Life on Base

Weeks go by and the time flies here in Amsterdam. Since January we have had regular medical training. Camille, the doctor, needs us to form the medical teams in the event of an intervention. I learn a lot of things: set up a drip, preparation of the operating room, do stitches, put on casts, blood tests, prepare syringes ...

We also have several first aid training courses, such as evacuation in mountainous terrain. We practiced in front of the base.

From time to time, I like to cook with Estelle and Clément, the great team of cooks. One weekend, we made bugnes with David and Damien, Yum!

Friday night is often a festive meal, such as tapas, pizza, fajitas ... it's great!

Another popular activity here is fishing. I have been there several times with Ugolin, Damien, Clément, Colombe and David. We often go to the hold, in front of the base, with the fur seals.

We also went fishing at BMG, a beautiful place located at the foot of cliffs on the coast, a 40-minute walk from the base.

David fished for the first time, and caught a huge fish (a Saint-Paul)!

A great afternoon!

On the way back to base at the end of the day, there were beautiful sunset colors behind the island.

There are a lot of pups at the moment, they are swarming everywhere in the fur seal colonies! I returned several times to the MFA to monitor fur seal populations with Anthony. We weighed, measured and banded pups.

Apart from the ornitho manipulations, you can also approach the pups by walking on the hold or on the path to the Ribault hut.

The little pups are everywhere around the cabin!

We often see Killer whales passing along the coast. I saw one jump, it was magic.

I also went to the fur seal "pavement" and to the Research point, with Damien, Luc and Ugolin to, among other things, monitor the vegetation. We pulled two large strings over 100m and Inspector Damien, flora agent of the TAAF nature reserve, was able to make an inventory of the plant species present on the site.

I was also able to discover Antonelli's hut with Colombe and Clément. It is very beautiful. The hut is located at the top of a crater whose floor is covered by a cypress forest.

We spent one night there, the time to set traps and raise them the next day. It’s amazing to enter this cypress forest as it’s so different from the rest of the vegetation on the island!

The weather is very pleasant these days, it is warm and sunny. We took advantage of these beautiful conditions to picnic at point B, the hut located 30 minutes from the base where my measuring instruments are located. It has beautiful views of the ocean.

Our work continues and we make the most of the beautiful weather!