the windows (elephants are HUGE and kind of scary). We followed this group down the river as they dug for water, sprayed mud on each other, and picked at grass along the bank. On our way out, we saw a lion eating a zebra.

I again exchanged emails and said goodbyes, before catching a local bus into town with my guide. He found me a place to stay, and met me the following morning for a walking safari through Arusha National Park.

The hike was beautiful, though sparse with animals. I guess it is a positive the Ranger assigned to me didn’t have to use the rifle assigned to her, but some excitement would have been nice. After some water buffalo, a waterfall, and a tree big enough to drive through, I found the exit and some Nyama Choma for lunch.

The flight back to Zanzibar gave me a beautiful view of Stone Town during the sunset, where I was able to point out to my single-serving friend each of the islands near town.

Somethings Interesting:
-Arusha is very touristy, and going on Safari is very easy. While I believe regions of the Serengetti are still remote (and too far for my few days), the parks I went to had daily visitor numbers comparable with Yosemite or Yellowstone.

-I have taken accustomed to rolling my eyes back in my head to only show the whites to local children who are starring at me (e.g. when entering a restaurant). I figure, give them something to stare at, and they normally find it funny.

-Haggling is an art, and I only have amateur status. My best advice; (1) always be astonished by the first price; (2) hold the amount of money you are offering in your hand; this lets the person see it; (3) realize that you don’t have to buy anything.

-I love the moment while traveling, where I awake from dozing off, and realize, “Oh ya, I’m in a truck returning from Tarangire/a boat returning from Chumbe Island/a dala dala returning from Jambiani.”