Missing Tasiriki

I worked on the Moso turtle project for two months from October to December 2008. It's almost a month now since I left the village and feels like my time there was all a bit of a dream now...

I arrived in the village with 3 other volunteers and we were pretty lucky to be joining Lucy, another volunteer who had already been in Tasiriki for a month. Lucy was able to show us the ropes and tell us lots of little things about the village that didn't make sense at first! Having said that we pretty quickly learned that you can ask anyone questions and they are more than happy to tell you what's going on. During our first week there was also a wedding taking place so everyone was busy involved in preparations for that. There seemed to be celebrations every night which was pretty cool as we were welcome to join in and this was a great way to meet lots of the villagers. Other highlights included the boat trips around the island, weaving our own mats, Friday nights with the string band (be prepared to dance!!!), lying around in the hammock on beautiful balmy evenings, canoing, snorkeling, beating Kallop at cards, and just the laughter and good times. Am sure I've missed something out!

One thing I learned and could be useful to know going into the project is that this is just as much about the village and the people as it is about the turtles. There are always local guys going to the beach to monitor the turtles and it's a pretty relaxed situation if you are tired/not feeling well etc and choose to opt out of a night at the beach. When I arrived I thought that it was just up to us volunteers and we'd be going over every single night. I think that over two months we averaged about 3-4 night visits a week and saw a total of 24 adult turtles on the beach (also went over a couple of times during the day and saw some babies). You get used to the walk over to and along the beach and it seemed to get shorter with time and as you got more familiar with the island. It was always nice to lie back on the beach and stare up at the stars, listen to the waves, and have some really strange and interesting conversations. And if you didn't feel like that, there was always a game of cards (we played a LOT of cards). Learning the local game of Seven Lock was a good move as this was often a bit of an ice breaker if you were going to turtle beach with some new guys who were a bit shy. Not to mention just a fun way of filling up time in general....could get quite competitive and games went late into the night.

Some of the difficult parts of living in the village were not those things that I'd expected....you get used to the solar showers (and just being dirty a lot) and bucket lush loos. A limited diet and eating at weird times could be challenging but then you always have Fridays to get your fix of cold drinks and familiar food. After a while I began to miss having my own space - when you're living in the bungalows there are not that many places that aren't shared/private but I guess that's just part of the whole village experience and getting a taste of what its like to live in such a small and close knit place. You really need to come to Tasiriki with an open mind and just be prepared to go with the flow.

I won't say I loved EVERY minute of my time in Tasiriki, as it could be challenging at times. Having said that, my first week back in the 'real world' after leaving the village was equally difficult. I find it's very difficult to describe to others what my time in Tasiriki was like and almost don't want to try because I can't do it justice. It was an amazing experience and I wouldn't hesitate to do it again. Going over my photos I feel a little sad and miss life in the village more than I expected to. I am envious of everyone who has yet to visit and I hope you enjoy your time as much as I did :)

Other useful bits and pieces...
- hand sanitiser is your best friend
- if you're staying for a while consider buying a Digicel phone or SIM card, they're cheap and you will definately save money compared to using your own phone and card.
- you can buy most things in Vila if you need them so don't worry if you run out of things (although anti-hystimine tablets were REALLY expensive).
- take some cards
- underwater cameras were tricky to get hold of in Vila so may want to take one with you
-be prepared for the physical aspect of life in the village...the walk to turtle beach mightn't seem that long but its a bit different in the dark when hot and humid.