A late breakfast as there is no diving today, we eat whilst watching Emirates aeroplanes landing, taxiing and taking off. It takes 30 seconds for an Emirates aircraft from engine boost to take off. We have a very good view of the aircraft as they fly by us to land at Male airport on Hulhule.
At 13:30 the Blue Marine dhoni came to collect us from the Blue Shark Two to transfer us to the airport. The ocean was very active. I couldn't watch as my rucksack was passed across from one boat to another and was relieved to note that it arrived safely. I managed to bridge the gap successfully. We set off to Hulhule where Ian and I were to get our next transfer to Embudhu Village. I had to close my eyes after we had all clambered to one side of the dhoni. The waves were pretty big and the dhoni rided them like a rollercoaster. It wasn't pleasant. Only 15 minutes later we disembarked and made our farewells to the crew and the Japanese. We stood on the harbourside for a while waving to the Blue Marine as the Japanese continued to wave.
Then came the fun part. We were on our own again, although probably not for long. Since we left Paris we have been on safari after safari which meant we have been constantly surrounded by people, everything has been done for us and most things arranged. All we had to do was turn up and comply. We knew we had to be at the airport in order to be transferred to Embudhu Village, but, the two chaps who sold us our accommodation were nowhere to be found. I did, however, find a chemist selling hair conditioner but it was closed. I am in desperate need for some hair conditioner and can't find anyone who sells any! I asked after the two chaps and eventually someone had notice that we were to be put on a speedboat and taken to the island in a short while, so we sat and watched people arriving at Hulhule before splashing out USD 7 on two can size bottles of coca-cola! Then we were escorted to a speedboat which was a pleasant surprise as I wasn't looking forward to a 45 minute crossing by dhoni.
Well, I was surprised. It sure was quick but I was not enjoying it! I didn't think I would ever experience anything quite like the journeys in Paul's truck with his bouncy, jerky driving, but I was wrong! It was exactly like that, although as I write this journal several hours on I am pleased to report the absence of a resulting migraine. We have a basic first floor apartment on a simple island with salty cold water and a resident gecko. It's plenty suitable for us and it only took 30 minutes to walk completely around the circumference of the island, in and out of all the little pathways to the ocean, splashing in the water, taking photographs and wandering around the very expensive souvenir shop.
We preceded sunset with a swim in the ocean and then as we left the water we spotted two 2 foot long black tipped sharks swimming in the shallow water. Soon after we spotted another two which must be younger or of a slightly different species because their bodies were a pale yellow colour. I walked over the main jetty just in time to see a 4 foot shark swimming away from the jetty! Wow! What a truly wonderful sight! There are lots of crabs and smaller ghost crabs that live on the beaches. Ian and I stepped back into the water to get closer to the young sharks. Several moments later, while we stood still in less than a foot of ocean, a school of fish suddenly made a noisy rapid movement towards us which startled me so I leaped and let out a whimper and Ian followed suit like a sheep. I thought that the shark was after a bit of dinner but Ian is convinced it was merely a parrotfish disturbing them! If nothing else we caught the attention of the people on the jetty.
We showered in cold salty water and then I cut Ian's hair for him. He bought some clippers from Dubai airport and entrusted me to use them. Although we made a huge mess in the bathroom I actually did a pretty good job and took a photograph of his head to celebrate. He's very pleased with his lack of hair!
After dinner we went crab hunting and sat on the jetty watching the young sharks swimming around. They're lovely to watch and I have affectionately called them 'sharkey'.
Copyright 2002 Helen Fuller. All rights reserved.