An unexpected discovery on the beach at San Juan

We went down to the small beach inside the harbour at San Juan for a paddle and a relaxing lay down on the sand.

While I was there I saw something moving as if it was being blown along by the breeze. I watched as it moved jerkily along the sand. I got down on all four paws for a closer look and I was surprised to see that the little white objects was being carried by an ant.

An ant on the beach, I was surprised. I watched the ant as it carried what appeared to be a small piece of seaweed along the sand and up the wall of the jetty.

Here I noticed other ants travelling to and from the sandy beach. The ant carrying the seaweed disappeared into a hole in the wall, above the high tide level. 

Wow these ants must forage for food on the beach at low tide and return to their home above the water level before high tide.

Power from the Sun

Hi all

Today I met one of Xena and Steve's friends who is hoping to work on a new solar power project. This new technology is called photovoltaics. This is where the suns energy is turned into power electricity and it is nearly always sunny in Tenerife. The project sounded fascinating. This kind of energy is called renewable energy.

It is generated by the suns rays and so does not contribute to climate change. This can then be used to power all the normal things electricity is used for. We don't have enough sun back in the UK but we do have lots of wind and a new offshore wind farm is planned near where I live. In the same way, wind will be used to generate electricty. I wishes him luck with the solar project on Tenerife

Bye for now, Ed

Drinking water, tree climbing and Yoga

Hi all

Today I realised just how valuable freshwater is. I guess we are all so used to just turning on the tap and we have as much water as we need. This water is purified for people to be able to drink. In Tenerife there are no permanent running water like the River Adur back home.

Most of the fresh water comes from the heart of the volcano - Teide where melting snow has filtered through the rock. I didn’t even know that it ever snowed on Tenerife - it seems so hot. Steve said that Teide is so high that it snows on the peak of Teide in the winter. There are pipes that supply water that is suitable for drinking but not all water is pure enough for people to drink. I thought volcanoes were full of hot molten larva but Steve told me that the water can build up in special porous rocks called an aquifer. Pipes can be seen taking water around the island.

About 400 years ago there were many springs, streams and waterfalls on Tenerife. In recent years a big increase in tourism has meant more water has been extracted from the aquifer to provide for tourists and now there are virtually no streams or waterfalls on Tenerife that do not run dry during Summer.

There are a few places on the island where local people can fill their plastic bottles with drinking water for free. That’s exactly what we did today. I headed off up the mountains with Xena and Sharon to collect drinking water that would last for a couple of weeks.

It really made me think about how valuable water is – with out water there would be no like on earth. How luck I am to live in a country where water is plentiful, even during very hot weather when water is less plentiful, we still have plenty to drink. But I can’t help wondering if global warming might change all that. Back in the UK water is often wasted. Some people even leave the tap running while they clean their teeth.

After breakfast - brunch we went for a walk along the coast behind Alcala village.

Xena once lived in Alcala. When Steve and Sharon stayed with Xena the village was much smaller and quieter. We had a leisurely walk, lunar came to. We found some unusual shaped seats which although made from concrete, they were very comfortable. We carried on walking, but it was soon very hot so we sheltered beneath some palm trees. I soon got fidgety and started climbing the palm trees. TheIr bark makes it very easy to get a handhold.

 I looked out to sea and watched a pirate ship pass by. Luckily it was a replica, full of tourists, not the real thing. We walked a little further and then went back to Xena’s house for ice cream and siesta.

Xena teaches Yoga several times a week and she was teaching a lesson today. I asked if I could go with her to watch as I had never done any yoga before. When we got there I was feeling a bit shy, so although Xena invited me to take part, I said I would watch. Xena has a small group of regular students who seemed a nice cheery bunch. The ladies who had come along seemed to have a lot of fun, but it also looked hard work, especially in this hot weather.

When the class had finished, Xena said she would show me some of the Yoga positions. My tummy kept getting in the way (a bit like my buddy Steve - don't tell him I said that) so Xena helped me get into some of the positions.

This position is called "Sun Salutation"

In the end I managed to do a few on my own.

This position is called "Downward Dog"

That evening it was card night, Xena and a small group of friends get together every Thursday. They take it in turns to host the evening. One of the players, Neville, helps run the Los Gigantes Dive Centre. Steve also knows Neville from previous trips to Tenerife. Neville said it was a shame that I had not brought my dive bubble he would have taken me out to sea the stingrays which they hand feed. That would have been very exciting!

Soon they were ready to play cards. I didn't want to get in the way so I made my excuses and went off to bed.

Bye for now, Ed

Whales, dolphins and Fiesta

Hi all

We all woke refreshed and headed off to a small seaside village called Los Gigantes, named after spectacular sea cliffs. The cliffs are one of my buddy Steve's favourite views on the island. Xena helps out with one of the whale and dolphin watch boats moored in the harbour at Los Gigantes. Xena was working today. She dropped us off in the town and said she would meet us later. I was really excited as Steve said we would all be going out on the glass bottom boat to see dolphins and pilot whales. I have not seen pilot whales before so I was really looking forward to this. We met up with Xena and we were soon settled down and ready to go.

I found somewhere out of the way while they readied the boat and we were soon on our way.

As we headed out to sea, waves broke against the bow spraying us with sea water. I was disappointed however to see some marine litter floating past, including a white plastic bag. As we continued on we all got wetter and wetter, but was a hot day and it helped to keep us cool. I looked towards the shore.

Towering above the island was Teide – it looked spectacular.

Steve pointed out a bird skimming low over the waves. He told me it was a Cory’s Shearwater.

Steve said they feed and catch food for their young out at sea and return to the nest at night. The adults call to their chicks – which sounds like cackling witches.

All of a sudden two pilot whales surfaced on the left side of the boat. The boat captain slowed the boat being careful not to get too close when suddenly two whales surfaced right next to the boat.

These whales were amazing to see. After taking a breath they dived, but the water was very clear and you could see them swimming beneath the water.

The whales surfaced, swam alongside the boat and then dived again. There were several other pilot whales a short way off.

The pilot whales were beautiful and graceful. It was a privilege to see them close up.

A large whale swam past, and spouted as it breathed out before taking in fresh air before diving again

After we had enjoyed watching the whales for a while, we slowly turned and headed back towards the shore. However the tour wasn’t over yet. We were heading for a bay called Masca where we would anchor and people could get of the boat and swim.

On the way we eat Tortilla (Spanish omelet) and drank Sangria. I watched the dark line of cliffs in the distance get higher as we got closer.

Soon the cliffs were towering above the boat and made me feel very tiny. Sharon and Amber went for a swim but I stayed on the boat with Steve. The water here was very deep and I did not have my diving bubble.

I sat and admitted the view of these stunning cliffs.

When everyone was back on board he headed back to the marina. On the way back we stopped at some fish farm where they farm two species of local fish for the restaurants on the island.

I thought this was a great idea, farming fish instead of catching from the wild – because many fish species have been over fished. However, my buddy Steve told me that the fish farms can be harmful. He said that a lot of fish waste in one area and uneaten food can be a big problem as it upsets the water chemistry. A diver buddy of Steve’s had told him that the area around the fish farms has become polluted and not much lives their now.

Steve was about to say something else when I interrupted him. I had seen a dolphin surface next to one of the enclosures. I pointed excitedly to the dolphin but Steve seemed less pleased.

This is another reason the boats stop here – to see the dolphins. Steve told me the dolphins were attracted by the fish. When the fish farms were first set up, the dolphin learned to leap into the enclosures to catch the fish.

Now the dolphins swim round and round the fish farm continuously and the fish get very stressed at these large predators being so close.

Steve said that when he had visited in previous years the boats had to head out to see to find the dolphins, just like we had done to see the pilot whales. When the boat reached the dolphins they were often inquisitive and playful. They would swim over to the boat, leaping and splashing or riding the bow wave at the front of the boat. Even I could see that the dolphins had no interest in us being there.

They just swam round and round, even a mother dolphin with a calf. I felt sad for these dolphins and how their live had changed. I was glad when the boat turned and headed off to the marina.

When the trip was over we went back to Xena’s house. I had a shower to get the salt out of my fur. We had a meal and then slept. But the day wasn’t over yet. It was a local Fiesta (festival) at Alcala and tonight there would be a big fire work display. Xena drove us up the mountain a short way, over looking the village of Alcala and watched a breath taking firework display.

Bye for now, Ed

Arriving at Tenerife in the Canary Islands

Hi all

It has been a busy few months, with my tour of the US and helping out with National Whale and Dolphinn Watch on my local beach on my return to the UK. My buddy Steve said I needed a rest.

So he is taking me on holiday to Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands off the west coast of Africa. I asked Steve if we would see any canaries in the Canary Islands. Steve said that there are wild canaries, but the islands were actually named after a special breed of dog. Steve said they were once known to the ancient Romans as the Fortunate Islands, the Canary Islands were named after the large dogs (Canes) found living on the islands.

Steve also said that Tenerife is one of 7 of the Canary Island group which are off the west coast of Africa.

We left just after lunch so we would get to Gatwick airport in plenty of time. I took some honey sandwiches for the flight and after watching the clouds go by I had a snack I had a sleep for most of the trip.

As we neared Tenerife the crew woke me up and said we were preparing for landing. We flew along the west coast and I was treated to a spectacular view of Teide, the volcano that gave birth to Tenerife many years ago. Teide is the highest peak in Spanish territory, an active but dormant volcano. Tenerife is also the third largest volcanic island in the world, second to Hawaii. This reminded me of the active volcano I saw on my visit to the Hawaiian Islands.

Just before we came into land we flew through what the captain said was turbulence (caused when winds travelling at different speeds meet). The plane kept dropping a short distance. like a roller coaster (it was a bit scary!) and my tummy felt a bit uncomfortable - I wished I had not eaten that extra sandwich. Luckily it wasn't long before we were safely on the ground. Steve was travelling with his wife Sharon and daughter Amber (who is 14). Steve said we would be staying with their very special friend Xena who lives on Tenerife.

Xena met us at the airport and after hugs all round we headed off to Xena's house. We stopped off at the supermarket for some supplies, but I stayed in the car and had a doze. We were soon on our way again and it wasn't long before we arrived at Xena's house.

As we went through the door we were instantly greeted by her dog Lunar who seemed very excited.

Lunar is now an elderly dog, but Steve and his family have known her when she was much younger. It was very hot still. Everyone sat and talked but my eyes were soon getting heavy and I began to fall asleep.

National Whale and Dolphin Watch

Hi all

I'm back in time to help my buddy Steve run the local watch site for National Whale and Dolphin Watch Week, which runs from 7th-15th August 2010.

Steve is the Sussex regional coordinator and he works with a group of volunteers to monitor sea mammals locally and raise awareness of these amazing animals.

Members of the public are invited to take part in National Whale and Dolphin Watch, either by helping the trained observers on manned watches or by performing their own timed watches and sending in sightings.
I was really surprised to find out that 28 different species of whale and dolphin have been recorded around the UK and 13 species are seen on a regular basis.

This event is an opportunity for everyone to become involved in the research which goes into understanding these magnificent creatures. This is the 9th year this event has taken place. The results of the watch provide a snapshot of the distribution of whales, dolphins and porpoises around the British Isles and are helping inform scientific debate on any change in the range and distribution of species.

We ran the Sussex manned watch site at Shoreham Beach Local Nature Reserve starting at 10.00am was a bit windy at first but the sun came out later.

Many people came along and helped out during the day. The number of people visiting the beach increased with the sun.

We also had a display stand about local dolphin sightings and a whale and dolphin identification quiz for children, but some adults also had a go – and not surprisingly the children often got more right.

I helped with the display, which also included some pictures about my global travels.

We didn't see any dolphins or whales on the day which was a bit disappointing –especially after my experiences in the US, but I was pleased to help out, as Shoreham is his local beach. Also, this is scientific research. Steve and the rest of the people at Sea Watch Foundation are concerned about the falling numbers of bottlenose dolphins arond the UK, which is the species we normally see off Sussex.

There are 34 other regional groups around the UK taking part in this event. I was invited to visit some of these other sites during the week, but I felt this would be too tiring as I have only just returned to the UK. However, Bella my sister has travelled up to Cardigan Bay in Wales to help out in my place.

Bye for now, Ed

Back in the UK

Hi all

Well I'm back in the UK and planning to take a bit of a rest to gather together all the information I gathered in my stay with NOAA and travels around the National Marine sanctuaries. So I may have some last minute posts to add. I have had a great time and learned lots of stuff about the oceans, met some fascinating wildlife and also met some fun and friendly people too.

I enjoyed every bit of my journey, but I particularly enjoyed meeting everyone at the National Association of Black Scuba Divers and YES is the Youth Education Summit. A few months ago Ken Stewart and some of the TAP (Tennessee aquatic Project) Youths made a special message about my adventures.

It is now available for everyone to see and I have included the links below. There are two versions, I hope you enjoy them. I feel very proud that they have made this video clip about my travels.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGcI11k7t5g

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5PjxPVdoGA

Many thanks to everyone who have helped me in my travels, everyone at NOAA, The NAB Youth Summit, my new buddy Sanctuary Sam and of course Ron Hirshi and Fred the Monkey as well as Methea Sapp.

I have just returned in time to help out my buddy Steve with the local watch site for National Whale and Dolphin Watch. Then he is taking me for a holiday with him and his family to Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands for a rest. However, from what I have heard I think I am going to be learning new things during my visit as well.

Bye for now, Ed