Ashton Abroad: Hashing, diving, and dolphins!

I HAVE AN AWESOME JOB

Work has kept me busy with lots of diving! I am working on a project for the National Park Service right now, doing benthic surveys and helping with fish surveys. A few weeks ago the weather was awful, then we had exactly one week of fantastic weather, followed by another week of bad weather. Apparently we're having more storms than usual this year!

I had never seen the ocean as calm as it was last week, so naturally I took a ton of photos.

So smooth!

I mean, really, could you ask for better conditions? (No, you could not.)

Picturesque day!

Sliiiightly choppier near the reef, but still can't complain!

Our wonderful dive team consisted of me, two ladies from the Hawaii section of the National Park Service (one of whom graduated from the marine lab master's program a few years ago), and another marine lab graduate who now works for the local government. We got along famously and everyone had a great sense of humor. It's fantastic to have such a cohesive and friendly dive team, because when you're stuck on a boat for 8 hours every day, it makes the project so much more fun!

SUPER COOL DIVE TEAM

Every day our team met up around 7am, loaded up our gear and 13-17 tanks (3-4 dives, 1 per person per dive, plus a spare) onto the truck, and none of that stuff is light! We'd then take that gear off the truck and load it onto the boat. We'd do three or four dives per day, during which we lay out transects, survey fish, and take photos of the bottom. It's pretty easy and fun!

We saw lots of wonderful stuff during our first week of diving! In one day we had spinner dolphins on the bow of our boat, a sea turtle, an octopus, and...

WE WERE IN AN UNDERWATER EARTHQUAKE! It was so cool! Out of nowhere, we suddenly heard an insanely loud noise. It sounded like a giant cruise ship was going directly over us! It was so loud that it physically shook us, and lasted for about ten seconds. We had no idea what it was. When we ended the dive and boarded the boat, our captain informed us that there had been a 4.9 earthquake just 20km away! Definitely one of the best dives I've ever done.

The water was so smooth that the dolphins got bored...

...and came to play on the waves our tiny boat was making!

I counted three or four dolphins riding our bow.

Spinner dolphins are so pretty!

They are also much smaller than bottlenose dolphins, which is what most people think of when they hear "dolphin."

If only every day could start like this!

So shiny!

My favorite photo of the day!

Aren't they tiny and cute?

None of our other days were that exciting, but I still have at least another week of diving to do on this project so who knows what else we'll see?

HASHING

Hashing is something I've been hearing about ever since I got to the island. It's an activity where 30-40 weirdos get together and run through the uncharted jungles of Guam. I went for the first time and spent two hours running through rivers, jumping off waterfalls, climbing small mountains, fighting my way through swordgrass, and swimming through pools of muddy leptospirosis-filled water. It was so much fun!

I didn't bring a camera (this time...) but another hasher did, so I borrowed this photos from facebook. Thanks, Hasher Gojira!

The hash begins.

At first everyone is really crowded together, but it spreads out over the hash.

Getting into the jungle.

First beer stop!

Those coolers are full of beer... if you want water you have to lay under the orange cooler!

The first of several large hills. (The photo doesn't do it justice!)

There aren't really paths so much as vague routes indicated by yellow (biodegradable!) tape.

Basically straight up. Fortunately people are pretty good at helping each other on tough parts!

Muddy water, and people trying to climb a small waterfall. I watched two people fall off and then found a different route.

I think you can see someone falling in this photo. That's me on the left with a big blonde bun.

Hash buddies!

All that swordgrass is super sharp! Notice that there's no real "trail."

The views are hard to beat up there!

Hashing is a great way to see parts of island that you usually wouldn't get to see!

Lots of red dirt up there.

That's me in black! Notice how we're all wearing gloves? That's to protect our skin from the swordgrass.

Look at all that swordgrass! I had about a millions tiny cuts on my arms and legs because nobody told me to wear long socks.

Post-hash party. (Most people still weren't back yet when this was taken; a bunch of people got lost.)

During the hash there are beer/water stops, and after the hash there is plenty of beer, soda, and snacks to feed a small army. It was really fun and I can't wait to go again!

MY CAR

Finally, after 2.5 months, I got Irma (my car) back! The check engine light is still on, and there was a slight snafu with the oil getting clogged, but it all seems okay for now. It may have cost a fortune and taken forever, but I do like that car a lot, so hopefully it'll be worth it!

PRETTY PICTURES

I've seen Oka Point from boats, but a few weeks ago I finally drove around until I found it. It's very pretty, if a little dangerous! I guess it was supposed to be a hotel resort but never got finished. Now it's a great place to watch the sunset!

Oka Point is a cliff, but there are (semi-dangerous) concrete steps that lead down closer to the water. Not too close, because the waves are pretty crazy there, but close enough to get wet!

Remember that you can click on photos to see them bigger!

As you can see, the steps are old and have no railings and are kiiinda crumbling.

At the top of the cliff is railing, which I would NOT lean against because at least half of it is missing. People seem to throw trash off the top a lot, which is sad. Why do people feel like it's okay to litter on such a beautiful island? I'll never figure it out.