This week saw a first for me, celebrating World Oceans Day. As the Marine Biology department sits right next door to the bookshop, I feel like I have an in. Dolphin cruises, snorkel trips, coral restoration and turtles on the beach. I hear about it all.
I’m always amazed at the enthusiasm these lovely people possess. Ellie, the Marine Biologist, still comes back from every dolphin cruise bursting with excitement. Meral, the intern, recounts her snorkel adventures with guest likes she’s just seen coral for the first time. So, you can imagine the excitement that World Oceans Day brings to our little island.
My day began with one of our Executive Chefs special doughnuts for the occasion. Complete with glittery blue icing and white chocolate turtles. A perfect breakfast. To help wash down this delicious delicacy, I jumped in the ocean along with twenty or so other staff to help clear our lagoon of any stray plastic. We worked solidly for an hour or so, collecting what we found. It was great to see how much we manage to get with our joint effort. However, what I enjoyed most, was the end. All of us, snorkels pulled up onto our foreheads, saltwater dripping off our noses, recounting with amazement what we had seen. Stingrays, octopus, lionfish, boxfish, moray eels, lobster, and many many sea cucumbers. Just swimming about under the villas. No long boat trips out to the drop-off or special coral sites. Just off the jetty. To be honest, I was pretty surprised, I didn’t expect to see so much. And it was pretty cool.
It was a day that bought us all together. All departments lending a hand, making doughnuts and eating them.
Books about the ocean:
Ask an Ocean explorer – Dr Jon Copley
The back of the book explains it perfectly. ‘Between these pages is everything you need to know about our oceans, explained in 25 questions. Ask an Ocean Explorer brings to light the weird and wonderful deep-sea creatures and how the oceans and their future are connected to our everyday lives’.
Voices in the Ocean – Susan Casey
Susan Casey is a New-York Times best-selling author who after a chance encounter with a pod of spinner dolphins whilst swimming in Hawai’i, has explored the world of these creatures and the ways they intersect with humans. Her experience sparked a fascination that lead to two years of travelling. This book is her report on her investigation into dolphins, from everything including their brain science to early years of captivity. Her interest in the subject is infectious.
Pristine Seas – Journeys to the Oceans last wild places. Enric Sala and National Geographic.
This perfect coffee table book is by world-renowned oceanographer and National Geographic Explorer-in-residence Enric Sala. That should be enough to tell you the caleber of work that covers the pages in the book. It’s bursting with beautiful photography and personal accounts. A celebration of Oceans and all the life that they support.