I’ve arrived at the Tropical Research and Conservation Center of Borneo!
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| Loading the Cargo Boat |
But before arrival on this perfectly stereotypical island
paradise is the fun work of loading the two boats – the Flying Fish and the
Cargo boat, with goods and supplies from Tawau and Semporna. Bags of personal
gear, tiles, toilet cisterns, a double sink, fruit, gin, vodka, soda, potatoes,
chicken wire, tape measurers, 10 foot long aluminum wall supports, recharge
cards for phones and internet, wetsuits, fins, booties, treats like nuts and
dried fruit, big blue 100 gallon plastic barrels to be used for moorings,
diesel, oil, two stroke mix, the book “Viralnomics” carried from England for
Professor Steve, a boat part carried from Alaska, and 5 people – 3 soon to be
Divemaster’s, 1 new teacher, 1 volunteer, 1 professor, and 1 true man (The
TRACC everything man Dino).
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| Cargo for the Island |
Boats low in the bow with the weight of gear and supplies,
and people arranged to balance the boat and we’re off. We leave the new tourist
jetty, with its long wooden arm reaching into the ocean and in the distance, young
men cart wheelbarrows of partly dried seaweed off a nearby dock, while children
play and among them. The background of crowded and loosely planked and stilted
houses with a startlingly silver mosque tower gleaming brilliantly behind them,
and the sadly dirty water with droves of plastic trash floating on the surface
melts away, and we enter the scene of deep, dreamy blue ocean accented by hazy
distant mountainous Islands. One soon-to-be Divemaster lounges on the gear,
smiling with the delight of a new adventure and bouncing up and down with the waves
and motion of the boat. Onboard our tiny vessel there is a communal feeling of
elation, excitement, adventure.
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| Dino Driving us to Pom-Pom Island |
Soon, Pom-Pom Island appears. From the distance it looks
perfectly circular and white rimmed, and the sense of elation increases. The
Flying Fish slows, then stops unexpectedly, presenting a perfect moment to take
in the island scene, complete with a merry welcoming party before stepping onto
shore.
3 plus months of sun, sand, diving, learning, and adventures
above and below the water await, and I couldn’t be more delighted to be here
and a part of TRACC.
The adventures continue in part 2
For more information, please check the TRACC website or e-mail info@tracc-borneo.org
The main website is at tracc.org
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