They say not all who wander are lost. As a person who generally considers themself to be a vagabond at heart, I’ve always felt that I somewhat embodied that maxim. I say “somewhat” to emphasize that like most everyone, there are definitely times that I do feel lost. However, even when that happens, I find that those moments always come with new experiences, connections and life lessons. In fact, it was partly that same adventurous spirit that contributed to my reasoning when I applied for the Rolex Scholarship. It was not only an opportunity that allowed me to go to different places and learn different things, but it was an opportunity to further find myself. Hence, it was only right that my next adventure drifting up the west coast was full of learning, networking, some wandering, and of course, moments of being completely lost. Perhaps the most notable time of the latter was at the end of one of my first research opportunities.

After spending about two weeks in La Ventana, Mexico doing Mobula research with former Rolex Scholar Joshua Stewart and company, it appeared our group’s research trip had come to an end.  As everyone packed their things, cleaned up and headed out, it was also time for me to move on to the next opportunity. You may be wondering what the next move in my masterful plan to live long and prosper in the diving world was. Well, if you had seen me on the last day of our stay, standing alone in front of an empty Airbnb with no place to go, you would have easily been able to tell that at the time I was wondering that exact same thing. All my plans had apparently found themselves in a black hole due to a lull in confirmation responses, last minute COVID cancellations, or simply because there had been a change of plans. For a moment I thought this was going to be a true test of my nomadic skills as I found myself stranded in the middle of rural Baja Mexico…  until I saw that two people from our research group had come back to the Airbnb to pick me up.  I was relieved to see that I hadn’t been forgotten, but the problem remained. Even though I now had a ride, I still had no real place to go. The plan was to drop me off in the middle of La Paz which is a city about an hour away from where we were. As we started driving, I imagined how I would have to carry all my dive luggage speaking C+ Spanish in a city I had never been to just to grab a random motel and then figure out the rest of my life from there. It was not a comforting thought. But before we even got more than a block down the street, a different idea popped into my head. I suddenly remembered that another fellow scholar was not too far away.

Serving as the host for the monthly OWUSS symposium, Yann Herrera Fuchs was also PhD student at the University of Tasmania(virtually), and a more avid nomad than I, and he just happened to be couch surfing only a few miles from where we were.  I first met the NA 2018 Rolex Scholar Yann Herrera Fuchs in person near the end of our Mobula research project when he and his friend Ollin had paid a brief surprise visit to the group during a small party we were having. Prior to our little soiree, Yann and I had been conversing virtually for a long time, talking about miscellaneous scholarship details and potential opportunities in Mexico and so it was nice to finally see him face to face.  Sadly, his time there was short and while I was hoping to talk with him more, before long he had to go. Before he left though, Yann let me know that he would be couch surfing only a few miles away from where we were.

With that information coming back into the forefront of my mind, my fingers slid across the keyboard of my phone and I asked for my ride to drop me off at Yann’s location. Though I knew I couldn’t exactly stay with him since he was already using the couch of a friend, I figured that I was better off being with someone that I trusted and that could help make sure I found my way rather than doing it all on my own. Just as well, it had been a goal of mine to visit Yann and talk with him more in depth about his time as a former Rolex Scholar.

Once I arrived, Yann, Ollin and Ben, who had been our Mobula cameraman as well as Ollin’s boyfriend, welcomed me to their RV and campsite along the beach. After I parked all my stuff, they were kind enough to invite me to hang out with them for the day and of course, I was honored to. In that day alone we got to go free diving, camped out on the beach and went out for a fun lunch. It was such a great day. Still, worry lingered in the back of my mind as I knew Ollin, Ben and Yann not only did not have the room to host me, but they were soon going to La Paz themselves and heading their separate ways. As we all got to talking more, I told them of my dilemma, and it was then that Ollin and Yann suggested that I reach out to Luke Inman who lived and owned a dive shop in La Paz and was also a big a scholarship advocate who had served as a host for several past scholars.  I admit that at first, I was a bit hesitant to reach out to Luke because when I talked to him before, I had already mentioned that I had prior plans on some other projects, but now that those plans had died in a ditch somewhere, I felt as if asking him last minute to stay at his place might have been rude. However, at this point I didn’t have a lot of options and so we reached out to Luke. I was pleasantly surprised and slightly marred with guilt when he said that though he would be a bit busy he accepted the request.  No matter, I now had a place to stay and thanks to Ollin, Ben and Yann, a way to get there.

We rode out in in evening with Olin and Ben taking the RV and Yann and I taking the car. It was a lovely drive because as we rode along, I couldn’t help but gawk at the landscape. Not to mention that I also got my chance to hang out and talk with Yann about his experience as the scholar. It was great to chat about our respective lives, like his long-distance PhD program and what my goals were for the scholarship year. After we made it to La Paz, our conversation sadly had to end. Once we dropped Yann off at yet another friend’s couch to sleep on (what a true vagabond) Ollin then took me the rest of the way to Luke’s.

While I had been in correspondence with Luke virtually, meeting Luke for the first time in person was an event in and of itself. Upon arrival he mentioned in his British accent that he was having a small get together and proceeded to invite both Ollin and me to join them for dinner. He let us in through the gate that surrounded his property. The outside of his home was large, beautiful and energetic in a way that only five excitable dogs and a cat could bring. On the inside sat not only charming and stylish decor but also two charming people as well, one of whom named Katy, I discovered, worked for Pelagios. This was the same group that Abel, my role model in La Ventana, worked for, as well as the same group that I had previously established an opportunity with, but whose response in terms of when and where to start had been pending in my inbox. After taking a mental note and exchanging information with Katy, we all ate, drank, laughed and talked into the late hours of the evening. When it was time for everyone to go home, Luke kindly showed me to his guest room. I profusely thanked him and my lucky stars that for the time being, my moment of feeling lost was over.

The next few days were filled with new lessons and experiences. Luke had invited me to his dive shop where he introduced me to his team members. He showed me around the pier, the plaza where his store resided, and more importantly, the different parts of this shop including the back where he and his team were currently inputting an air compressor for a nitrox system. After recently becoming certified in Nitrox, I was curious to learn even more about how it worked. As a result, I would soon find myself helping them set up the equipment and asking questions along the way while we did so. So often teaching only consist of telling rather than showing. Thus, it was very cool to engage in a more hands-on experience while I was there. It was so hands-on that before I knew it, I had successfully completed the course requirements for a Cylinder O2 Service technician! I learned how to take apart and put back together cylinder valves, how to work an air compressor, learned the difference between Din and Yoke valves and how to fill a tank. I later even got to dive for the first time with tanks that I had filled myself. It was exciting to realize that after almost being stranded and alone, I ended up instead meeting so many new people and being part of such an engaging educational experience.

However, I think one of the best times I had during my stay with Luke was sometimes at the end of a long day when we both just wanted to sit and relax. One time, after seeing some Star Wars paraphernalia sitting around Luke’s house, I decided to put on a Star Wars show neither of us had ever seen before. Yet as we watched through the episodes, we slowly became more interested and invested in the story line. I’m not sure how many episodes we got through (I cheated and watched some more on my own) but though they were small moments it was nice to just sit back and hang out with Luke for a while.

That time would soon come to an end as well, though, as it seemed one of Luke’s dear friends was coming back into town to stay with him. While he still invited me to stay if I needed, he warned that he may not have the space to house both of us. I nodded my head in understanding and looked for somewhere else to lodge. Besides, I didn’t want to impose any further, especially as I already felt bad about popping up and landing on Luke’s doorstep on such short notice. Luckily for me, however, I’d made a friend during my time in La Ventana. Fernanda, who had been the one to coin the name “Drone man” during our time in the airbnb, happened to have an extra room in her apartment with her roommate that she was willing to open up to me and gladly invited me to stay with them. Excited to see her again, I accepted her offer and moved my things northward over to her place. Unbeknownst to me, this move just so happened to be a good one in terms of location. You see, during my time at Luke’s house, I had been continuing to pursue Pelagios through my contacts with Katie and Abel to see when I could start doing some work with them because at this point, Pelagios, much like Obi Wan Kenobi in the words of Princess Leia, was my only hope. Thus, when they finally got back to me with a date into the next week, I was happy to find that Fernanda’s apartment was much closer to Pelagios’s headquarters than Luke’s house had been. This was extremely helpful, especially since my only transportation now was the bus or a bike.

Regardless of how much closer Pelagios was to me now, I still had to wait a whole week before I could jump into the research they were offering and so as I waited for my first day to start, I wasted no time getting to know more about my new environment and the people within it. As a result, I ended up having a blast hanging out with Fernanda and her roommates.  We watched movies, played volleyball with all the neighbors, danced, sang karaoke, got ice cream from the locals, walked along the boardwalk, and hung out at the beach. I got to visit with Yann and Ollin again too, along with some of their other friends. We went out to dinner and later Yann, Ollin and I even went hiking, winding up in the most beautiful of spots. I even got to visit Luke at the dive shop. Like I said, I had a blast, but it was not all just fun and games. In that time frame I learned a lot about the culture and the overwhelming sense of community that was surrounding me.

One of the most astonishing indicators of this sense of community was when Fernanda mentioned that a friend of hers was going to be visiting.  Of course, I thought nothing of it, but it wasn’t until they arrived, that I find out that this friend was actually one of her professors who had willing gone out of his way to come to her home and openly give a full lecture on the phylogeny of different rays. While the others around me were not affected or surprised at this, I was astounded. To have a professor from your university come to your home and present a whole class was something that would seldom, if ever happen in the states. Where I was from it was hard enough just getting some professors to email you back! My mind was honestly blown from how close and caring these folks were to one another. It was inspiring, hopeful and downright an amazing experience to witness, but that wasn’t even the tip of the iceberg.

I was completely floored when one day Fernanda, her roommates and some folks from the neighborhood brought in what was a somewhat fishy smelling bag full of something heavy and wet. I watched in curiosity as they took the bag to their outside patio and started cleaning the area as if to prepare for something.  I automatically began to help clean and as I did so, I asked what was going on. As Fernanda prepared some rubber gloves and a lab coat, she proceeded to tell me that they were about to do several autopsies on some electric rays that they had organized to be delivered to them by the local fishermen, if and when caught. It was not at all what I expected her to say but I was more than thrilled to help and of course before I knew it, we were weighing them, cutting them open and investigating the internal structure of these rays on the back of a patio in the middle of a Mexican neighborhood. It was so random and simply incredible that these guys were just doing a whole autopsy in their back patio simply because it was what they wanted to do. I have to say I was impressed, as it was something you would almost never find someone doing in the states and yet here, we were identifying body parts and wondering why one of their hearts was still beating after we had taken all of their internal organs out. It was invigorating and truly a sight to behold.

Meanwhile, I had a project of my own that I was about to take part in. As the date of my Pelagios experience drew near, I readied myself for a long day at sea.  Pelagios Kakunjá is an organization that is renowned in Mexico for their study of sharks and mantas in their aim to implement conservation strategies for the species that inhabit the area. Before we set out I visited a day earlier and met with Miguel, who informed me that my task in this current project was to identify and gather as much information as I could on a group of Bull Sharks so that we could potentially identify their approximate size and sex. I was elated and excited to finally get started and dive with some Bull Sharks!  The van came and picked me up from Fernanda’s place early in the morning.  When I opened the door, I was happy to see both Katy and Abel in the van, too. We drove out to the site and dropped Katy off first to do a survey from on shore while Abel, Miguel and I went out on the boat to look for the group of bull sharks. Although we eventually ran into the group, it was hard to get the information since the water was murky and the current was strong. Still, we got what footage and information we could and headed back.  The next day I was ready to go again but unfortunately there were some complications. COVID was getting worse in Baja. Another day had passed and soon I was told that the opportunity had been cancelled as COVID restrictions were back in effect, limiting the number of people who could go out.

I was completely bummed out, for it seemed that even though I didn’t want to be done with Mexico, Mexico, at least for the time being, was done with me. After all the anticipation, I had only been able to go out for one day. So, cutting my losses, I booked a flight back to the states. Before I left, I said my goodbyes by giving gifts as a thank you to those who helped me out. I gave a bike pump to Fernanda (since I accidentally busted a tire on one of their bikes near my last day), a little baby Yoda to Luke which I thought was too perfect (Especially if you’ve seen the end of the second season of the Mandalorian!)  and got some lunch for Yann and Ollin. I couldn’t have been more thankful for all that they did for me but for now it was time to head out.

My next destination was to be San Diego where Joshua Stewart had invited me to stay and use his car for the time being while he was out of town. Though I was sad I would miss him during my stay there I was ready for the next adventure… or so I thought.  However, my body had different ideas. As soon as I got off the plane my right foot started to hurt and by the time I reached Josh’s place, it had worsened to the point where I was limping. When I finally took my shoe off and looked at my foot, I was dismayed, as a giant and disgusting looking rash of some sort had appeared, making my foot swell up like a balloon. I went to the doctor a day later and even they didn’t know what it was. Still, they gave me pills and some sort of ointment to rub onto it.  I was thankful that a few days later I was able to walk again, but just as the swelling had gone down, at the same time so had my mood. After my defeat in Mexico at the hands of COVID and now this, I felt like I had been bed ridden and inactive for too long.

To cheer myself up I went out to meet up with the DSO for Scripps Institute of Oceanography, Christian McDonald who took me on a mini tour of the dock and the diving station where the Scripps students and teachers ready their gear. Christian let me in on all kinds of interesting tidbits about things like Scripps is one of the oldest and largest scientific programs in the United States. It was fascinating and refreshing to learn about some of the projects and activities that the Scripps Institute does, as well as learn about Christian himself and some of the amazing things he’s been able to do in his life. He, in turn, asked about me about my life and about some of my aspirations for the year. After hearing them he immediately began pointing out some connections that might help me further my goals and was kind enough to invite me to go up and see the Birch aquarium. We talked for a while more until it was eventually time to go our separate ways. I got in the car and as I was driving up the hill back to Josh’s house, I suddenly felt like I was once again going in the right direction.

A few days later, I took Christian up on his invitation to the Birch Aquarium. I was happily met there by Melissa Torres who acts as the Birch Aquarium’s diving officer and keeps an eye on all the exhibit diving activities. Melissa was a real treat to talk to as she showed me around the back of house areas where the aquarists house, take care of, and monitor the exhibits. Though different in structure and exhibits, it reminded me of my work at home at the Greater Cleveland Aquarium and how fun and cool working and diving in that kind of educational environment can be.

Feeling totally inspired and with my foot fully recovered, this time I knew for sure that I was ready to wander into my next adventure. Therefore, it was perfect timing when as I walked out of the Aquarium doors, a message buzzed on my phone. I looked to excitedly see that my next opportunity had been confirmed and soon I was setting my sights further north along the California coast to LA. Before I could go galivanting off into the distance though, I first needed to get my diving gear in order.  Up until this time, I had been borrowing others’ diving gear which can be difficult to deal with sometimes, particularly if things don’t always fit well. However, since I was now in San Diego where the Aqua Lung headquarters resides, I could go pick up my sponsored gear and finally have all of my own essential diving gear ready to go. It was my last item of business before I headed to LA and so I stopped by Aqua Lung where I got to meet and talk to the Director of Marketing, Matthew Kelly. Though I didn’t get to talk to him for long, I deeply thanked him for his support of me, my goals and the Scholarship Society. We said our farewells and a few hours later I was on the next train to LA, wandering into an uncertain future but as always, excited to find new experiences, connections, and life lessons.