Let's go fishing!

Today is our last evening on Thulhaghiri. I propose that we celebrate it with yet another way of enjoying your time off by the sea. We will board this little boat.

Its design is typical for the Maldives. The most amazing part is that instead of holding a steering wheel, the captain uses his foot.

We will be fishing in open sea today. Or in the open ocean to be more precise. Our island is hardly visible now.

The crew took out a long rope.

We are ready to anchor.

We will use a traditional fishing method - a piece of gimp on a plastic circle.

Obviously, we need bait. It is actually fish meat so I expect we look for some fish with pretty sharp teeth.

We need to place one piece on a hook at the end of the gimp.

And then you throw it in the water.

Then it is all about waiting. And waiting. And getting jealous when somebody else manages to catch something.

Even if this is not a large something, still it is something.

The sun starts to set down.

And finally, my first catch! It is surprisingly large so the nice gentleman agreed to hold it while I take a few steps back to take a perfect picture.

This is a Something now!

The Sun gets lower again.

And yes, another catch! And who caught it? Me, me, me! Well, fine, my human assistant but this is just the same.

Towards the end of the strip, our bucket looks really impressive. Though most of them were caught by the captain of the ship.

We can now sail back and enjoy the magnificent sunset. Like in paintings by J.W. M. Turner.

But the absolutely very best part of it will be later in the evening, when the cook does his magic. Bon appetit my friends!

Stand-Up Paddling

When you come to the Maldives you simply have to be close to water. If you do not enjoy snorkelling, you can always go to the water sports center and investigate other options.

You can take a motorboat.

Or you can sail on a catamaran.

But on a tropical island where the ocean is warm like a cup of tea you can also try being a bit closer to the water. Why don't we try the stand-up paddling? We will require a board ...

... and a paddle.

In case you would lose your balance, the board will not escape thanks to this line that you should tie to your ankle.

Unfortunately it seems a bit too large for me so I will have to encourage you from the shore.

No worries, the instructor will help you. First you learn how to paddle while seating.

Then you can try kneeling.

Finally, he will teach you how to stand up.

The great thing about Thulhagiri is that it is small enough that you can take a paddling tour around the entire island in less than half an hour. The water is so clear that the paddler seems to be actually floating in the air.

So while the nice gentlemen take the board back ...

... I will spend the next couple of minutes visualising myself as a stand-up paddler of the Maldives. You can join me of you wish, of course.

Snorkelling on the coral reef

Last week, I mentioned that Maldives are built of coral. Obviously vacation on an island made of coral would not be complete if we would not see the reef. Since horses do not fit too well into snorkelling equipment, one of my human assistants volunteered to carry out the mission.

Luckily, you have chosen the bungalow on the water so he will not have to walk for a long time in the fins.

And one ...

... and two.

The reef in the Maldives is unfortunately not as colorful as the ones you might have seen on Discovery Channel. One of the main reasons is the global warming - the sea is becoming too warm for the coral.

But even here after a moment of patience, you will discover some living jewels. Some will be blue with yellow stripes ...

... and other yellow with blue stripes.

In order to hide from the predators, some fishes adopted colours similar to the reef itself.

And others, with the same goal in mind, have developed a black spot close to their tails. It looks like an eye and is likely to attack the interest of the predator to the backside rather than to the head.

Besides the large corals...

... you can also find here huge sponges.

But the best summary will surely come from a short movie.

Well, time to go back to our bungalow. Seen from the water it looks really cool.

Now that my assistant is coming back, do you want to borrow his snorkelling gear?

Or maybe you prefer to watch safely from the balcony? This can be quite exciting as well.

Thulhaghiri

I have received numerous messages that a palm house does not meet the definition of "someplace warm" where one could run away from gloomy autumn in moderate climate. Well, if anybody will complain after this post, I will happily hand over the blog to this person. Because Thulhaghiri is my definition of paradise on Earth.

First we have to land in the cosy airport in Male, the capital city and the capital island of (standing ovations!) the Maldives!

Then we have to take one of the many taxi boats. As we get closer, you can admire the small islet on the horizon. It looks almost unreal.

When we get closer to the coast, the colour of the water changes. It gets the most amazing shade of light blue, maybe turquiose. I always thought that those pictures in the catalogues of travel agencies are heavily retouched. Trust me, they are not.

The reason for that is the amazingly white and fine coral sand.

Actually, you can find pieces of the coral reef all over the place. But do not try to collect it as souvenir. This is subject to heavy fines - the coral reef is endangered and thus strongly protected.

The island of Thulhaghiri is very small, to walk around it will take you less than fifteen minutes.

You can chose between different types of accommodation. There are some nice bungalows on the beach.

If you chose one of them, you will be able to place your sunbed under a genuine palm tree.

And admire the lagoon.

The second option that you have is to live in a bungalow on water. And yes my friends, on water. Obviously it is more expensive. But how often one has the opportunity to spend a few days in an island paradise?

So which one do you chose?

Inside, you will find a comfortable large bedroom, with a magnificent view.

Do not miss the table between the armchairs. It has a glass top.

And a glass bottom!

But if you want to make your toes wet, no need to go to the beach. Just take the stairs directly from the balcony.

But before we deep dive, I propose a little tour of the island, I promis that you will not have time to get tired. Let's take the pier and return to mainland.

You will quickly discover that the island is spotted with cocoa nuts. But instead of cocoa, they hide little parrots that come (and go) in all colours. Some are yellow ...

... other green.

There are some that are blue like the sky ...

... and others white as the coral sand.

You will not be surprised to find some crabs.

And a friendly lizard.

So, are you tired? Then you can sit and have lunch in the nice restaurant. It is special, because the official dress code is "barefoot". Mainly because the floor is covered with sand.

If you are not hungry, you can enjoy a massage in the welcoming coconut spa.

Or we can simply return to our bungalow on water. It seems that we have a security guard on the watch.

Let's not scare him. Just admire the sunset over the ocean. Splendid, isn't it?