Breaking In

What would field work be without a few hurdles?

I’m down in the lower FL Keys helping with a PhD student’s project on bicolor damselfish.  The hardest part about the work is that we are collecting live samples.  In other words, I’m fishing.  …with aquarium nets.  …on scuba gear.  …chasing spry little fish from 1-6cm all over the reef.  Obviously there is some difficulty there but we’re using a strong anesthetic to help us sedate the fish.  It’s still difficult but without it there would be no hope of catching any.  There have been other issues such as equipment breaking, not having what we need, weather not cooperating, etc but for the most part we have been able to anticipate most of those problems.

The problem that I never expected happened even before getting in the water.  When we got to the hotel (more of a motel/restaurant/dive center) at 9:30pm, we were given a set of keys and told to go to room 24.  Hungry and exhausted, we were surprised when the door opened an inch before being stopped by the chain that can only be locked from the inside.  Perplexed, we returned to the key givers and explained our situation to which we noted a facial expression similar to ours.  Thinking through our options (which included yanking the door open and breaking the chain, at the suggestion of the hotel staff), I decided to break in through the window to which the hotel staff did not object.  Prying the window slats open, I managed to pop the screen out being careful not to knock over the lamp in front of the window.  Weaseling my way up to the window, I slid in head first and face up into the lowest open window panel.  It’s not the first time I’ve gotten into a locked room and I’m sure it won’t be the last, but it was one of the most rewarding.  It turns out that it's a suite with two entrances so the back door we were trying to access had been locked then the previous guests walked out the other door.  The keys the hotel gave us were ineffective on the other door so we weren't sure which door connected through.  At any rate it was a fun little adventure.

Since then, everything has been working smoothly.  The other non-fish collecting news I have is that I bought a 3-piece collapsible spear for shooting lionfish.  The benefit is that it can break down and fit into a small space that I can keep with me on every dive without any hassle at all.  I’m excited to try it out for the first time and I’m sure I’ll have photos to come.

In bed by 11:45, awake by 6am for a long day of research.  Goodnight!

P.S. I’m still behind on posts so keep an eye on my earlier days to see any new posts.