"King Of Fools"

Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Bodu Hithi, Maldives
A new scratchy noise roused me this morning... Tracing it's source to the beach, we found a team of six staff raking the beach! Not that there was anything to clean up. Like Singapore, perceptions and attention to detail are very evident here. As of yesterday, there were 179 guests and 300 staff on the island. This morning's house-keeping team of three included one man scrubbing the tiles under the stepping stones of the already-pristine pool.


The staff surrounded us at breakfast as well, which we enjoyed with a Swiss-German couple who travelled here on the boat with us.
They holiday in the Maldives regularly, a different island every time. They were here for the last tsunami and told stories of how the water rose 3-4 feet in their villa at 9am on morning... a gradual influx, as the main wave front had been broken by the outer reef. Staff had time to pack their cases and with lifejackets on as a precaution, they were easily evacuated by boat from a second storey building. Our tsunami apprehensions were eased.
But when they then mentioned that they were also holidaying in New York for 9/11, we asked where they were intending to holiday next...



Our morning snorkel was the best yet. The water was crystal clear and the sun was out, lighting the myriad of fishes and corals. Sadly, the underwater camera was failing to start despite desperate attempts!!! NOOOOO! Angela had captured a few shots yesterday, but many included her finger as she was unaware of lens' location. Shooting blind - without her glasses underwater - didn't help! So I was eager to get some today. Or not...

Not that you couldn't still gaze in amazement. About 100m off-shore, I found a second reef that was even more populated with both fish and coral varieties and floated for ages.

Too long in fact. I had lathered the SPF30+ over arms and neck but forget the legs. This afternoon, I'm sitting on cold, wet towels on the coolish concrete floor berating myself... Fool!

If I can get a cup of rice in a plastic bag from the kitchen and try a trick that has previously successfully dried an iPod overnight, I might have to snorkel in trousers and t-shirt tomorrow to get those shots.

Not what Seafolly would want to see!

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