So the end of this amazing holiday was now looming and I really wanted to make the best of my last full day.
The previous evening, Bary had come by my terrace to say goodbye. He was heading off to Male for a couple of days on the early ferry and so wouldn't be around to see me off. We had a nice chat - I thanked him for making my stay so wonderful and promised him a stonkingly good Trip Advisor review. He thanked me for choosing Holiday Village Retreat, wished me a safe journey and said he hoped I would come back.
I assured him I would definitely return (with my family in tow) just as soon as I possibly could.  Don't get me wrong - I like to visit new places, but when I discover somewhere really special, I find myself wanting to return again and again.
I spend a lot of time researching great snorkelling destinations and have my own little check list to work out where to go next.
Is it easy to get to? - Places that involve more than 24 hours of travel, require more that 2 flights (3 at a push) and involve transiting through the USA (it's a long story), are out.
Can you snorkel directly from the beach? -Â If you want to snorkel several times a day - every day, - having to rely entirely on boat trips is a bit of a pain and can blow your holiday budget.
Is it a temperate or tropical climate? - Packing a wet suit as well as the fins, snorkel and mask leaves very little room for anything else!
Am I likely to see my favourites? - I will never tire of swimming with Turtles, Dolphins & Rays (in the wild of course)
Is there an abundance of interesting marine life? - I love watching how different species interact with each other and co-exist in their underwater world.
Are the reefs close to the surface? - I don't free dive and my eyesight is a bit shit, so if things are too deep I can't see them.
Will there be photo opportunities? This depends on points 4, 5 & 6Â
Is it safe? A lot of boating and jet-ski activity in the area, increases the risk of decapitation and doesn't make for relaxing snorkelling! Nor does finding yourself carried miles out to sea by strong currents!
Will I have to sell all my worldly possessions in order to afford to go? I'm lucky to have a good company pension as well as my state one - but I still have to stick to a budget!!
Bodufolhudhoo fits all of my criteria perfectly.
Flying time to the Maldive was 10 hours from Barcelona with just one change in Doha, Qatar and would have been perfect had my flight from Barcelona not been delayed. (See The trouble with travel - Part 2 for the horrible details)
On Bod, you can snorkel the large house reef directly from the beach and there are local boats that will happily take you to all sorts of other brilliant snorkelling destinations for a small fee, if you want to mix it up a bit.
It's very very tropical so it's like swimming in a warm bath - gorgeous!
I saw all of my favourites, added sharks to my list and have never seen such an abundance of marine life anywhere.
It was absolutely perfect for snorkellers of all abilities. Newbies (and nervous swimmers) could stay over the top of the reef and see fish of all shapes and sizes, without ever going out of their depth. There was plenty of variety for experienced snorkellers along the drop off and all over the reefs. And accomplished free divers could satisfy their urges to find out what was down on the seabed.
There were photo opportunities galore and I took several thousand pictures even though I drowned my best camera.
Lastly (and probably most importantly) the holiday was very very affordable and my stay at Holiday Village Retreat, represented outstanding value for money.
So when you have found the perfect place - why go anywhere else?
So back to my last day on Bod.
Unfortunately there had been another big storm overnight, which meant no internet. Still, this had happened before and it had come back on eventually - so I wasn't too worried.
I had a late leisurely breakfast and set off for my penultimate snorkel.
As I arrived at the beach, I realised that the overnight storm had affected more than just the internet. The sea was definitely not as calm as it had been on all the previous days. For the non-snorkellers among you, I should explain that any sort of wave activity is not good news as you keep finding yourself with a mouth full of sea water.  It goes something like this - breathe, breathe, cough, splutter, head up, snorkel out, spit, head down, breathe, choke, try not to swallow, head up, spit. You get the picture.
No-one else was in the water and in fact there was no-one on the beach at all, so I did stand there for a while, wondering whether I should forget it and try again later.
In the end, I didn't want waste my final day by being a wuss - so decided to risk it.
It was fine! I stayed within sight of beach (even though there was no-one on it) and only had 4 or 5 near drowning experiences, which given the choppiness of the water - wasn't too bad at all.
I took loads more pictures (will I ever get around to editing them all?) and visited all my favourite fish
. Little Nemo was probably starting to feel like an A list celebrity - she had been photographed so many times. Was it my imagination or was she actually posing for the camera?
Once I was done, I decided to leave my snorkelling gear at the beach rather than cart it all back to the guest house. Why on earth this simple, but effective idea didn't occur to me until the last day of my holiday, will remain a mystery. Sadly, my brain seems to be operating on about 50% capacity these days.
As I walked back into HVR, Arshad & Adam were behaving a little strangely. They kept giving each other meaningful looks which left me wondering what on earth was going on. After a little whispered conversation, Arshad approached me and said he hadn't had time to finish my room. I told him not to worry - I'm sure it was fine.
The situation became even more curious, when I went into my room. It certainly looked like it had been serviced - the bed was made, the bathroom sparkled and there wasn't a speck of sand on the floor, so I had absolutely no idea what he was going on about.
After lunch, I sat down on my terrace to edit my photos and write a bit more of my blog. Every so often one of the boys would check to see if I was still there, which was very odd and completely out of character. After about an hour of this, Arshad appeared and asked my what time I was planning to go out again. Well I hadn't really decided so I asked him why he wanted to know. He looked a bit embarrassed and said he wanted to finish my room."But my room looks lovely" I said. "No, No - it's not finished" he assured me.
So I promised I would go back out at around 3.30 at which point he rushed off to tell Adam. They were clearly up to something!
As promised, at 3.30, I left my guest house, with both an underwater and a normal camera. I wanted a record of the character of this little island on land, as well as under the sea.
All dolled up in my snorkel gear ( I wish someone would design some kit that is both practical and stylish), I visited all my favourite places underwater. I said goodbye to the little fish that were always in the same spot and hovered around the area I had seen the large turtle on day one, hoping to get another glimpse. Sadly, it wasn't to be and I realised how lucky I was to have experienced all that time with him during my first solo snorkel. I had got the impression he was a resident of the reef but maybe he was just passing through!
I left all my things on the beach (absolutely no worries about anything going missing here - there is no crime on the island and most of the time I didn't ever bother locking the door to my room) and set off for my little photo tour.
If the local islanders feel any animosity or resentment towards the tourists, they certainly don't show it. As had been the case on Bod since the beginning, wherever I went, I was greeted by friendly smiles, a little wave and on many occasions a "hello". I appreciate that the birth of the guest houses on the island must have brought in additional revenue, but it must be difficult for the people to get used to sharing their little bit of paradise with all these non-Maldivians.
As I walked around the island taking photos, the loud speakers crackled into life and the beautiful haunting sound of the call to prayer began.  This happened 5 times a day and I never got tired of hearing it. I had already taken some photos of the mosque I passed every day and it didn't seem right to snap pictures of the men responding to the call, so I just slowly walked by in what I hoped was a respectful manner.
I photographed, the "official buildings" on the island, - the council offices, the school and the health centre. I also got a photo of the only vehicle on the island with 4 wheels - an ambulance!
At the harbour area, the people were going about their business in the early evening- children playing, women passing the time of day and the men working on the boats. As I was returning to the beach to collect my things, I heard the unmistakable sound of some sort of match being played. Ahh a football match. Every lad playing was wearing a different colour shirt (Spanish teams seem very popular here) and how they knew who was on each side - will remain one of life's mysteries.
Back at the beach, I gathered up my things, took one last lingering look and returned to Holiday Village Retreat.
After giving everything a good rinse and hoping that it would all dry in super fast time - no-one wants damp stuff in a suitcase for 24 hours, I entered my room.
Clearly the boys had been up to something, but as I had already had the beautiful flower bed decoration the day before, I wasn't sure what to expect.
The sight that greeted me, brought a tear to my eye.
Written in leaves, fronds and flowers on my bed, was the message -  Have a safe journey - Marion we'll miss you.
They had even made a little aeroplane from leaves. It must have taken them hours and I couldn't believe they had gone to so much trouble for me. I rushed out to thank them and I hope I managed to convey just how delighted (and astonished) I was.
It was now time for the "Great Maldives Packing Challenge".
You may recall (from earlier posts) that despite bringing a moderately sized suitcase that was already full to the brim when I arrived, I had still been unable to resist buying a whole heap of souvenirs and gifts. So now I was faced with a 3 problems -
How on earth was I going to fit everything in.
Where was I going to do my packing (there was no way I was going to spoil my beautiful bed by dumping a case and all my stuff on it)
My fins, boots, snorkel, mask and all my "snorkel clothes" were still soaking wet
Having decided to make full use of the floor and shelving to work it all out, (the bed design stayed in place until 2 seconds before I settled down for the night) I gathered everything together in a massive pile on the floor.
I removed the things I was planning to wear to travel home and the stuff I had decided to leave behind (sun cream, mosquito spray/repellent coils, a couple of tee-shirts and the dead camera) but there was no perceptible difference in the size of the pile.
Packing genius that I am - even I could see that there was no way all that stuff would fit into that tiny case, especially after popping outside to gauge how much space would be needed for the wet stuff.
It was time for a cigarette and some creative thinking.
Well there's nothing like a shot of nicotine to get the brain cells firing on all cylinders.
Instead of packing all my camera equipment in my back pack (with all the little dividers that create perfect spaces for every item), I would remove the dividers and use it for the souvenirs wrapped in clothing, instead. This would have the added benefit of making it lighter - just in case I ended having to run at full speed through Doha airport again.
The cameras themselves would still travel with me but all the bits and pieces that go with them, were going into the suitcase.
I don't know about you, but when an airline says you can have one carry on case and a handbag, I'm inclined to stretch the definition of "handbag" to the limit. So along with the backpack, I had travelled with a very very very large bag. It's great because you can fit all those essential travel items inside - passport, phone, kindle, wet wipes, make up, deodorant, change of clothes, money but it's a bit of a bugger, because it's so cavernous, you can never find anything.Â
This big bag was now about to metamorphose into another mini suitcase and I was simply amazed at how much stuff I could cram in.
Qatar Airways had sent me another tempting "upgrade to business for a fraction of the normal cost" offer a few days earlier and given my experience flying to the Maldives (half economy and half business) - it was a bit of a no brainer. so I had happily accepted. This was fortuitous, because not only would my journey back wonderfully comfortable - I was allowed 2 pieces of carry on luggage!
I was still unconvinced I would be able to get my very large, very bulky fins in, but figured I would leave them till last and if they didn't fit - well that was even more reason (as if I needed one) to come back very very soon.
My master plan worked like a dream. I got everything in and still had room for my fins and the stuff still drying outside.
Just as I was patting myself on the back, I suddenly realised I hadn't left out anything to wear for dinner that evening or my pyjamas, so I had a little rummage around and pulled out something suitable.
I had ordered fish for dinner and Kingsley served me up another culinary delight.
As I sipped my juice and water, I reflected on the fact that I had made it through 2 weeks without a sip of wine or any other alcohol, for that matter. None of my friends or family thought I would cope as I'm fairly partial to a glass of wine in the evenings (understatement of the century), but funnily enough I hadn't really thought about it much. Milk is virtually impossible to come by on Bod, so it was a cup of tea I missed more than anything.
Back in my room, I wrote a bit more of my blog, (although the internet still wasn't back on, so I couldn't upload anything) until it was time for bed.
Now I had the same dilemma as I had the previous night - I needed to sleep in my lovely comfy bed, but couldn't bear to disrupt the beautiful design.
I popped out for one last cigarette and inspiration dawned again.
I would try to press the flowers and keep the little plane, then when I got home, I could make a little collage to remind me of Bod.
When travelling, I carry a little hard back notebook that has various bits of information and numbers I might need - (all written in secret code). So I carefully placed the flowers and aeroplane between the pages, secured it with the helpful elastic band attached and placed it in the middle of my case. I had no idea whether it would work, but it was worth a try!
Satisfied that I had photos of my bed and (fingers crossed) a permanent reminder of the lovely, thoughtful design, I got into bed and went straight to sleep.