The Maldives
Tuesday 4th to Tuesday 11th September 2007
The sun was soon coming down, giving some splendid opportunities to open this page with scenic shots.
And then we were back out on another boat tour, this time a quick excursion to catch the sunset. Here was our guide for the evening.
Others had the same idea. I particularly like the guy sat casually on the top.
I relinquished the camera to Miss Schofield, who caught me in a thoughtful mood.
Seemingly playing a game of pass the parcel, someone tried, but failed, to get a decent photo of us. (Not our fault - we'd posed well enough.)
And here we have it, the sun setting over a nearby island.
It resulted in a funky sky effect.
When we got back, a heron was posing under a light at the water's edge. I managed to get pretty darn close to take a shot.
We can't quite believe now that we did all this in one day, rather than spreading out, but that evening we paid extra to get a barbecue for two. When they said that our table was ready, we just thought we would be by the bar with other people. It turns out that they had set up a table on the beach, surrounded by candles. In short: it was amazing. You can see how close we were to the water.
The waiter took a picture of us both, as I strained for us to look like a natural couple. It's almost like I am saying: "Lynne? Are you still there, love?".
Lynne ordered the lobster and did not regret it.
We headed back to the bar and Lynne couldn't resist dancing to the band playing.
Next morning, and the local wildlife were not afraid of approaching our room.
Lynne demonstrated the array of chalets on offer. I think these were some of the more expensive ones.
Hang on, there's that heron again, chilling on a sun lounger.
We found a bit of a garden area...
...which meant I could take one of my flower pictures again.
I love the way the tables and chairs are all perfectly lined up, and also the way that they are so close to the brilliant blue sea.
Mmmm, white sands and blue sea.
Here is a shot of the diving school from a bit further back.
More vegetation + sand + sea type things.
And that will do for now.
Well then, how amazing is this? Pool, beach, sea. Beautiful. Like a madman, I actually swam across to that island in the background. It seemed close than it was, but when I got there, I spotted some "flying" fish skimming their way across the sea. So it was worth it.
Not a care in the world.
Ok, that's enough posing.
The lady who worked at the café by the pool was a good laugh. Due to my penchant for ordering Tiger beers we somehow got to doing tiger impressions. Well, I did anyway.
I wasn't the only one showing off. I requested that Lynne adopt the crane kick position (beloved of the Karate Kid). She duly obliged.
And with the sun slowly setting in the background for extra effct.
This may or may not have been my diving instructor (who was later to be seen shadow boxing with another silhouetted figure on the pier), who showed me how to do some scuba diving, which was fun. He was half French and half Dutch, and had been scuba diving from a young age. Given that I hailed from Manchester, it was not necessary for me to wear a wetsuit. However, because I had somewhat caught the sun on my back during the snorkelling expedition, I had difficulty getting the oxygen tank on. My teacher said that pain was just "nerve impulses to the brain" which, when I thought about it, made not a lot of difference to the agony I suffered getting it on. Once in the water, though, and having got over the mild panic that sets in when you are underwater for any length of time, there were some great sights, including a turtle sleeping with its head (and its head along) on a rock.
There was stuff to do around the island, including tennis and table tennis. At one point, we hired a double canoe and paddled round the entire island. Thankfully, it wasn't a massive island (otherwise we wouldn't have attempted it) and we managed to get round in about an hour. It was fun!
Spooky little lizard girl, where did you run to? I only asked your name, never meant to hurt you.
And, on our last night, to demonstrate just how attentive and friendly the hotel staff had been, they did this to our bed whilst we were out. How sweet. We then had to clear it up ourselves, though.
The next morning, it was our last chance to get photos of stuff like this.
And this.
Here's the heron again!
Finally, we took a motorboat back to Malé airport, not quite racing this other motorboat.
And, well, that was that. Luckily, at this point, we still had a holiday in Sicily to look forward to.
Back to the Secret Portal.