After a not so smooth journey to the land of opportunity, the time comes for exploring and meeting turtle people. I only had the room at the Marriott where the symp was taking place from the second day on, so for the first two nights I stayed at a very chilled and peacefull backpackers/guest house, 10min walk to the hotel.
Even before I left the guest house, and while I was trying to let all family and friends know I was still alive, a few marching bands from schools went by, and so everyone rushed to go see them and dance to their awesome rythem. Good music and poeple dancing felt like a perfect way to start the week.
On my way to get registered, I had a chance to take a walk around and explore a little bit of the city. I immediatly fell in love with the colorful little houses, and with how nice everyone was, greeting you and smiling as you walked passed them.
Of course I had to be a proper tourist and take photos of things like yellow school buses, because why not?
And soon it was time to get registered. While trying to find the registration desk, I met an amazing turtle lady who has been working with sea turtles in Greece for over 30 years. We immediately bonded over our mutual passion for sea turtles, but also over her passion about Mozambique, so we had lunch and talked about both. After lunch it was time to volunteer at the T-shirt stand, and meet a few more turtle people.
On my second day it was time to move in to the Marriott. How surprised was I to find out that one of my roomates was not only portuguese, but was also called Joana? So after both of us introduced ourselves and settled in, we decided to go and check out the Jazz festival that was on by the river. The weather was amazing and the vibe couldn't be better.
The following day the symp kickstarted properly. Morning was busy with trying to attend both the Indian Ocean Meeting and the African Meeting. It was also time for another portuguese roomate to arrive, along with another portuguese couple, and of course, more jazz festival and exploring the famous Bourbon street by day.
After a day of jazz, it was time for the Mardi Gras social, where the symposium was officialy opened. There we were having a drink and chatting about turtles and relationships, when in comes this 2nd line jazz band (if you have a second, please check them out: www.bigfunbrassband.com), playing the most awesome tunes while walking around the room. They stoped in a corner and in no time people started dancing to the tune (of course I was one of the first to join in). Things only got even more awesome when they started walking out, and everyone followed them out the hotel, to the streets of New Orleans (with cop cars and motorcycles to close the street just for us and all). Everywhere we went people would cheer us, dance along and take photos. Needless to say it was an amazing evening.
Monday was a big day for many different reasons, the main one being that it was the day I gave my oral presentation. I was quite nervous, as it's not everyday that you talk about your small little project in front of the top sea turtle experts in the world, who have been working in the field for years, if not decades. But I think it went well and the feedback was good. And it was done so I could enjoy the rest of the symp. And so the next few days were spent moving from one room to the other, trying to soak up as much knowledge as possible, spending quality time with turtle people and exploring New Orleans.
Tuesday evening was time to talk about epic failures.
Tuesday evening was time to talk about epic failures.
But don't think of a sad serious night. Of course some failures were more serious than others, but most of the night was filled with stories like fighting what you though was the only male green turtle of the season for a whole day, only to find out it was a female, or having to go to the nearest village to buy all the condoms you can find because what better way to waterproof satellite tags? It was an awesome experience because it gave us a chance to talk about our own failures, no matter how big or small.
The next day was again filled with presentations, but because we are talking about turtle people, the evening was all about the fun, as it was time for the live auction. Think gater pits that you had to pay 5$ to get out of; think turtle men hugs with the hotties of the turtle community; think eating contests and presidents dying their hair purple; think turtle experts crawling into an old TED holding a sea turtle toy. And that's not even half of it.
Needless to say it was a super fun night, and after the auction was over, there was still time for some dancing, and celebrating my birthday at midnight, which included going to a really cool bar with a live band playing.
And so the last day of the symp arrived. As we did our best to enjoy it to the fullest, the anticipation and desire to attend the next one already filled the air. Because it was my birthday, I decided to do some more exploring, and go on a mission to find some cake, because I was told I just had to have some cake on my birthday. And so the day was spent walking around Bourbon street, trying to absorb as much of the amazing city New Orleans is as possible.
And because this is turtle people we are talking about, the symp couldn't end without and awesome closing party. Turtle people who we lost were remembered and cherished, which involved a lot of memories, but also warmed out hearts, even for those who didn't know them. One of the last presentations put us in the right mood, being giving in turtle swimming shorts. And after that, the party moved on, for one last time, to the streets of New Orleans. There was live music, there was dancing, there was happiness and laughter. A lot of joy for the new people we met, and the desire to see them next year. The party went on until the sun was about to rise, and with just a couple of hours of sleep, it was time to start the journey back home.
This symposium and the whole journey around it meant a lot to me, in many different ways, for many different reasons. Not only did I get to meet amazing people I will surely never forget, it made me fall in love with sea turtles all over again. I couldn't have chosen a better place to start my proper journey into the sea turtle world than New Orleans. Because at the end of the day, these are the things that stay with you, the people you meet, the moments you spend learning about life and its vast beauty. So turtle people, I will see you in Turkey next year :)
