Week 5 Volunteering @ ARCHELON 26/07-01/08

 Honestly week 5 was one of my most favourite weeks while I was volunteering. Not much happened at the beginning of the week, just the average nesting attempts or tracks. I rarely ever found any nesting attempt on Mavrovouni, and on the 28th July I had my first nesting attempts on Mavrovouni east! which was exciting as hadn't happened for me before, and it was no fun expecting nothing from a survey like I had started to do with Mavrovouni.. 

Left: Turtle nesting attempts / Right: A disorientated turtles tracks

Turtle tracks, the turtle most likely got disorientated by sunbeds on Mavrovouni east

 Its like it was meant to be that Sammy and Annas birthdays happened to be on the exact same date, the 31st July! So before this week I was on a survey on Vathi with Sammy and Gretta. Sammy saw these elephant pants she loved and said she had forgotten her money, I had mine so offered to buy them for her (as was the first time she saw them on sale there), she said no but I said if they were there on the way back we'd get them - they had gone by the time we got back.. But after that moment I had the idea that that was what I was going to get her for her birthday. So my great plan got set in motion, I was asking everyone who got put on shift on survey on Vathi to look out for these red and black elephant pants, and I would give them some euros and hope they'd come back with them. They weren't getting seen by any of them on the surveys. But I was determined. So one day in the previous week, Donna and Ruben were hiking to Vathi and I made Alexus run over to them (I was on kiosk) and give them some of my money so if they did see the pants to get them. Sure enough, then they came back and they had got them!! I was so so happy and I could not wait for Sammys birthday to be able to give them to her. I had also asked my fellow volunteers if they had heard her mention them, but she hadn't so I was a little nervous in case she didn't want them anymore. But as her birthday got closer she started to mention the pants to her friend who was visiting, called Donal. Lizzie whispered to me whilst the conversation was happening "She's talking about the pants" and it was then all I wanted it to be as the birthday. I love surprises.

 Next stage of their birthday surprises was the cake and decorations. Me and Alexus went into Gythio and got candles, balloons, hats, banners and then went onto the Bakery to get them their birthday cake. Mind you we had no idea what was in the cake we just went ahead and got the best looking one. Me and Alexus stayed up all night before their birthday waiting for them to go to bed so we'd put up the banners so when they woke up for morning survey they'd see them! But it didn't go to plan - they took forever to go to bed.. we all actually ended up walking to ME001 to see if it as hatching, as Donal and Sammy had just seen the first hatchlings and me and Alexus were very jealous... But before we went to bed and gave up decorating, I decided I wanted to give Sammy her present, I was nervous about it so Alexus helped me announce I wanted to give it to her. I wasn't sure if they were the right ones, but going off her reaction I assumed they were, and she told me they were, she was confused as to how I had gotten them from Vathi considering she hadn't seen me go nor had she seen the pants there herself, pure luck!

 Anyways because they took forever to go to bed I just set up the banners as I got up a little earlier for morning survey. I had Klara and Will (who I was on survey with) put on party hats and wait for Sammy to get up and see. She immediately started just laughing at us! Us 3 then did the whole survey with those hats proudly on our heads! 

Will wearing his party hat counting hatchling tracks!

 We had planned it that with Lizzie she would have a banner and 2 party hats too as she was on night patrol into morning survey on Valtaki with Jill, so that when Sammy picked them up after doing Selinitsa she would see them waiting there for her with that - was so so cute!

 Later on that day when Sammy and Anna were showering getting ready for Taverna night, me and Alexus brought out the balloons and plates/cups/hats and set the camp up for a real birthday party and everyone hopped into action and we all worked as the family and team we were and decorated in record time! Camp looked adorable!

Team Lakonikos! (Notice Sammy is wearing the elephant pants...success!)

Left to right: Maria, André, Jo, Me, Will, Anna, Lizzie, Sammy, Finn, Alexus, Klara, Marion, Jill, Donal, Tash, AJ, Farah

 When it comes to the birthday cake, that was a whole different story. Me and Alexus got it out in town, and it was so so hot in the day, and this cake was set in the freezer of the Bakery. So we knew it wouldn't do well in the heat we were in. We actually saw Donal and Anna in town and I had to hide the cake box behind Alexus, as we were rushing our way to the taxi so Anna didn't see. Maria, a family volunteer, was staying in a bungalow on camp and had a fridge freezer, she had kindly agreed to let us use the freezer to store the cake - without her the cake would've been a mess! So as soon as everyone arrived back from Taverna night me and Alexus ran off to the bungalow to get the cake. We put on the 26 (Anna) and 23 (Sammy) candles and headed to camp. Anna wasn't actually at camp she had gone to the toilet or something, so when we had started singing Happy Birthday we had to stop, and then wait for her. In fact it took a little too long because the candles starting melting and wax was getting on the cake, so we had to put out the candles and re-light them when Anna finally got to basecamp!

 Then we all drank with the Scouts (part time volunteers) and had a lovely party! It was a great night for camp, one of my favourite nights.

 The week only just got better from there, as the next day I had my only ever morning survey with Lizzie! It was so great to be with her on a shift, always had a laugh with her! On our survey we had a member of the public inform us of hatchling tracks a little further ahead and took us to show us them. And sure enough there were hatchling tracks, coming from nowhere supposedly - this was known as a found by hatching nest. Where this is a nest which has either been previously misidentified as not a nest or a nest laid before any monitoring and protection was taking place. This was mine and Lizzies nest, FBHMW014!

Hatchling tracks!

Hatchling tracks over bonfire remains...

Mine and Lizzies FBH nest!

 I also had evening survey on Selinitsa and saw my first hatchling, from S004!! I felt so lucky to be able to see it make its big journey to sea, and make it without any problems. It was such an amazing moment, and it really brought it home what we were all doing it for and what it's all about. It was definitely one of the top moments of my volunteering and something I will never ever forget.

Summary:
26/07- ?
27/07-  K 10:00-12:00 / SS M
28/07- MS M
29/07- day off
30/07- MS M / cook
31/07- MS M
01/08- MS MW / ES S *first hatchling*

Key:
MS- Morning Survey
ES- Evening Survey
LS- Light Survey
NP- Night Patrol
K- Kiosk
BC- Basecamp
IT- Information Table
SS- Slideshow
EX - Excavation
SH- Shading 

Beach Codes:

M- Mavrovouni (Whole beach)

ME- Mavrovouni East

MW- Mavrovouni West
V- Valtaki

S- Selinitsa
B- Vathi