Legacy: Transoceanic Expedition 2005

The night watches are peaceful; however, today we saw more boats around us than ever, most of them much bigger than the Ranger. A cruise ship passed close by us at full speed and we could clearly see all the deck lights and its passengers dancing in the disco; it may have benn heading for … Read more

At dawn we can see in the distance a line that sketches, through the morning fog, Cuba’s silhouette. The night has been calm and the morning begins the same. This allows us to observe from the Ranger’s deck that between the floating sargassum we can see the small fish that take refuge underneath. Others blend … Read more

Finally we are able to leave Isla Mujeres. We head to Florida with the hope of stopping along the way at least once to dive. One of the things that has surprised me the most on this trip is that, contrary to what I had thought, in this area of the planet the ocean is … Read more

Still we cannot leave Isla Mujeres. We use the time to buy groceries and prepare tortillas de patatas (potato quiche). During the meal we laugh, remembering a few choice moments of the days past at Cayos Cochinos. For example, when we had completed the study of salinity, etc., and were returning to the base, all … Read more

We are taking refuge from the storm in Isla Mujeres, Mexico. It is only 10 kilometers from the coast of Cancun. The island is 7.5 kilometers long and 500 meters wide. Yesterday the port was closed to maritime traffic because of the bad weather. In March of 1517 the Spanish expedition of Francisco de Córdova … Read more

Sadly, we leave the Honduran Keys without having had the chance to visit the local Garifuna communities. The ambitiousness of our work agenda and the bad weather has prevented it.   The Garifuna are descendents of the African slaves who, across the vicissitudes of history, established themselves in this area of Honduras but maintained their ethnic … Read more

Today we documented a zone of mud and fine sediment situated between the protected area of the Cayos Cochinos archipelago and the Honduran continental coast. This is the site of a good deal of illegal trawling, for many of the shrimping boats do not respect the legal fishing distance from the coast. These areas are … Read more

We never know what the weather will be like. Yesterday afternoon was clear but windy; the night was more calm. Most of the activities we have planned at Cayos Cochinos depend on the weather we have. Today we are diving at Mariposales and looking for an airplane that crashed here – fortunately no one was … Read more

Everyone aboard, the Oceana Ranger heads for the dock at Cayo Cochino Menor. We have barely been docked five minutes when  the launch “Tiburon” arrives with the journalists from Channel 7, of the Honduran television show TeleCeiba. During the presentation of all the equipment we tell them all about the Ranger expedition. This morning we’ll … Read more

Yesterday we decided that four of us would go visit the indigenous Garifuna communities in various parts of the small keys, with the object of documenting their traditional way of life and sustainable exploitation of the waters that surround their villages. To document the daily life of the community we wake at five in the … Read more