FEB 7 MORE SNORKELLING

REEF SNORKEL
Don and I team up with a young 26 year old to go drift snorkelling off one of the thilas close by. The thila is an underwater island that rises from the depths but does not break the surface. They can offer some great reefs for snorkelling. Our companion Tom is born in Africa with a British mother and German father, raised in Germany but speaks with a British accent. We get a fisherman to take us out, drop us overboard and then follow us as we drift a few kilometres along the reef. The dropoff is even more dramatic than that at Omadhoo dropping suddenly 30 to 40 meters. We can just see the ocean floor below. The drift is slow and relaxed and we see lots of brightly coloured tropical fishes, a young turtle that we follow for a ways, as well as 2 young reef sharks and a 2 metre adult that I cannot quite keep up with. There are some interesting soft corals and bivalves. I use the Go Pro to snap stills rather than video so I can upload them. Here are some shots of the day.

MY FOOTBALL TEAM
After returning from snorkelling, and trying out the local restaurant whose menu is limited to fish and noddles or chicken and noodles, I decide to spend the afternoon at the public beach. Modest dress is in order so I put on my bathing suit and snorkel shirt, wrap a sarong around my waist, and head out, but run into some small boys and their smaller sister playing with a soccer ball. I am soon part of the game. Their mothers are sitting in the shade chatting while we play. Gradually my sarong begins to loosen and I have to pull it up and tighten it. The mothers are watching with great delight and the little girl begins to check to see what is under my sarong. The mothers are calling to her to tell her to stop but they seem equally interested and are chuckling away. Here are my new Omadhoo football buddies.

I finally make it to the beach. In the end I have it all to myself. It is a little bit of paradise.