Turtle Love

Fulfillment through volunteering

Saturday’s could not come soon enough for the past 7 months. Waking up in the dark, quietly tip toeing around the house, and getting my turtle walking gear together to hit the beach trail before the sun woke up. Sunrise on the beach was an added bonus to the morning while searching for the momma turtle tracks. My route took me across 3 different beaches, all which have had turtle nests on them in the past years. My 1.5 hour round-trip walk consisted of anxiously scrambling around rocks, peering around corners, and occasionally getting my feet soaked, all in hopes of finding fresh turtle tracks to relay back to the National Park turtle volunteer program organizers. I desperately wanted to be the one to find fresh tracks this year. Momma turtle Coco’s first nest was laid at the end of September. She then laid 4 other nests on the same beach, the last being the middle of November. Hawksbill’s can typically lay between 3 to 5 nests per season with over 100 eggs in each nest, and nests typically take around 60 days before hatching. Around the 60 day mark for Coco’s 2nd nest, it was a somewhat rainy morning, but I still felt obligated to make it down for my turtle walk. To my surprise, her nest had hatched the night before and I got to witness all the fresh baby turtle tracks that made their way to ocean before sunrise. It really is a sight to see, and after all my months of walking the beach, it was a huge reward. A few weeks later I was lucky enough to have another nest hatch the night before my Saturday morning walk, and fresh baby turtle tracks appeared before me once again. This nest was Coco’s last to hatch for the season. Once hatched, the organizers give the nest a few extra days before excavating, to let any baby stragglers find their way to the ocean by themselves. I had a good feeling about Coco’s last nest, so I took my camera with me for the excavation date and had a few friends kids join me in hopes that they would see some stragglers… well to our surprise, Coco’s last nest was laid near quite a few large roots in the sand, leaving 23 stragglers for us to help and release at sunset! When we excavate a nest, we are not touching the shells or any part of the baby turtle if possible. We are there to count eggs and get a success rate for each nest. Coco’s last nest was a total of 122 eggs, with only 8 eggs not fully developed. The more turtles that successfully make it from the nest to the ocean, the higher the percentage that will make it once out in the big blue ocean.

A little backbone… Hawksbill sea turtles comprise of most of the sea turtle nests here on St. John. They have been on the endangered list for quite some time now, due to the hunting of their tortoise shell. The VI National Park sea turtle program helps to protect these nests, spread awareness about turtle conservation, and facilitate turtle research. Nesting season is typically from June to November, but this season has shown some late nesters. Hawksbill turtles tend to munch on seagrass but actually their main diet consists of sponges. The dying coral reefs is one of the main threats to Hawksbill turtle’s. Without the reef habitat, we will see a decline in turtle population. Marine debris and chemical pollution are also a huge threat to all sea turtles. So not only is it important to protect these turtle nests, but also just as important to do our part and protect the ocean as well. Next time you go for a beach walk, bring a bucket or compostable bag with you and pick up debris as you stroll along! Opt out on that 6 pack with plastic ring holders. If you see floating debris in the ocean, try to snatch it up! A little goes a long way, because without the Ocean we will not exist and nor will all the beautiful creatures in it.

The Virgin Islands National Park has a wonderful program where you can adopt a turtle in a family members name as a gift, or you can donate to support lots of other wonderful conservation projects that the park provides. https://donate.friendsvinp.org/giving/AdoptATurtle

WE CAN make a difference

My Birthday Wish…

We all have that one thing… that no matter how bad of a day you’re having and how crappy you feel, that one thing will always make you feel just a little bit better (in my case, like I am a new person!). But what if that one thing that brings you ultimate joy is in terrible danger and is rapidly dying?  Would you change your habits if that could help save it?

I grab my mask and make my way to the water’s edge. My toes kiss the ocean to prepare my body for the initial plunge. I swim alone today. Serenity immediately fills my mind and body and my daily frustrations have gone. I swim towards the familiar coral reef to find my favorite pair of queen angelfish doing a chaotic dance as they to be very territorial of their home and upset with the masked intruder. I gawk at a beautiful, healthy, and vibrant (almost a key lime green) grooved brain coral. I take a deep breath and free dive towards the coral shelf. Slowly soaring on the bottom, as if I am one of the blue tang fish members, I’m full of tranquility and wishing I had gills to stay down in that beautiful ecosystem just a bit longer. As I reach the surface my eyes start to water and my mask start to fills with tears; knowing that this underwater world may not be around in years to come. In the last 30 years we have lost 50% of the coral reefs. If we don’t change our daily habits, it will all be gone in the next 30 years.

Climate change isn’t just happening above water. More than 8 million tons of plastic is dumped into our oceans every year. Let me make that more clear… EVERY MINUTE 1 GARBAGE TRUCK OF PLASTIC IS DUMPED INTO THE OCEAN. Let that sink in; yeah, that fucking sucks! Disease causing microbes attach to plastics, which then enter the marine environment and end up settling or entangled in the reefs or being ingested by marine life and birds. The plastic physically damages the reef, causing wounds to the coral, which exposes it to these microbes, thus causing coral diseases. Coral disease that I see every single time I go for a swim now. It keeps me up at night, knowing that if we don’t change our habits, the generations to follow will never see a healthy coral reef. They will never get to experience a swim exploring a pristine reef full of life, which could be that one thing that makes them feel better.

So, what can we as one person do? Stop and think about the next product you buy that is wrapped in plastic or is plastic. OPT OUT this time! If you know me, I have a real love for mushrooms, but in the grocery stores where I live, the mushrooms are all wrapped in plastic and styrofoam containers, thus making it something I have given up. No it was not easy, but that one daily change is making a huge difference. Instead of buying the fruit and vegetables in the bag because it is convenient, try for individual ones. Purchase products that are in glass jars, not plastic. Choose sustainable clothing brands! No more plastic wrap, invest in bees wrap or reusable silicone bags. Skip the plastic beauty products and try shampoo & conditioner bars. COMPOST, if you can! Food waste should never be thrown away in a plastic bag. Bring your own cup everywhere you go! These are just simple and easy examples of things you can do everyday. Even if you make one small switch, I promise you it will make a difference. Because the next time you opt out on that plastic to-go cup, that’s one less piece of plastic in the ocean, and if everyone on our island (or in your town) opted out of that plastic cup for 1 day… that’s one less truck full of garbage in the ocean. That’s one more reef we may be saving.

“Without a healthy ocean, there isn’t a healthy planet”. Chasing Coral

Shout Outs:

https://shift.how

I highly suggest browsing this awesome website, which can help you shift your everyday life to a plastic free lifestyle!

https://kindhumans.com

This wonderful company will help you switch up your daily needs to plastic free!

A PLASTIC OCEAN - https://www.netflix.com/title/80164032

If you have not watched this - Please find the time

RANIFLY Bikini Company - https://raniflybikini.com

This amazingly talented friend is making custom sustainable swimwear (suits are in above photos)!

https://www.surfrider.org

Get involved, educate, or donate if you can! One of their lead staff scientists is a best friend, and she is doing great things for our coasts & oceans!

2019 Carnival

2020 thoughts…

You know how most of the world says “it’s the most wonderful time of the year”, and they are referring to Christmas… Ya, NO… not in St. John, at least.  When you’re someone who was born and raised in the Virgin Islands, Carnival will always be the most wonderful time of the year.  This is the first year it has ever been canceled, EVER.

It’s weird to not be waking up the last week with a ringing in my ears, a million messages on my phone asking if we fete again tonight (silly question, you always fete), and already thinking about what booth I will get a saltfish pate at and what carnival gears I will be wearing that night.  

(Carnival gears - something tight so you can wuk-up, dark colors so you can spill or have anything spilled on you because that’s inevitable, and closed toed shoes - you don’t want carnival village foot!)

The hardest decision of your week will be, “do I go home, get a nap in and freshen up before j’ouvert, given that you possibly won’t hear your alarm and wake because you’ve fete’d so hard all week (guilty of that once or twice), or do you push though, get yourself a Johnny cake, maybe two, then a pate, and find a lime with your crew and wait for the bass to sound off just after sunrise… hopefully”.

In 2006, the Queen of Bacchanal sang lyrics that to this day give me the exact meaning of Carnival.  UNITY and TOGETHERNESS.  Festival is our one island gathering for the year that is local culture and brings everyone together.  Music from all over the Caribbean, melt-in-your-mouth stew conch plate, and the best homemade tamarind juice to add to your stiff rum drink.  But what really makes me love Carnival so much is seeing everyone enjoying themselves to the fullest.  I see the hardest working locals and longtime residents running around the clock everyday at work and throughout every holiday, but when Festival comes, I finally get to see them relax.  This time to enjoy the Virgin Islands culture with family and friends and watching all these wonderful people come together brings me so much happiness.

To me, Carnival is a celebration of unity, but also a time to reflect and honor those who fought for justice and freedom in the Virgin Islands.  And now and always, a time to stand up for those who are still fighting for their freedom.  We celebrate to recognize Virgin Islanders who were freed from slavery.  Now, more than ever, we need to listen, educate ourselves, and stand up for those whose ancestors suffered and are still suffering to this day.  We need UNITY more than ever, and that is Carnival.

365 Box daily dose pick…

“Life’s not about expecting, hoping and wishing, it’s about doing, being and becoming. It’s about the choices you’ve just made, and the ones you’re about to make, it’s about the things you choose to say - today. It’s about what you’re gonna do after you finish reading this”. Mike Dooley

Shout Out:

https://theblackresponse.org/until-justice-is-real/

#pushbackbumpa

Geotagging

Being mindful when you travel…

It might be one of the hardest and most difficult places I have traveled. If it were easy to get there, then everyone would go and it wouldn’t have that same desire to it anymore. Around this time for the past two years, the last leg of our travel usually involves a small prop plane, but due to weather (we are talking sheeting sideways rain storms, you can not see your hand in front of your face, more of a hurricane if you ask me) or technical problems, we have had to pass on the prop plane and tacked on a few extra hours of travel via some serious car rides (some of which involved a few oh-shit handle grabs). 3 planes, 2 hotels, 7 surfboards, 23 bars of wax, 11 sets of fins (most don’t match), 6 leashes, snacks, snacks, lots of snacks, a few beers, no car seat and a baby (who has more passport stamps than most of my friends), and we’re there - every second was worth it.

-side note: Messy travel builds character, I love messy travel!

This is the first trip I took with my underwater housing in tow. That feeling of being uncomfortable in unfamiliar waters was all new to me. I have always shot in places I am familiar with, so I loved being out of my element with a new backdrop to shoot (until the cleanup-set rolled through and pinned me down for a full set and washed me ashore on the razor-toothed rocks like a beached puffer fish full of salt water and sand). The surf was firing that day and I didn't hold back, I learned my lesson, I waited to shoot again until the next day when it dropped a foot or two.

At first it was the surf that drew us to this location, the beauty of our surroundings, and soon the restaurant up the street that served the best langostinos I have ever had to this day (food is as crucial a part of travel as anything else). As I was planning our second trip there, I soon realized it wasn’t so much the surf, food, and nature, but what was really drawing me back were the people. The friendships and family that we made. Our hosts, Blakely and Joseph and their 3 super rad children had become our family. We wanted to get back to visit them and the community just as much as we wanted to get back to surf.

Our second trip posed a few other adventures beyond surfing. Given that the fish master himself, Sharp, had already gone a week without fishing, he was due. A dawn patrol fishing mission had commenced, but not without a few “look at that one, no look at that one. Are we sure we should fish and not surf” as we were pulling off the beach watching the perfect glassy chest high empty waves roll by. I’m glad we fished, we became apart of another wonderful family and caught ourselves dinner for the duration of our trip. That afternoon, the waves died off and Joseph invited us to join him on a hike up to his farmland property. Little did I know this would be the highlight of my trip. Joseph is from these parts and his pseudo grandmother lives up on this farm. No electricity, living fully off the land in one of the most tranquil settings I have ever been surround by. Her kitchen smelled as though bread had been baking for days. She cooked with cast iron skillets that had seen generations of family recipes prepared in them. We took a small tour of the farm, as to not infringe on too much of her very private life. She only goes down to “town” once a week, and asks if anyone is coming to visit her that they bring ice for her only refrigeration consisting of a 6-pack cooler. She has an old radio from the 1960’s where she can listen to the weather. Her feet are tougher than coals and her hands have calluses that could tell you of the most wondrous stories. She treated us as if we were her children. I am forever grateful for this experience and her love of nature and living only with what she absolutely needs.

This place is known. It’s no secret but I personally don’t need to exploit it anymore. Development will happen for better and for worse. We need to be mindful as human beings about posting photos on social media and consider the impact that it could have on that special place. These places could be a person’s sacred land, a favorite spot to swim, or hike, or travel and we don’t want to be the ones who ruin that for those who have had a longtime connection to that place. We need to think before sharing exact locations, because it could have a negative impact to nature and the culture of that area. If a destination (photo) really is somewhere you desire to explore and it speaks to you, then I believe doing the research, asking the questions, learning about the local culture and creating and adventure for yourself is how we all need to go about it. If every photo had the location pinned on it, where is the adventure in that? Have a real connection with what surrounds you and don’t go there to just take a certain photo and pin it. We need to use photos to motivate one another to get out and explore, to take action, to cherish moments with one another instead of being in a certain place just for the photo. Be there for you. Leave the unknown, unknown!

365 Box daily dose pick…

“There are many things in life that will catch your eye, but only few will catch your heart… pursue those”. Michael Nolan

Shout Out:

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/features/when-why-not-to-use-geotagging-overtourism-security/

Happy 2nd Birthday Flip - cheers to freedom Tuna Rides, carrot cake, Sanuella, your first love (Kai-Lana), and many more birthday travel adventures with Sarah Shark.

Supporting Family

Small family owned businesses need us now more than ever…

I noticed the fishing boat over on the other end of the rocks but didn’t think anything of it. I was just so amped to jump in the water and start shooting the Gypsea fleet in front of some pretty iconic rocks. It was a typical Caribbean weather day, beautiful morning with a light sunrise rain shower and then of course a nice easterly filled in around lunch:30. I wanted to wait for the sun to pop out from behind the rocks and be just right before shooting this location, and of course as soon as it did, the Carvel washing machine commenced. I’ve swam around these rocks a few times over, but never with my camera and never alone. I’ve gotten over the fear of being in the water alone, mostly because I know I’m never really alone and it becomes this sort of peaceful trance when you’re bobbing about (I tend to think I am one of the fish, hopefully just not bait for the bigger fish). But this particular time, I kept thinking I was seeing something below me, something bigger than usual. I tend to forget pretty quickly about stuff like this; once I look through my lens I get lost in the magical way that the light hits the ocean. Late afternoon that same day my friend ran in to our fishing buddy Junior. “I was out fishing on the other end of the rocks when she jumped in the water, I had just had a 10ft shark take a fish off my line. I can’t believe you were swimming around out there”. We were stoked to buy some yellowtail from Junior that day!

I have been on more adventures with the Kemp family then I can count. I barely knew them and they invited myself and Thomas (that’s my main squeeze) to sail on their 46ft Pan Oceanic sailboat, Wanderer, from New Caledonia to Australia. It was the best decision I have ever made in my life thus far, but more on that adventure another time. This family has played a huge role in not only my life but in helping and donating their time to our community. They had invested in Big Blue Excursions a few months before Hurricanes Irma & Maria, which took not only a huge hit on them but the rest of our community. I know this pandemic is worldwide, but it is taking a big toll on this little island, which is still recovering from the catastrophic 2017 hurricanes. When our territory does open its doors and we as a community feel it safe to start business again, I promise a day on the water with Gypsea Girl, Gypsea King or Sweet Revenge II will be a day not forgotten and extremely appreciated. I want to give back to these wonderful friends for all they have done for me throughout the years.

I encourage everyone to take extra consideration in where you spend your money in these days ahead. The Walmarts, Home Depots and Amazons don’t need your money. Buy fish from your local fish market or fishermen, and veggies and fruits from a local farm or vendor if possible. Shop at the small boutique, buy art from local artists, eat at the small family restaurants and cafes. Shop at your local hardware stores ;). When you order something online, try to buy from a business that is giving back to the community you live in, that is helping to put food on the table for your neighbors. I try to pick one business every week-or-so that I know is family owned, and spend my money there. If we all put in a little more effort to support our local communities, we will see a difference - not only in financial support but in the genuine friendships we can create throughout our communities.

The 365 box daily dose pick…

“Make it a rule… never, if possible, to lie down at night without being able to say “I have made one human being at least a little wiser, a little happier or a little better this day”.” Charles Kingsley

Shout Out:

https://www.bigblue-usvi.com

Empowering Women

Back in February…

That’s the last time I was on a plane, looking out the window with my headphones on full blast, watching ‘Secret Life of Pets 2’ because I’m a sucker for silly movies on a plane and, let’s be honest, that movie is hilarious. It’s hard to think about travel seriously these days… don’t get me wrong, my ‘list’ of where I want to explore next is still growing every week. That constant desire to immerse myself in new cultures and get lost in some heart pounding locations is still something I think about every day.

That month I attended a photography workshop with a group of women and I didn’t realize at the time, but they gave me more inspiration and encouragement about my work and myself than I knew. These women were the push and influence I needed to put my work out there, to show people what it is I love to do, and why.

Our mornings would begin by centering ourselves on a rooftop jungle terrace and stretching out those camera muscles (yes those are a real thing, especially when shooting in the water), and clearing our minds to bring new inspiration for the day’s shoot. From lifestyle, to product, to surf shots, and all the chips and guac and margaritas in between, it was 4 days full of so much life and well being that my heart was so full. My roommate was this rad chick from Cali, who, not only is a badass swimmer but possibly the most genuine and hilarious human I have ever met. Oh yeah - she introduced herself as “you know, Alexa, like you can ask me anything“. As you can imagine, there was a whole lot of, “oh just ask Alexa,” going on throughout the trip.

I signed up for this retreat not knowing exactly who(models, companies, photographers) would be my mentors during the time there, but once the list started trickling in, I was beyond giddy that one of my favorite surfers and sustainability advocates was on board. Lex Weinstein is a beautiful storyteller who is helping to shape the sustainable fashion industry, and an all around conscious creative who lives her life to her highest self. Something we all need to start doing for the better of tomorrow. Watching her surf with such ease, grace, and love for the ocean, and listening to her lectures, inspired me more than ever to continue on my own journey to find what it is that I want to portray with my own photography and storytelling.

We, as artists, can share more than just a picture, we can share a picture with a conscious purpose… because after all, we take photographs of those places that one day might not be here.

Thank you Rebecca, Lindsey, Serena, Avery, Holly, Anna, and Lex - Nordic Retreats and Warm Collective. And to all the ladies that attended the retreat with me, you are what inspired me most.

The 365 box daily dose pick…

“One way to open your eyes is to ask yourself, “What if I had never seen this before? What if I knew I would never see it again?”” Rachael Carson

Shout Out:

Offset what you can when you travel : https://carbonfund.org