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Published: January 24th 2014
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Hello again from the beautiful Maldives… Hope everyone has been well and having fun since my last blog – it was only ten days ago – how quickly time flies when you’re having fun in paradise.
The day after the last one it rained here on Maafushivaru (and other islands too I expect…) and with the rain came an abundance of marine life… right to our doorstep – which out here is actually the jetty! After breakfast a considerable crowd had gathered on the jetty as several reef sharks were swimming about – personally I think they were sheltering under the jetty so as not to get wet… Sorry, bad joke… There were also quite a few little ‘Nemos’, some parrot fish and various other ones whose names I don’t really know – yet, but I’m learning.
You will be pleased to hear that I have also been in the ocean(or the big sea as I like to call it), I started with a little paddle – baby steps… It wasn’t so bad so then I tried, drum roll please… a little snorkel. I did ok – the marine biologist towed me around the
lagoon for a little bit then let me have a go on my own – we saw a Porcupine Ray – which at first frightened the life out of me but then he explained they don’t have a sting in the tail… after that I thought it was quite cute - I also took the Turtle Excursion again… and again I stayed on the boat – I didn’t see any turtles this time – just a pod of dolphins – they swam really close to the boat! Couldn’t get a pic though as they would not sit still and pose!! So today is Friday again – which means it’s the turtle excursion again… maybe it’ll be 3
rd time lucky and I’ll actually get in the big sea!
Just a quick bit of info about my mosquito bites… I still only have had a couple – and in 3 weeks that is very good going, but in the same period last year I had had loads – anyway, last year before I left the UK I had blood tests and they took the blood from my right arm, I never got bitten by the mosquitoes on my right
arm, only my left… and this is the interesting bit – this year before I left I had blood taken from my left arm and so far have only been bitten on my right… so my theory last year that the mosquitoes can tell if you have had blood taken must be correct!! I’m just grateful that Maafushivaru seems to be mosi free – yay!
Ooooh – it’s all gone dark… looks like we have a power cut… and it’s back on but the lights are still flickering…
The temperatures out here are something else… so whilst my pal Ali is hitting -36 in Finnish Lapland (hello Ali) and dressing like she’s in the Arctic Circle… I am sunning myself at +30 and wearing as little as is considered decent… The high temperatures though have a slight drawback… the wooden jetty by the dive centre gets really hot – the other jetties for some reason don’t seem to absorb the heat quite so much but the one we use to get the boat to and from the sea plane is scorching – yesterday I looked like one of those lizards in the desert that
stands on alternate feet so as not to burn… I was literally hopping from foot to foot – surely a sight to behold…
Monday night on Maafushivaru is movie night, time for everyone to pull up a beanbag on the sand and get comfy with a cocktail to watch the film… Not entirely sure the choice of Castaway a couple of weeks ago was entirely appropriate considering where we are although I think everyone enjoyed it. All we need to complete the evening is popcorn and ice cream, and so to one of my favourite subjects – food.
This time I need to tell you about the tropical fruit crumble and vanilla sauce – soooo delicious and as it has fruit in it must be healthy – right? The food here is fab and the hot chocolate pudding is very well received mainly by me although… there are guests on the island who even had it recommended from the travel agent who booked their trip as he had been to Maafushivaru!! It’s a bit like, yeah, the Maldives are amazing and if you go to Maafushivaru it has the best chocolate pudding in the
world… He he he, forget the wonderful crystal clear blue ocean, soft white sandy beaches, swaying palms and amazing marine life… The buffet is where it’s all happening!
I am ashamed to say I haven’t been to the gym yet, actually I’m not ashamed… I consider it a triumph!! Nor have I managed to take the pedalo with the Mafiose across to Lonubo… I’m building up to it… I’ve been busy… eating! Oh and doing little excursions with guests… And of course working!
Yesterday all of my guests were going to snorkel with the whale sharks – these things are massive – we’re talking several metres long! So I donned my life jacket and snorkel gear and off we all went, including one half of the Mafiose, and led by Carol – from the Dive Centre and Abdullah, who is convinced that his Sponge Bob Square Pants swimming shorts are the key to success in spotting whale sharks… the whale shark excursion got under way. Anyway, his theory seemed correct as a whale shark was spotted… there was then a bit of a bun fight for everyone to get into the water – everyone except me… I have a valid reason though – honest – someone else on board who actually wanted to get in the water to swim with the HUGE whale shark needed my life jacket as they didn’t have one… So I watched from the boat, I did see it moving through the water and I swear it was the size of the boat… considering my reaction when I saw the comparatively small porcupine ray I would probably have had kittens if I had actually got in the water with the largest fish in the world – they are harmless though and swim at a fairly slow pace and like I said before, baby steps, maybe I’ll be brave enough to get in to see one before I leave in April – watch this space!
Just to finish I’ll give you a quick update on a few other things that were mentioned in the first blog… Gordon, my baby gecko, has definitely bailed on me… I haven’t seen him for days. My big toe is looking good, the nail didn’t come off nor did it go black, so although it’s still a little bit tender if I knock it, it seems to have healed very well. In addition to learning how to identify turtles and manta rays I now know how to identify whale sharks too – I love learning all this new fascinating information and the guests love hearing about it – it means they cannot wait to get in the water and start photographing the wonderful marine life we have here in the beautiful Maldives.
I will say cheerio for now – have super fun in the snow if you’re in a chilly place and take care – happy travels to one and all! Love Tallulah x
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Karen Pitts
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Life in Paradise1
So glad to hear you aren't suffering as badly with the mozzie bites as you did last year. Look forward to your next blog.