P-MAN XIII Update #25 - Flip's back. Team nutrition improving. LIDAR is cool but expensive. Steep, ugly jungle climb looms.

29 March

Flip Colmer has finally arrived back in Palau (he was also here in February for part of P-MAN XIIIa). Here's Flip's first P-MAN XIIIb contribution:

My first assignment was to make breakfast for everyone.

Paul Collins came to teach us a bit about LIDAR (Light Detecton and Ranging). This is a laser technology used to make surveys both on land and under water. It has some application for what we do, but of course the equipment is a bit beyond our budget. Nice to know, though. Paul is doing research out of Pat Colin's Coral Reef Research Foundation.

The next thing I was assigned to do was grocery replenishment. The three Marines and one son of a Marine who kicked off this portion of P-MAN had different ideas about provisioning than I have. They had Corn Pops for breakfast and PB&Js for lunch. And that was about it. I got some more eggs, spices, veggies, fruit, Spam (three different kinds), good bread, real maple syrup for pancake Sunday and all the usual stuff. And for an improvement in the coffee situation, I found ground Starbucks instead of whole bean. Much easier for us. Don't have to search out a grinder.

Back at the casa, I found out that everyone was out accomplishing stuff. We rallied back together and had a late lunch.

Now we're doing assorted things so I guess this is a down day. Good thing, too, because........

Tomorrow, we get to climb on one of the major Rock Islands. Simeon, who has taken us out before, said we needed to attack the island from the east side, not the west side as we've done previously. He said there is an airplane up there that we have not seen before and he will take us there. If someone is willing to lead us there, the odds go up about something actually being there. This will be my second day on island, but Casey's last. His time here is just about up. What a great way to ensure that he sleeps on the way home: wear him out.

I think the rest of today is tasks, dinner and rest. These guys were a little weary looking when I arrived yesterday. So resting up is a good thing.

- Flip Colmer
 

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