Day 14 - Is this a Shark I see before me?

When you chose a destination like the Maldives for a snorkelling holiday, you know there is a reasonable chance that you will see some great marine life.   I was doing really well with my wish list and had managed to get some good pictures.

Turtles - check.  Dolphins - check.  Several types of Rays including Mantas - check.

By Monday (day 14) I had seen 5 sharks, but as yet, still not managed to get a photo of one.

Shark 1 - Night snorkelling - too dark to take a photo

Shark 2 - House reef - too far away and moving at the speed of light

Sharks 3, 4 & 5  - Remote reef - Camera problems

So the boat trip on my penultimate day in Bod,was going to be my last and probably my only opportunity to capture a photo of this ocean predator.   Adam knew what was at stake, but if he was feeling the pressure - he wasn't showing it.

The plan was to return to reef where I had seen 3 sharks before.  On that last occasion I had left the SD card for the Go Pro stuck in the side of my mac back at HVR.   The boys on the boat had lent me a spare and I was convinced I'd got some shots, until I got back and put the card into my Mac.  The card was corrupted and none of the pictures I took that day were there.

I have absolutely no idea where this strong desire to take a picture of a shark, has come from. We've all seen the movies where sharks take chunks out of people and read news articles about shark attacks - which let's face it, should be enough to put anyone off.  Under normal circumstances I'm a complete wuss - so no-one was more surprised than me, when I found myself banging on about it to poor Adam.

Ana, Jo, Dan & Bea were leaving on the 12.30 ferry that morning and as I was going out on a trip,  we had exchanged face book/email details  and said our goodbyes, the night before.

As I was finishing my breakfast, they all returned from a last minute early morning snorkel, so it was big hugs all round as we said goodbye again.

As I got all my stuff together for the boat trip, I was determined to make sure I had everything.  I don't think I had managed to go out on any day of this holiday without leaving something behind, which is tricky if you are way out to sea on a small boat.  Clearly, the most important thing of all was the camera.  So I had 3 fully charged batteries with me and had checked the SD card was in it's little slot on the Go Pro - 6 times.

At reception, I got the Go Pro out of my bag and just had one more look - yup - the card was definitely there.

Adam and I made our way to the harbour.  To be honest, calling it a harbour is a bit of a stretch as it conjures up images of a large area teeming with boats and activity.  Well I hope the people of Bod won't mind me saying that although there are boats and there is activity - there is very little "teeming".

It's small, but then so is the island so I would say it's perfect!

Ahmed and Ibrahim were ready and waiting with the boat when we arrived.  There was a big discussion between them and Adam in Dhivehi (the language of the Maldives) and I would dearly love to know what was being said.  I'm definitely going to try to learn some before I come back, but as I'm still struggling to get to grips with Spanish (after living here for 7 years), I'm not holding out too much hope.

The reef we were going to that morning wasn't too far away, so we had a relatively short boat ride to the drop off point.

Adam had his top off and fins & mask on in seconds.  I took a little longer!

I had to change into my long sleeved top & long shorts (to protect me from the sun).  Put on my headscarf (to stop my hair getting caught under my mask - it's lets the water in).  Squeeze my feet into my boots ( the fins would be horribly uncomfortable without them).  Find my little bottle of sea drops, squirt some into my mask, make sure it's spread all over the inside lenses and swish the mask in the water to rinse it (this stops the mask fogging up).  Put my fins on (essential for swimming against a current).  Put on my mask and snorkel, check it's not blocked (to actually see things and breathe of course).  Grab my camera ( let's not even go there) and then swing my legs over the side and slide into the water.  (we don't jump in when the boat is actually over the reef in case we hit a rock or coral outcrop).

I love that moment when you first put your face down into the water.  It's like a whole different world and the vast quantities of marine life all busily going about their business, is a sight to behold.

Right, we were ready to go find a shark.  I turned on the Go Pro, it gave me that friendly little "I'm turning on" beep and immediately presented me with a new message on the back screen.

"SD Card Full"

I  lifted my head - spat out my snorkel and shouted "oh for Fucks sake" at the top of my voice.  I think Adam and the boat boys were quite shocked (although they did laugh).

I have been known to swear occasionally (my family and friends are now rolling around on the floor laughing - because that must be the understatement of the century), but I had refrained from using any bad language on Bod - even following the diving debacle. It had just never seemed appropriate somehow.

But now I was mad - really really really mad!

Calm down Maz - you are good at problem solving - you can fix this.

I took a few deep breaths and thought about the problem.

I knew that I had already dumped everything on the card onto the mac.  I wasn't sure I'd made a copy of the last few sessions onto one of my many pen drives, but I'd have to risk that (I'm a belt and braces sort of girl when it comes to photos).  So all I had to do was work out how to delete everything on the card using the camera.

If you have a Go Pro and have used it a lot, you are probably thinking - "well that's easy Maz what's the problem?"

The problem was, dear reader, that I hadn't used it very much before this holiday and until I drowned my Olympus Tough, had literally only ever turned it on, pressed the button to start and stop recording video and then turned it off again.

Once It became clear that no amount of sitting in a box of rice was going to bring my other camera back to life,  I had read a bit of the go pro manual on line and worked out how to take photos.  I'd also discovered that by using the burst function,  in conjunction with the long pole/float attachment I'd constructed, I could actually get some better close ups.

What I hadn't bothered to read up on, was how to delete photos & video from the card to free up space.

Now just so that you don't think I'm a complete moron ( it maybe too late for that), I need to explain something about this horrid little machine.  Unlike most other cameras it only has 3 buttons and their function seems to change at random.  So the button at the front turns it on and off, but also switches from video to photo to burst.  The button on the top takes photos and starts/stops the video and I'm still not really sure what the button on the side does.  When you want to get into the menu however - everything changes and all three buttons do something different (I'm still not sure what).

So as I had absolutely no idea what I was doing, I had to keep pressing buttons (in no particular order)  and must have tried every possible combination, before I found the delete option hidden away at the end of the settings menu. But this wasn't the end of it.

Having  finally worked out how to get to delete, I kept forgetting which buttons I had already tried to actually make the delete happen and every time I pressed the wrong one, it would take me back to the beginning and I would have to start all over again.

Adam asked me several times if I wanted to go back to the boat to work it out, but I can be a stubborn old girl at times and I refused to budge until I'd cracked it.  He then pointed out, that all the time I'd been fiddling with it, I had been drifting towards the reef and was now in danger of kicking some coral.  Well that would never do, so I swam out to slightly deeper water and continued with my challenge.

The boys on the boat kept looking over in a slightly bemused fashion, so Adam helpfully gave them a running commentary.  Every time I got one step closer to my goal, I said "yessss",  Adam would ask if it was fixed and I would have to say "no - but I'm getting closer".

When I finally cracked it, I gave a massive cheer, and all the boys joined in.  I have no idea how long I'd been there hovering in the water, but my fingers were already showing the first signs of going wrinkly, so it must have been at least 20 minutes!!

Finally Adam and I set off.  Normally, if there is a bit of a current, the boat boys drop you at the end of the reef so you have a nice easy snorkel without having to work too hard.

As soon as we started swimming, I realised we were going against the current and I was having to kick quite hard to even move.  Frankly, I was a little irritated - this was quite hard work and I was going to be tired with my "hurty knees" putting in an appearance far too soon.  The reef stretched in both directions, so why was Adam leading me this way?

I was about to register my complaint, when I realised we were at the drop off, at the end of the reef. Adam motioned my to turn round and head back in the direction we had just come.

Then it all became clear.  The boat had originally stopped at this end of the reef, but while I had been faffing around with the camera for all that time, the current had slowly been carrying us along with it.

So content in the knowledge that now we had turned around. I could completely relax and just drift along with the current, I started scanning the landscape for the clear unmistakable shape of a shark.

I spotted one in the distance and attempted to get some video - it was too far away and moving too fast for photos.  I wasn't confident that it would have worked but at least I'd tried.  A bit further on, I saw another one, also travelling at a rate of knots and also too far away to capture on film.  This was so frustrating.  This was definitely the best reef for sharks, but it was looking extremely unlikely that I was ever going to get a photo. ( I later discovered I've got quite a lot of video of Blue nothingness - which must have been my failed attempts).

Then I heard Adam call my name (sound carries really well underwater).  he motioned for me to come over to where he was hovering.  Now this was promising, because normally, when he sees something good, he yells at me and then sets off after whatever it is and I have to try my best to catch him up.  It's not easy as he's a very good swimmer and very quick in the water - but this is when my big powerful fins, that are such a pain to pack and carry around, come into their own.

Full of curiosity and desperately trying to quell the excitement building inside me, I swam over to him.

He pointed down, directly beneath him and there, lying under a huge rock, was a beautiful shark.

We were on a fairly shallow part of the reef, so this lovely girl was only about 6 or 7 feet below us.  I handed him the go pro, set to take photos and down he went snapping pictures from all angles. When he came up he said he thought she looked like she was pregnant, which would also explain maybe why she was lying so still.

He asked if I wanted to go down with him to get a bit closer, but I politely declined.  Despite being desperate to get some photos,  I was quite close enough thank you.

We hovered over her for ages and I secretly hoped she would move, but if that happened, I wanted it to be on her terms, not because we had disturbed her.

Anyway, she was obviously very happy in this little sheltered spot, so eventually we moved on.

I also spotted a giant moray eel and managed to get a bit of video of it opening and closing it's mouth.  I swum over to Adam to tell him and was about to go back to get some more photos, when he said "I'm not going over there - they bite".

This lad hadn't been frightened of anything, so if he was going to give the Moray a wide berth, I decided, on balance, that maybe I should do the same.

The other thing worthy of note, was a perfect representation of teamwork.

Adam had spotted a beautiful White ray and called me over.  As I got closer, the Ray started to move, but I was ready with the camera set to video. and started filming it below me, as I kicked hard to keep up.  As soon as I reached Adam, I handed him the camera (still filming) and he dived down to get a much closer angle.  Once I remove the wobbly bits from the middle of the film (as I took the camera off my wrist)  - this will probably one of the best video sequences from the whole holiday. 

All in all, it was an incredible session and as we made our way back to Bod, I couldn't stop smiling.

Back at the harbour, Ana, Jo, Dan and Bea were waiting with Bary for the ferry so I went over to say goodbye for the third time - more hugs and more wishes for a safe journey.  ( I was really sorry they were leaving).

I then thanked Ahmed and Ibrahim for all the wonderful trips and promised I would be back - with my family in tow.  

So Lottie & Dale, Adam & Jess  - you have no option, you have to come with me next time - the boys want to meet you all!!

After lunch, I couldn't wait to get the card into my Mac to see the photos from that morning.  I scrolled quickly through all the little pretty fish ones until I found the ones I was desperate to see.  The photos of the shark were brilliant.  Adam had done a fantastic job for me and I have to admit I got a tiny bit emotional and shed a little tear.

So that was it - I'd seen and had a photographic record of all the big 4 and had only felt this deliriously happy on one other holiday - and that was in the Galapagos.  Having the opportunity to swim with dolphins, fur seals and turtles in the wild, was mind blowing and I never thought anything would top that.  However (in my humble opinion), this snorkelling experience, from the little island of Bodufolhudhoo in the Maldives,  just moved into joint first place for best holiday on the planet!

Now at this point, I should explain that I got a bit mixed up with my dates and days of the week.  I knew which dates my return flights and train home were on, but for some reason I had convinced myself (and all my family back home) that I was leaving Bod on Tuesday and would be back at home in Spain on Wednesday.  I'd even told Ana and family that I was leaving the day after them, so in my head this had been my last full day and I was already thinking about the packing challenge I had to face later that afternoon.

I had got a message from my sister earlier that day, asking what time I would be home and so back in my room I fished my train ticket out of my bag to check.  As I looked at it, I realised it said Jueves 27 Abril.  Jueves means Thursday in Spanish and I could feel that uncomfortable sense of unease start rising through my body.  I know I can be a bit dotty at times, but surely I hadn't booked the train for the day after my flight landed in Barcelona. I rushed back to the bag to get my flight confirmation out and was astonished to see that my flight out of Male was in fact on Wednesday arriving in Spain with exactly the right amount of time to catch the train on Thursday.

So I had another whole day here in paradise.  Now that's the sort of mistake that is very welcome indeed.  Then I realised that everyone back at home was expecting me Wednesday and that could well cause some problems.

I quickly sent messages to my daughter, son, sister, the friends who were picking me up from the station and most importantly my dog/house sitters to let them know I'd got everything wrong. They all wrote back and told me not to worry and reorganised their lives accordingly!!!!

Then I had another horrible thought - what if I'd given Bary the wrong impression and he'd  booked my ferry crossing for Tuesday and let out my room?  I rushed off to find him and he said no - he knew I was leaving on Wednesday and my ferry was booked for 12.30.

I'm such a dingbat!!!

So my late afternoon snorkel wasn't going to be last after all and the "great Maldives packing challenge" was postponed until the following day.

It's strange, because although I had travelled to the Maldives alone and been perfectly happy not to see or speak to a soul ( apart from the lovely staff of course) I was really missing Ana, Jo & family especially when I went snorkelling later.

I spent most of this session watching Nemo and her baby and tried very hard to get a picture of them both together, but they move so quickly and the little one is such a tiny little speck, I wasn't sure I'd managed it - As you can see - I did!!!!!

Back at HVR I walked into my room and got the most amazing surprise.  The boys had decorated my bed with flowers and bit's of leaf to make a stunning design.  It was so beautiful, I had major problems later when it was time for bed - I just couldn't bring myself to mess it up.  I actually considered sleeping on the floor or outside in one of my loungers, but then decided I was being silly and carefully removed everything.  Not until I'd taken 50,000 photos of it though!

After I'd washed all my gear, had a shower and changed, I decided to take my land camera to get some pictures of Bod as the sun was going down.  I also wanted to find a couple of tiny bits of washed up coral to take home with me.  Yes, yes, I know you are not supposed to do that, but honestly there is mountains of the stuff and Bari had told me that there were plans to clean up the beach that no-one uses (because of all the seaweed).  So  all the flotsam and jetsam that had been washed up onto the shoreline was going to be cleared anyway and I was sure no-one would miss a little bit of dead coral!

As I've mentioned in previous blogs, an army of hermit crabs live on these beaches.  They dig holes to hide in during the day and all start coming out for a chat in the evening.  As I was standing there alone, taking pictures of the sunset, I could hear this very strange noise coming from one of the crab holes.  Then I realised, the sound was being replicated all over the beach.  I bet you didn't know crabs could sing - well I certainly didn't.  I got a very short little clip on video and have put it at the end of this post -   fingers crossed it will work!

I had booked my dinner (another lovely fish curry) for 8.30, but I was back on my terrace by 6.30 and  as I was the only guest, for the next couple of nights - it seemed a shame to keep Kingsley and Arshad hanging around for all that time.  So I popped out to ask Kingsley if I could eat a bit earlier so that they could finish sooner.  He said that was fine and we settled on 7.30.

What I hadn't realised is that once Arshad has done all his jobs, he gets a bit of time off before dinner service.  I sat down to eat at the allotted time and Kingsley brought my water, juice and gorgeous curry.  I was happily munching away, when Arshad walked in through the gate, saw me sitting there and nearly had a heart attack.  He was beside himself that he hadn't been there to serve me and kept apologising.  I tried valiantly to explain, that it was my fault for moving dinner forward one hour and he couldn't possibly have known and he really shouldn't worry, but my efforts were in vain - he seemed genuinely mortified.  I felt really bad -  I was trying to be nice and give them both an earlier finish, but all I succeeding in doing was to upset the lad. Although they treated me like the most important person on the planet - I didn't want to behave like one!

 After dinner, I caught up with my blog and so ended another remarkable memorable day.

Singing Crabs