It's amazing how easily a 7am alarm call can transform into an 8.30 breakfast. We tried capturing [on film] some of the beasties off the main jetty in the slightly calmer waters but they're not ones for photo opportunities. The squid, in particular, watch you carefully with their beady eyes before whipping off at the hint of a record button. I think I've caught them changing from black to silver through dusky orange to black again. [In general] above water you don't get to see a great deal, underwater is enormously different. I still can't use that as an excuse enough to get the underwater case for my camcorder -- roughly £1000, the same as the camcorder itself.
The fish are good, though, unicorn fish with their Thomas the Tank Engine cartoon faces, noisy colourful parrotfish, schools of something or other fish but the most entertaining are the gobies. Either the colourful fire gobies (we saw a red one on the outer reef) or the useless shrimp-gobies.
Our French/Russion [dining] couple did a runner to another table a couple of days ago and we now have a young German couple. After the usual ten months holiday?
we get an even more surprised you booked it at the airport?
They have an all inclusive deal of Euro 1300 for seven nights including flights. I don't think we're too far off the pace with our US$ 80 per night full board. They do say that Embudhu is one of the cheaper islands which matches the mealtime fare and our omni-not-present waiter, Mohammed Ali (well, it sounded like that [when he was introduced]).
This afternoon's snorkel has a two shrimp-goby two shrimp hole -- though only one shrimp appeared to be doing any work -- and a brown black-feather-tailed ray. The early evening filming was mostly of the fruit bats. Cute fellas though they only seem to do anything during the last couple of hours of daytime.
"Flambe Nite" didn't inspire one to learn to cook the Embudhu Village way. On the jetty [later] we were waiting for a fly-by of Sharkeys when we started a conversation. Helen: There goes a parrotfish.
How did you know it was a parrotfish?
Everything is a parrotfish, there are so many of them!
Right, so I don't know what kind of a shark it is so it must be a parrotfish.
A black-tipped reef shark, actually.
Says a voice behind us. Uh? It appears someone's been overhearing us and helpfully interrupted having only heard half the conversation. We guess they must be the other Brits.
Embudhu Village N4.08428 E73.51318 Elev. 50m!
Copyright 2002 Ian Fitchet. All rights reserved.