Tobago Expedition: Day 6
On a continent far, far away... the luggage saga continues.
Apparently, the helpful agent I spoke with yesterday regarding my luggage was a little too eager to help. To the point that he was making things up to appease me. While this is almost to be expected in certain countries, I hadn't gotten that impression from the Tobagans I have met so far.
Here's how it breaks down: My luggage did go to Cairo, and in theory has been sent back to the States, but no one actually knows where it is. It didn't come in on last night's flight, and the computer system in the Tobago airport is off-line so it can't currently be tracked. It could come in today, it could be another week. Of course, I'm being told time and again that it will be on the next flight, but no one has any basis for that statement.
And a new snag has developed. I was a little upset when I called this morning only to be told that my bags have again fallen off the radar. The agent and I had a little chat about airline responsibility, and while I realize that it is not her personal fault, I need my luggage. And so on.
An hour later she called back (I’ve been using Coral Cay’s phone). The expedition leader answered, then tried to hand the phone over to me once he realized who it was. She stopped him, told him she would no longer be speaking to me as she finds me unpleasant, and proceeded to discuss my missing baggage problems with him.
Once again, I'm so astounded that I have no response. And in the meantime, I'm back to waiting for word (through him) about my bags.
Adding to the morning frustration, we only got one dive in again today. This is becoming a pattern. While I expected that we wouldn't get in every dive advertised, at this rate we'll only do half. Not a pleasing prospect considering the time and money invested in the trip.
But we did get off a pointy, doing another round of in-water education. I have boosted my ability to recognize various fish every time I dive, whereas looking at the books and the computer only gets me so far. While the material is overwhelming and the lectures almost useless due to their rapid-fire nature, I like the set up of mixing experience with traditional education. The lectures and books give me an introduction to what I'm looking for, and the pointies lock it in for me.
Going back to the books and flashcards this afternoon, I found myself picking out the fish I've seen with relative ease. Which is a good thing, as we spent the entire afternoon cramming for our test. After dinner we sat the exam, and I managed to pass on the first go around.
We also crammed in a lecture on Coral Cay as an organization, and what it does here in Tobago. It was extremely interesting, and gave me a better sense of why we're here. The T&T government has asked Coral Cay to survey the coral reefs around Tobago to give them a baseline reading of the reefs' health. With this information, they can find ways to create sustainable fishing practices (fishing being the islanders' primary occupation) and maintain the delicate balance between tourism-driven expansion and reef preservation. To now, Coral Cay has almost completed the Caribbean reefs, and is looking to have their funding extended in order to survey the Atlantic side of the island. It's great work they're doing, and it reminded me that, regardless of the low points, I'm here for a reason.
For my daily chore, I learned how to make bread. Never done it before. Not a big baker. Scared to death I would make a mess of it, as that would leave us with no bread tomorrow (we bake it on-site daily). Enter my roommate, the hero, to show me how it's done. My other roommates joined in, and the group effort produced four very nice-looking loaves. I just hope they're edible.
