Sunday 19th July

7:35

Today has been a much more relaxed day in camp, which has been a nice change, especially seeing as it just seems to keep getting hotter!!
     We were split up into small groups in the morning and then first my group did the introduction to the Marine Conservation Project. Ida and a volunteer staff member who's studying Marine Biology told us a bit about the marine life around the coast of Borneo, and on Mantanani in particular, and then we were split into two again and given some books to use for research. My group had to research sea turtles, and the other group had to research coral, and then after about half an hour we each had to give a presentation to the other group. I didn't really know anything about turtles before so it was actually really interesting - and studying on the beach was definitely a new experience... Some of the things that I learnt include the fact that there are 7 different types of sea turtle, and they all have no teeth. Also, the gender of a turtle is decided by the sea temperature - if it's above 29.9°C then the turtle will be a girl, if below then it will be a boy. This is why climate change is really important, because warmer sea temperatures mean that the gender balance will no longer be balanced! I also didn't even know that coral was actually an animal, so you really do learn something new everyday!
      After that, we attempted to make bracelets out of rubbish found on the beach. We used crisp packets and similar wrappers to fold up into little squares and join together to make the bracelets. A lot of the local women on Mantanani make and sell them, so it was good to have a go for ourselves, but it was surprisingly fiddly and actually really hard, so not all of us finished!
     During our lunch break I went for a quick swim again - it really is hard to stay out of the water when it's so beautiful (even for me, and I usually hate beaches!) Then after lunch we tried hammock making, which was actually really simple once you got the hang of it and learnt the pattern of knotting the ropes together.
     Then we swapped with the other group to learn about coconut and its uses. There are loads of coconut trees here, so the locals have a lot of knowledge about them and the best ways to use them for all sorts of purposes. We had the chance to try climbing up a coconut tree, but I decided I was probably safer off on the ground... Several others tried but all struggled quite a lot - except from Dave, who was the only one who could get anywhere near the Mowgli-like movements one of the villagers showed us! We then tried coconut water and coconut flesh from young and mature coconuts to compare them both and decide which we liked the best. The coconut water was much nicer from the young coconut, but the flesh was much nicer from the mature coconut (in my opinion). Lastly, we also learnt about how coconuts can be used to make bedding, mats, rope and much more.
     We had a short break, during which another cow wandered into camp - this time leisurely chased away by the security guard on a bike... Plus we were treated to the surprisingly tasty snack of sugared potato wedges, which I couldn't keep away from!
     After the break we learnt to weave with palm fronds, which was really simple and fun, and weaving together a whole palm leaf did feel like quite an achievement.
     Today has definitely been the hottest day by far, and the sweat was just dripping off of us all all day long. That's one thing I definitely won't miss!!
     We're now just sat around having some free time after dinner before we head off on a night walk (it's already pitch black) with the aim to see, or at least hear, the Mantanani Scops Owl, which can't be found anywhere else in the world, so I'm hoping for some luck!
 
9:01

We saw two!! We didn't even have to go that far, but our guide took us right into the depths of the jungle - it was amazing in itself how he knew the way in and out of there. A little way in and we were all told to turn off our head torches and we stood still in complete darkness for a few seconds before our guide suddenly shone his torch into the treetops, and right there, perched on a branch was a Mantanani Scops Owl; all dappled brown and white, his wings tucked up, still asleep and not yet ventured out for the night. He was tiny too - I expected him to be small, but the guide said they're normally about 18cm and this one can only have been about half the size of that. Our guide started moving again, making owl calls as he went, and then suddenly up went the torch beam again, and just in time for us to see it, there was another one just flying up out of the branches.
     So far, all the other groups this summer have been unsuccessful in trying to catch a glimpse, so the 10 or so of us that were on the walk all feel incredibly lucky to have managed to do so (not that it was down to our efforts at all, it's all thanks to our guide!)
     On the way back we also saw a couple of hermit crabs scuttling along in the darkness, camouflaged amongst the leaves, and all the way back it was hard to concentrate on looking where I was going because all I wanted to do was look up at the sky - which resulted in a few near trips - because the stars were so beautifully clear. I could have stayed there all night.