Student's all arrived safely at their "beach resort" in Praia de Barra, did their dirty laundry and went on to do some reconnaissance in the Vagos area where they have their five catchments. As their supervisors we went to the garage and prepared 5 instrument kits, for each group equipment including water level sensors, wading suit (too hot to use so remains in back of rental car all the time), boxes, hardware, tipping bucket rain gauges, chemistry kits, pH and EC meters, etc., etc. It was a hot day in that garage but we discovered that we had everything with us. Me "very happy" and compliments to Michel Groen and Frans Backer who again did a great job at the VU University getting everything together!!!
That is all behind us and today we had appointments with all five groups to meet in Montouro - at Café Veneluso, our favourite water hole in the study area - to distribute their instrument sets. There we had coffee, followed by a frantic exchange of stuff from our big van to the small rental cars.
Then went on to do the installation of the discharge measurement stations and (automatic) rainfall stations. You propably never did something crazy like this but it is good to know that this involves:
- Selecting a site (often wading through thorny bushes and garbage),
- hammering away on a steel pipe with mosquitos attacking you by some of the less fortunate groups that have a catchment that has not been studied before, or where staff gauges had dissapeared upon our return,
- Getting the dataloggers in place and programming them,
- Happy moments when finished...
- And of course some people prefer to do hydrochemistry while sitting on a dirt road near a dead, somewhat smelly snake.
It is late, tomorrow more about the meteorological tower installation and a copulent lunch at Sesta!
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