Feb 18

Oh, what a Monday! Up at 6 as promised, then to the harbor for another early shift with the fishermen. Andrea didn’t come again – they are pushing to finish the Spartana by this weekend. The three of us didn’t manage so well without her. I hope the Spartana is done soon so that it’s the four of us at sea again. Without Andrea, Julia and I must fill her role but our 5 weeks of combined dolphin experience is no match for the years of experience with dolphins and, more importantly, Bruno.

The wind was stronger than we expected and the fishery boat rocked back and forth over the cage… then away from the cage… then over the cage. Due to the boats position, the exhaust rolled up over the bow and settled in our lungs. By midmorning, I felt nauseous and started counting down the hours until we would be back on solid ground with fresh air. Eventually the wind died down – almost completely. I thought I would appreciate the smooth seas, but that actually made my job harder. Once it was calm, there were two sightings – I didn’t sight either of them. That alone for just one day isn’t a big deal – I’ve sighted in the past and I will sight again in the future. But then we lost them. Julia and I were diligently manning our posts, watching for the group to surface. I know I was doing my job to the best of my ability.

We had pasta with zucchini for lunch and then time off. I decided that sleep would be my best option – and I was right. Sleeping for only an hour, I felt like I’d been in bed for 8. When I got up for transcription of our sightings and then acoustics, I started the day over again. Bruno got a phone call that launched him out of his chair and marching across the room, throwing his hands about and yelling sharp Italian syllables. Luckily, he wasn’t talking to Andrea (it would have been Spanish) and I couldn’t understand his rapid Italian. A few words that might be cognates did come through – like policia and Americani. Julia heard those to and we exchanged worried looks of confusion. Whatever the problem was, it didn’t involve us and Bruno did not include us in his post-conversation fuming. Thankfully, we finished before seven and slipped out of the lab.

I had extra free time since I wasn’t making dinner. Bruno and Andrea made the Spanish potato tortilla again, which takes at least an hour. The best part – it was served with salad! I think that is the second salad they’ve served since I’ve been here. If I could think of a polite and culturally appropriate way to make more salads or suggest that we have them more often, I would. But that just doesn’t seem like a good idea. Especially now with what I fear is Bruno’s growing disappointment in or dislike of me. But I don’t want to dwell on that. I still have 10 weeks to prove myself. Or at least improve myself.

The night ended as always: dinner dishes, wait for the shower, then bed. But tonight I decided to stay up and write a little. We aren’t going to sea in the morning, so I don’t have to be up until 8. Hopefully, I will be caught up soon!

Notes:
- Julia is from Missouri. I think I might have said another M state early on. Sorry, Julia.
- Weather permitting, we will be going out on the Spartana on Saturday with a group of Latvian tourists who are interested in watching biologists watching dolphins. They must have offered Bruno a good chuck-o’-change because this does not sound like something he would normally go for. Unless they are actually students or academics, I think they are looking for a way to dolphin-watch as a tourist attraction. But I hope it happens – I’ve never met anyone from Latvia, and going out on the Spartana would force Bruno to admit that she is seaworthy!