Swimming with the fishes…

So we really did just rock up and jump in – on the boat on the way to the dive site we got a quick introduction to how to put all the kit together (man those tanks are heavy!), how your BCD works (Buoyancy Control Device – basically like a lifejacket that you inflate and deflate to maintain different levels of buoyancy under the water), and why never ever ever to hold your breath under water (apparently it makes your lungs explode … nice), and then it was wetsuit on, kit on, fins on mask on regulator in, couple of breaths and in you go off the side of the dive boat. No time at all for me to get freaked out! Once under the water we sank a couple of metres down to the sandy bottom by letting air out of our BCDs, got used to breathing, and practiced clearing our masks of water, taking our regulators in and out, and equalising pressure in our ears, all the while trying to remember to keep breathing (honestly harder than it sounds) or whilst the regulators were out of our mouths, to blow constant streams of bubbles – this stops the aforementioned lung explosion so is all round a Good Thing To Do. Then we swam deeper towards the reef where we saw a whole load of fish – tiny ones a centimetre long to maybe a foot or so, some we’d seen whilst snorkelling and others that were new, including a very spiky-looking scorpion fish. It’s completely different seeing them on your level in their own environment, rather than from on top when snorkelling – 3D shoals of silvery fish hanging in the water under an overhang which pulsate, dissipate and reform as you approach them, sea anemones wafting in the current from your fins, tiny orange fish wrapped round fingers of coral. This was a closed water dive – we were in a lagoon rather than open sea, though from the surface, apart from being a bit more turquoise than other bits it all just looked like big ol’ sea to me. Visibility was pretty good – think one of the things I was most worried about was things looming out of the darkness at me, but despite the tropical storm on the surface that drenched us before we even got in the water, it was hazy but actually fairly illuminated at the depth we were at – maybe 10m or so. Check out Gemma’s blog for her experiences of diving…Again again I want to do it again!

Eeeek

WE’VE JUST ARRANGED TO GO DIVING THIS AFTERNOON!!! All a bit last minute – extremely excited, but also v scared – hang on – I don’t actually like deep water…. Also slightly concerned that for this first dive we’ve just been told to rock up and jump in – apparently the theory bit comes later….?!

Care Society

So it’s probably time to tell you a bit about what I’m actually here to do, since I promise I am actually doing some work. Check out the ‘what I’m doing out here’ page which will reveal all. Laters alligators, it’s past 2pm and there’s less than another half an hour of work to go before we sign off and head to Bandos island resort for the weekend xx

The Knowledge, or If you thought London Black Cab drivers were good…

Despite the fact there really is nothing to do on Male’ apart from buy shoes and fancy electrical equipment, I love the fact that it’s so small. Where else in the world can you jump into a taxi, give your apartment name and get taken straight there? Not even the street, but just the house name. OK I know Male’ is a lot lot lot smaller than London, but it officially has tonnes of people crammed into a very small amount of space, and I think maybe these guys need some recognition for their version of The Knowledge – that’s got to be worthy of the Black Cab badge, no?

And yes, I know it’s less than 2 square miles, but there are millions of taxis. And when it gets hot, I get lazy…

Photos…

Check out these photos… Takes a fair while to upload photos on the internet connection here but will try to add more every so often. xx

It’s electrifying!

It turns out that most plug sockets here are of the English 3-pin variety. I know you’ve all been holding your breath wondering about this one. This is very handy for things I’ve brought from England, but not very useful when all the appliances you buy here have only 2 pins, slightly too narrowly set to fit in the bottom two socket holes… veeery puzzling.

We’ve discovered that by sticking an implement into the top hole (presumably the ‘earth’ one, though don’t think I’m gonna risk trying anything metallic) it’s possible with force to jam the kettle plug into the wall socket. Seems a bit of a design fault. Is this what all Maldivians do? Or perhaps there’s a big business in plug-rewiring?

If anyone feels the need to find out more, check this link out. It’s fascinating reading, and even has pictures… You learn something new every day…

Paradise Island

Since we have Maldivian work permits, we are lucky in being able to get discounts to stay for a couple of days on islands that holiday makers spend thousands getting to. In the style of Roy ‘Catchphrase guru’ Walker, the “say what you see” method was clearly used to name the island we visited this weekend: Paradise. An hour’s ‘dhoni’ ride away from Male’ (or a speedboat direct from the airport for tourists), we were greeted by staff at the end of a long jetty leading to an island with beautiful white beaches surrounded by clear turquoise water. It was dusk when we arrived, and since the water under the jetty was lit up we could see tropical fish and even a foot-long reef shark swimming around as we walked down towards the island.

For the bargainous price we paid, we of course ended up with a room at the furthest end of the island – a good long hike away from the main restaurant and pool – but the rooms were lovely (though ours had a single painting of a shark closely resembling Jaws bursting out of the frame towards us, with its very own spot light…disturbing) and there was a v cool outdoor private shower. However, as Gemma found out, getting locked outside naked was suprisingly easy to do… fortunately whilst she was contemplating how she might scale the wall, and quite what she might do once she had climbed the wall and was then out in the open and naked, the rest of us arrived back from breakfast and managed to use skills we never knew we had to pick the lock with a pair of tweezers… Check out her blog here!

Spent the weekend snorkeling (imagine jumping into a very large tropical fish tank) and eating a lot. Brilliant! And going a bit pink, despite using factor 50. Ooops.

The journey back by boat to Male was amazing – very rocky since the waves were quite big and our boat wasn’t, but the sunset and the fading light glinting off the golden dome of Male’s Grand Friday mosque were magical.

We’ve moved into our new apartment as of yesterday – not the swanky one mentioned below cos we found another one nearer to the centre of Male’ which is still lovely, and cheaper and more live-able in (all together less marble), in the same building as some ex-pat friends we’ve made – it’s great to have air con and somewhere to sit and invite people back to.

So now it’s Sunday morning and I’m back in work for the start of another week… I’ll tell you all a bit more about what I’m doing in another posting.

Food (otherwise known as tuna)

Breakfast this morning was typical Maldivian – fried egg, chapatti, khulamas (curried tuna), sambol (onion and tuna), more tuna-based curried things. Yesterday I had a tuna sandwich for lunch. The day before that was a tuna puff pastry… think I’m beginning to spot a pattern…

Penthouse suite…

Having come to the realisation that for less money than we’re paying for our slightly skanky hotel we can get a serviced luxury 3-bed apartment, we have been to view some possible new locations. One of these was the 8^th floor penthouse suite of a new hotel with stunning views of Male’ on 3 sides and bedrooms with flat screen tvs and marble ensuite bathrooms… Feel slightly traitorous to the ideals of slumming it as a traveler-and-NGO worker, but hey, it’s actually saving us money, it’s got A/C and hot water, and come the month of Ramadan when the whole population fasts during daylight hours we won’t be able to get anything to eat until the evenings, so having our own kitchen is looking a more attractive prospect than getting veeeery hungry on a daily basis. Watch this space…

Male’ (maa’lay)

Male’ is unique – a small island crammed with people, cars and scooters. Apparently it’s the world’s most densely populated city – something like 52 thousand people per square mile (and there’s only 2 of those).

Our hotel is on the north-west end of Male, a short walk from the sea front with a view towards Hulhule, the airport island – the views of seaplanes and international flights taking off and landing are quite magical at night since you can’t see the island, only the lit-up planes skimming the water. The hotel showers are cold, the beds slightly damp, and a MASSIVE cockroach was lurking in my room yesterday cue embarrassingly girly hysteria, but it’s only a 15 minute walk from the office. Mind you, most things are only a 15 minute walk from anywhere! Like a student living in the Cambridge Bubble, one of the staff at Care Society shared the view that anywhere over a 5 minute walk is considered quite a way away. Given this, Andy and I are thinking of buying a scooter and joining the hoards zipping along the streets. Or in laps round and round the island, since there’s not really anywhere else to go – can’t quite figure out where so many people are hurrying to…!