2017 Abalone Report Card 1-6 - A Sea Ranch Sojourn

By Wednesday I was convinced. Conditions were looking good for the weekend. We'd have an early minus tide Saturday through Tuesday...

...and it looked like swells would be relatively benign over the same period.

Last year I only went diving once. Got my limit of 3 abalone, but that was it for the year.  I had not been in the water yet this shortened season, and the July closure for the first half of the season was only a week away. Local rumors were flying that CA Fish & Wildlife might close the second half of the season.  It was now or never.

Reached out to the usual suspects looking for a dive buddy. No joy, but was determined to get in the water if conditions permitted. Sigrid joined me for the ride north on Saturday. Whether I got in the water or not we would enjoy the food, friends, and vistas in one of the best places on the planet.

Stayed at a friend's place at Sea Ranch - was very impressed with the new security layer on his gate keypad.

It was a weekend to get reacquainted with the locale and friends. We were invited to a wonderful dinner with Summit neighbors Peter and Bonnie, now living at the Ranch, and also invited for wine and cheese with Charlie and Kathye on their spectacular deck overlooking my favorite cove.

In the year since my last visit, there have been some changes in the area. Two Fish Baking, our favorite source for breakfast pastries relocated from Sea Ranch to Stewart's Point - which is actually more convenient. The sticky buns are just as good, but you still have to get there early before they're gone. My go-to location to get my fishing license - Baker Brothers Hardware & dive shop - closed up operations. The good news was that I was delighted to find my occasional dive buddy Jeff had taken over the Gualala Sport and Dive Rentals with his wife Kelli.  A definite upgrade over Baker Bros,and a great spot to get outfitted for a dive. MW Recommended. The bad news is that Jeff is now so busy he didn't have to time to dive.  Which brings me to the point of the post. Time to get in the water.

If I was to get any abalone this trip, it would be a solo dive. Fortunately, with benign conditions and a minus tide, it was feasible. I spent a lot of time looking over my favorite Mendocino County cove.

It looked safe enough, but visibility was poor. Without a dive buddy, I decided to go with an alternative site.

Our new Sea Ranch friend Frances offered up her private stairwell access to a neighboring Sea Ranch cove. Convenient and (relatively) easy.  Had to check the regs - the cove is within the Stewart's Point Marine Conservation Area.  No problem - regs state that "The following may be taken recreationally from shore only: marine aquatic plants other than sea palm, marine invertebrates, finfish by hook-and-line..."  blah... blah... blah.... Abalone is a marine invertebrate. We're good.

Net net - two dives over three days, a three ab limit each dive, and one happy abalone diver. Some pics from my first Sonoma County ab dive:

Load up the gear

Early start to catch low tide.

Walk down the stairs to the beach ( heh.. heh...  too cool) 

Minus tide meant navigating a field of mussel. 

Not my best look.

Minus tide entry

Diving solo in a new locale, I wasn't inclined to do any trophy hunting. Got my limit and got out as the flood tide brought a little more swell than I was comfortable with.  Two good days.

Dive day 1 - one 8 and a couple 9's

Dive day 2 - one 7, one 8, one 9

<SOAPBOX> Six abs in two dives over three days. With all the talk of a "distressed" "starving" abalone fishery, it's worth pointing out that I went 6 for 6 in an unfamiliar Sonoma cove with fat healthy abs on my first dives in a year and without a lot of effort. I did see a lot of urchins, and also plenty of abalone that were easy to spot from the surface in about 4 foot of visibility. There was a lot of kelp in the shallows. Mid-cove the kelp was sparser and seemed a little chewed up. This was my first time in this cove, so I can't compare current conditions to prior years. So there's that. </SOAPBOX>.

In between dives Bonnie and Peter joined us for an abalone feast. Of course. Tried to get Frances to enjoy the fruits of her cove, but was disappointed she would only stay for a glass of wine and some conversation.

Bonnie helps out with the piccata sauce

Good company, good food, good fun. Somehow I managed to neglect getting a group shot. I know. Hard to believe.

After our second dive we drove home to EssEff with abs in the cooler. Stopped at Washoe House for buffalo burger on the way back.  They're under new management since being purchased by the Petaluma Creamery.  I always thought the food was good but inconsistent. Now they're better. A similar menu but everything from the service to the food is better than before. A definite upgrade.

Cleaned and sliced the three abalone I picked this morning on getting home. Finished the day with my favorite treat after a successful ab hunt.

Fresh abalone sashimi

Life is good. Hopefully we'll have a second season so I can complete my report card.

Name that arachnid

 This was cleanup day at the lake house. Generally that leads to pretty boring blog posts.  So instead, we'll feature some of the local denizens which which we share our living space on the lake house.   Looking for arachnid identifications in the comments. For extra family credit - identify the exact spot where the photo was taken.

Omorate - Turmi - Buska Lodge

Itinerary - Day 16: Turmi-Omorate

In the cool morning, we will drive to Omorate to visit the Desanech (Geleb) tribal village after crossing the Omo River by boat. The Desanech are nomadic pastoralists found across the western bank of the Omo River south of Lake Turkana very close to the Kenyan boarder.  In the afternoon, we will drive to Hamer Village. The Hamer, display an elaborate and diverse selection of body decorations. They are also identifiable for their high cheekbones, elaborate custom of beads, cowries and leather, and thick copper necklaces. At the same village we will enjoy the seasonal cultural activities including the famous Evangadi (Hamer Dancing).

Buska Lodge

Journal:
After making our way back from the Hamer bull jumping ceremony yesterday, we check in at the Buska Lodge in Turmi around dusk.  Sigrid was too tired to leave the room, but I made it to the dinner buffet for some soup and pasta.  The food and facilities are geared to handling larger tour groups. Showing up by myself for dinner seemed to confuse everybody.

We did not get a good look at the lodge until morning. No internet, but a decent room situated in a lush garden of flowers and tropical fruit trees. The staff was service oriented, if a bit overwhelmed at times, but all in all - it seemed like a fine lodge. Except for the fact that they poisoned me at lunch. But I am getting ahead of myself.

Turmi to Omorate

Omo River

After breakfast we drive to Omorate on the bank of the Omo River.  There we take a dugout canoe across the river to visit the Dassanech people. The Kenyan border is quite close, and this represents the Southern most point of our Omo Valley exploration.  About a kilometer downstream we can see the ruins of a bridge that collapsed mid-construction last year.  This bridge was intended to facilitate Ethiopia - Kenyan transportation.  Looks like they are trying again with a new span.

Yohanes informs us that the Dasssanech were relocated here from Kenya. According to this article, there is quite a bit more to the story, including some recent conflicts in this area of which I was previously unaware.  We knew about the Gibe III dam under construction upstream on the Omo. The potential future impact of the dam on the downstream indigenous people in this area is part of the reason we are here taking this trip now. This area is in the impact zone of the receding Lake Turkana, but it was not clear to me whether this village is directly affected.

 My initial impression is that this village is a designated tourist destination, but that was certainly not something that I was going to sort out in our brief visit. Following our usual modus operandi, Yohanes managed the subjects of Sigrid's portraiture.

Three Graces

African Gothic

We're in the lowlands now and it's getting hot. After a coffee ceremony on the banks of the Omo, we head back to the Buska Lodge for lunch and a rest to wait out the afternoon heat.

That was the plan. But at lunch I make another bad food decision.  We've been careful about food after our brush with some gastronomical problems a few days earlier. I order the "fasting injera firfir" thinking it's local, cooked, and vegetarian, so should be safe.  What I didn't think through is that this dish is traditionally consumed on Ethiopian fasting days - Wednesday and Friday. This is Sunday. Plus firfir is sometimes made from leftover injera. Plus Alxe later informs me that they never order firfir in the south.  You know - it's hot in the south - stuff sitting around goes bad fast.  Net net - I am incapacitated by full-on food poisoning for the next 20 hours or so.  This was not traveler's diarrhea. This was food poisoning. I've had both and I know the difference. The less said about that the better. 

Unlike me, Sigrid chose wisely at lunch. I insist she continue the planned photo excursion to a Hamer village, while I hunker down with my Cipro, Immodium, water and electrolyte powder.  She got some great shots:

This was my one remaining photo contribution for the day:

This guy was on the opposite wall from the toilet. We spent a lot of time looking at each other that night.

Even in my weakened state this critter looked kind of familiar to me. Then I remembered. This was a "flattie". I took a picture of one in the toilet on our first Africa Tour in 1995.  It was like finding an old friend.

Editor's Note: I intend to pre-load and schedule automated blog posts with the daily itinerary for our Ethiopian adventure. For those interested, this may be an easy way to follow along. Since we will not have internet access for most of the trip, my hope is this will make it easier to add some pics and journal commentary if and when we run across an internet connection. If there are no pics or commentary, you'll just have to wait until we get back. We'll see how it goes.