Being born 650 miles from the Mediterranean and 200 miles
from the English Channel (commonly called the Canal De Calais)
the Great Leader had always felt a certain distance with the
open sea. This disconnect increased with the years of self
determination, while then living in the eastern seaboard of the
Italian peninsula, over the Adriatic, the young GL was very much
against the popular “beach sub-culture” that was required to be
accepted in the large social canvas. This so-called “beach sub-
culture” was so obnoxious to our adolescent hero that for years
and years he avoided the sea proper and all the beauty and
mystery of this enchanting world.
In the summer of 2003 all this came to an end while traveling the
French Riviera with the help of Her Greatness and her friends Mr.
O.K. and Ms. Wang.
“You have to relax.” said Mr. O.K., “ It is the only way you will
float,” continued Her Greatness, which introduced the GL into the
underwater marvels with the help of a mask and a snorkel.
Since that day the sea has been a destination of the Great Leader’s
curiosity. In the year 2004 an expedition was set to reach the sou-
therner tip of the Adriatic in the land of Salento, where from the
height of the rough cliff of Funniculiere, the GL oversaw a rocky
coastline of mythical proportions, the eastern water of the Canal
D’Otranto.
The Marine Life Study was part of the WHT, which the
Great Leader ended on March 5th.
Accompanied only by HG the GL reached the Islands of Ambergris
Caye and Caulker Caye, two world wide known sea lover destinations
off the coast of Belize, the former British colony in the south of the
Yucatan Peninsula.
The goal was to capture images of a variety of sea creatures never
seen before by the GL, and to attempt the conquest of the Blue
Hole, World Heritage site, a crater into the reef, 400 feet deep.
The first goal was a success, with the help of numerous indigenous
experts the GL and the HG had the opportunity to spot manatees,
dolphins, stingrays, sea turtles, eagle rays, nurse sharks, lobsters,
barracudas, giant sea urchins, puffer fish, star fish, parrot fish,
rainbow fish, angel fish, an infinity of fish, they surveyed a total of
16 site on the corral reef, including the Hol Chan, the Bocalar Chico
and the Corral Garden, over six hundred still photos were taken and
90 movies were shot both by the GL and by the HG who proved
to be a better cameraperson for her easiness in the element.
The second part of the Marine Life Study which involved a much more
intense experience was cancelled due weather conditions.
The expedition to the Blue Hole is then postponed but not cancelled.
To fill the unforeseen hurdle, the Study went on the mainland to reach
the Mayan pyramids of the Lamanai site along the lagoon of the New
River, which is surrounded by a virgin jungle dense with extraordinary
life. In this tour the Study had catalogued a long list of large birds,
specimen of the American crocodile and the peculiar primate Howler
Monkey.
On the way back to Leaderonia, the Great Leader made a promise to
be the stalwart of the upcoming Leaderonia Conservation Society,
the new institution for the protection of all Marine and Land Life
expect Human, and appointed Her Greatness the Chairman of the
Commission.
The report ends with a personal note from the Great Leader:
What my eyes have seen,
What my ears have heard,
What my nose has smelled,
What my tongue has tasted,
What my skin has felt,
What my heart has learned is the beauty
of this living system so strong and stable,
Beware brother men,
This whole planet is big and will swallow you.