A Journey of a Lifetime

July 18, 2010

  Today is our last at Harbor Branch.  On the schedule we have "Global Research and Conservation Programs at the Georgia Aquarium" with Dr. Greg Bossart and "Threats and Management of Manatees" from Dr. Martine de Wit from Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.  After the morning of lectures we will perform a marine mammal necropsy.  We will get into groups and either necropsy a manatee, a dolphin, a sperm whale, or a sea lion.  Pictures to come!
  Once the final classes are taught, we will head back to the hotel and begin the packing process for a journey of a lifetime.  We will leave for the West Palm Beach airport at 3 a.m., arriving at JFK after 9 a.m.  From there we will board a plane for Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, with a quick layover in Dubai, UAE.
  I can't believe within a few days I will be stepping foot on African soil.  I have wanted to go to Africa for as long as I can remember - it has always been top on my "travel priority list."  It is definitely surreal.  I feel like since I've started Envirovet I have been neither here nor there.  We travel everywhere together and are rarely iinteractive with the "outside world."  With the exception of the bugs and the humidity, I could barely tell I was even in Florida!  In Tanzania the structure of our learning will be much different.  We will be visiting national parks and interacting with locals.  We will be hands-on with African wildlife and livestock.  We will have chai in the villages and shop at the markets.  This part will definitely be the highlight of Envirovet for me.
  Hopefully I will have access to internet at least sporadically while I am in Tanzania. If so, expect a flood of blog entries all at once.  Regardless, I will be documenting every moment of this journey.  It will be one that I will treasure.  Thanks for following Envirovet Part 1!