Expedition Diary from Mexico

At the end of July, we embarked on a two-week expedition to Mexico with Operation Wallacea, an organisation that conducts biodiversity research expeditions around the world.

Travel Day: Thirteen of us met at the junior school at 4:30 am, tired but excited. After a 3.5-hour drive to Manchester airport, we boarded our 10-hour flight to Cancun. Upon arrival, we headed to Hotel Adahara Cancun, enjoyed the pool, and had dinner.

 

 

Day 1: We set off at 4 am for a 9-hour bus journey to the Calakmul terrestrial site, KM19. After settling into our tents, we explored the site, met the team of scientists, and quickly adapted to the abundant local wildlife, including scorpions, caterpillars, and spiders. With no electricity or phone signal, our evenings were spent playing card games after dinner.

Day 2: We began at 6 am with a mammal walk along a 2 km transect. Assigned roles such as scribe, species identifier, and master of distance, we followed researcher Dan O’Neil, who expertly identified tracks from deer, peccary, tapirs, and an ocelot. Our afternoon was spent reviewing camera trap footage, a crucial tool for studying animal behaviour and monitoring populations.

 

 

Each day, we attended lectures and learned about the extensive biodiversity monitoring in Calakmul over the past decade. We explored topics like the Mayan impact on forests, the critical role of aguadas, forest health indicators, and conservation management. After each lecture, we participated in team quizzes, adding a fun and competitive element to our learning.

Day 3: After a creative pancake breakfast, we joined herpetology enthusiasts, Alex and Ricardo, for a 7 am herpetofauna transect. The hot, dry morning yielded few sightings. After lunch, we practised camp skills by gathering materials to make a fire, leading to a marshmallow toasting session. In the evening, we went on a second herp transect with our head torches, spotting multiple snakes, baby burrowing toads, and the endemic Yucatan banded gecko.

 

 

Day 4: The morning was dedicated to butterfly trapping with Liz the lepidopterist. Eva chased butterflies with a sweep net as we set up five traps using banana mush as bait. We checked the traps in the afternoon and recorded the species of butterflies caught. In the evening we donned our head torches again to join the bat team who work into the early hours of the morning. Using a special type of net, we captured several bats. The bat experts, Emily and Sam, took their measurements whilst we used ID keys to identify the species caught.

 

 

Day 5: We visited the ancient Mayan city of Calakmul, which once housed about 50,000 people. We climbed 40m tall temples for stunning treetop views and learned about the deep connection between Mayan culture and nature. We also discovered the uses of various plants in Mayan culture and saw Spider and Howler monkeys.

 

 

Day 6: Our morning focused on recording habitat structure, such as tree size and species, essential for monitoring biodiversity. In the afternoon, we set up mist nets for a bird survey the next morning. In the evening we were treated to a documentary created by the camp’s Dan O’Neil.

 

 

Day 7: We started at 5 am for a bird survey, checking the mist nets every 20 minutes, using time spent waiting to practise identifying birds from photos. We caught one Tawny-winged Woodcreeper and took measurements before releasing it. After lunch, we conducted another habitat survey and had extra time to explore the forest and spot monkeys. The evening featured a salsa dance session, a fun quiz, and the conclusion of our week-long game of Mafia. We tied for first place in the lecture quiz!

 

 

Day 8: We packed up early and left the jungle at 4 am, heading to the marine site in Akumal. After a 7-hour trip, we arrived and enjoyed the luxury of beds and showers (in the jungle, we had to use a bucket of cold rainwater)!

Day 9: We were split into different groups with slightly different schedules based on whether we were qualified divers, learning to dive or were snorkelling. We started our PADI open water dive training with a video session, completing the theory questions in the PADI app. At the Akumal dive centre, we met our instructors and learned how to set up our scuba gear. In shallow water, we practised breathing with the regulator and basic exercises. Later, we dived to about 10m, focusing on equalising and monitoring our air supply. Other groups snorkelled and dived, seeing amazing sights like green turtles, an octopus and barracudas. Our lectures continued in the evenings, covering coral reef ecology, fish identification, plastic pollution, and OpWall’s impact on turtle conservation.

 

 

Days 10-12: Each morning followed a similar routine, with variations in our confined dives. We practised underwater skills like filling and draining masks, air-sharing techniques, and controlled emergency swimming ascents. By Day 12, most of us completed our final theory exam, achieving our PADI qualification. Meanwhile, other divers and snorkelers learned underwater sampling techniques, including benthic surveys and visual fish ID surveys. The coral reefs revealed an incredible variety of underwater life.

 

 

Days 13-14: We enjoyed a fun dive with no exercises, simply exploring the underwater world. We spotted turtles, lobsters, fairy basslets, puffer fish, and a stingray, using hand signals to identify the different species. Afterwards, we took a boat to a mangrove lagoon, where we snorkelled for an hour, soaking in the vibrant marine life.

 

 

Overall, this trip provided a wonderful opportunity to spend time in a unique environment, working as part of a scientific team conducting ecological research. In addition, we developed our personal resilience living in the jungle and withstanding the heat, humidity, and innumerable insects. We also had the chance to gain diving skills, become confident working in a marine environment and we have all gained some extraordinary and unforgettable memories.

 

 

Title photo by Pippa Tozer