Formenterra - Zanzibar!

A washed-up oil worker and young lady sit sipping sangria on Formenterra, My lady wonders away from me, allowing my Mind to wonder. Having recently traveled to Formentera from Malaga where the waters are not so crystal blue a google search flashes into my head. Foraminiferra!!!!! (Ironic really considering the location)

Pretty stuff!

For those not familiar with foraminifera, they are an important constituent of the ocean floor, in seagrass and of rock beds overlying oil deposits.  And this is why I used to count, clean, and generally be a slave to them! At my laboratory.

I spent countless hours studying/ cleaning foraminifera, diatoms and dinocysts, with no real idea why I was performing such a task. Other than to make some Oligarch even more OligarchY!

I decided it was high time that I actually looked into what these little babies' actual practical applications are outside of a directional tool for a drill bit!

And what do I discover seaweeds and seagrass! The most delightful of oddities that capture carbon by the bucket load, are found in/ around surf spots and seemed something I could take an interest in. Odd considering the only things that had interested me for the previous two decades included stainless steel, chemicals and barrel prices.

I fell in love instantly! With my heart in my hand and Mind by my side. I set of for Zanzibar mainly because old Mugufuli (god rest his soul), decided that Covid was all a hoax and was accepting tourists who had no fear of sandy beaches, cold beer and a proclivity for Seagrass and Seaweed! 

My first stop and seaweed. 

I took a tour around the Paje and Jambiani seaweed farms and was instantly struck by not only the impossible beauty of the place, but also how such a hardy little weed could grow, sequester and generally do so much good. With seemingly so little care or attention!

I really began my research into “blue carbon” and mangroves whilst taking a tour around the many mangrove forests that surround the island. Here I learnt the correct growing techniques and difficulties in planting in the intertidal zone.

That is allot of “blue carbon”.

I moved to Nungwi and spent many hours trawling the seagrass beds at low tide, watching with interest the hundreds of people that made the beds their workplace. The importance of this had not struck me yet.

It seemed the area between Zanzibar and Tumbatu sustained an amazing amount of people. Baskets and nets full the locals would return at high tide. Happy with their day’s work.

Seagrass a natural hunting ground! For humans.

Only when I arrived in Thailand. When I began researching and exploring further the stressors on seagrass ecosystems did these initial ramblings begin to take shape in my mind!