Capturing the Moment

I have been here in Maui for just over two weeks and still find myself running around with tons of little things to get done but I am getting used to the pace. Training with the Pacific Whale Foundation has been amazing. Luckily I already had the boat knowledge in place so docking procedures, working with lines and knots and the such came easily. Learning all the new fish and becoming a humpback whale expert are what I am working on now. As a naturalist on board the Ocean Odyssey I give interactive lectures over the microphone while underway, lead snorkel reef tours, work the boat as part of the crew, and act as interpreter for whale behavoir. We have a few on-island programs that I will lead as well from moonlit tidepools, to whale watching lookouts, research on odontocetes (toothed whales such as dolphins), and invasive species removal on top of Haleakala (our largest volcano). I have finally found enough time to do a bit of surfing on the north side of maui, and Heidi and I have ...

Well. It has been a wild ride out here in Maui so far. Heidi and I flew out on the 10th and were graciously put up by our friend and new boss Pat at his house in Makawao, up on the slopes of Haleakala, a 10,000 ft volcano. And we arrived just in time for some crazy storms, rains, and flooding around the island. We are both working as naturalist for the Pacific Whale Foundation. And we jumped right into things which until now was a bit crazy since we were trying to find a place to live and a car at the same time. The first to come was a place to live. We found a really nice place in southern Kihei which has great snorkeling and scuba diving nearby. Unfortunately it doesn't open until Feb 1st. So we weren't done yet. Next we found a car. I found a '99 Nissan Altima in pretty good shape from Craigslist. I had the leaky radiator replaced with a brand new one and hopefully now it will prove to be a good work car for us. Not sure if I will try to drive it up to the top of Haleaka...