September 2007
by Margo McShane

My first few weeks as a volunteer for CEA have been both challenging and rewarding. I knew when I signed up for the Reef Monitoring Program that the initial month would entail a lot of studying and hard work. In order to participate in the project, volunteers must learn to identify the local fish and coral species; I am studying the coral. It is quite daunting when you see the list of coral, in Latin, and realize that you need to know it all, but I’ve never been one to shy away from a challenge, so I just stuck to it and began to learn. We do regular "spot snorkels" which allow us to go out with our program leader to look at the corals and fish and get to know them in their natural habitat. Looking at books can never replace seeing them "wild!"

Settling into a new place, getting to know new people and customs. and trying to avoid standing on the scorpions are just as important as getting to know the marine life. Living here for three months means getting involved in all aspects of the volunteer experience, even the not-so-fun parts like cleaning your dorm and taking the rubbish out! I’m staying in a "palapa" which is a building with a palm leaf roof which, although it looks very charming, does mean I’m sharing my room with a lot of creepy crawly things! Geckos, lizards, cockroaches and scorpions are the usual visitors, but they don’t bother you too much. Occasionally you find a cockroach in your towel or your shorts, and the geckos make a strange "kissing" sound quite a lot! Luckily we’ve only had one or two scorpion stings so far and that was only due to someone treading on them!

Living and working together with the same people has its own challenges too. It can be easy to let small problems get out of hand, so learning to communicate and resolve issues quickly is especially important; nobody wants to spend three months falling out with each other! I shared a dorm room with five other people, so my communication and people skills were put to the test in the past months!

One thing that I can’t envisage myself falling out with is Akumal itself. I was completely blown away by the beauty of the beach and the crystal clear waters of the bay. I have lived in England all my life and have only traveled to European countries, some of which are very picturesque, but I had never seen a beach as beautiful as the one here. If you asked me to describe "paradise" I would likely say white, sandy beaches, palm trees and azure blue waters—that is what I see here every day, so I guess Akumal is paradise! I already feel very protective of the bay and sometimes I find myself picking up litter and clearing away fishing line as if I were caring for my own garden. As volunteers we are lucky enough to get the chance to make a difference and hopefully show local people, tourists and policy makers just how blessed they are in having this piece of paradise literally in their backyard.

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