Gemma's X-ray 4 diary

Wednesday: X-ray 4 were up bright and early as always. We spent the morning beach combing-collecting rubbish and clearing driftwood. Dania and I now have enough shells to start our own Camoranal jewellery line. Unfortunately we couldn't work on the bridge today as we were waiting for a wood delivery. However, we didn't let that stop us, and we used the extra time to brainstorm ideas for future projects and and ways to improve the Camoranal experience for both tourists and volunteers.

Thursday: X-ray 4 had a rest day and celebrated one of the fellow volunteer's birthday. We made her a card, sang happy birthday and buried her in the sand-poor Blake!Some members of the group embarked on a challenge, well Hamish and me. We set up a camp 300m away from the rangers station with little more than a hammock, some pasta and the clothes we were wearing. Tonight was also an interesting night for turtle watch. There were many turtle sightings, although strangely many of them did not lay their eggs. This meant that more time was dedicated to setting poacher traps and imitating Nelson's (the park ranger) stealth techniques.

Friday: Today we finished the main walkway of the bridge and began putting up the handrails. Cesar, Norman and Noah worked very hard together with the rangers including Helbert, the new architect. Hamish and I were collected from the depths of the wood by Dev and Dania. Many of the 24 hours were spent playing charades, singing and making up stories in between cooking, sleeping and reflecting. Bravo 1 arrived today and recieved a warm welcome- we promised them it wasn't just because they bought us the tuck shop! We all watched the beautiful sunset on the beach before being treated to Dania's delicious vegetable curry (she is the only on who can make our basic food exciting!). The fieldbase team then joined the turtle watch and were thrilled to see a turtle laying eggs and help to rebury them to protect them from the poachers. Everyone is looking forward to the trip to Samoa beach tomorrow, where we will stay overnight- the perfect end to a perfect phase!