Snorkelling excursion

Having rested well yesterday, we took a full-day excursion today.  Having done this excursion before last year, I tried looking for others but this was the best value one.  Shorter excursions cost only a little less.

We met the group, consisting of two others, at 0920 and set off on the boat at 1000.  The young guide was actually the owner of the Pearlshine and together with the boat captain, they gave us a good day, on the whole:

• We started with sightings of dolphins before we were meant to, while getting ready to snorkel.
• Snorkelling off Bhiyadhoo Island Resort, in search of turtles.  This went so much better than last year because we didn’t have to go on a wild goose chase with a leaky mask.
• Snorkelling in the open sea with sighting of a manta.
• A 30 min walk on Guraidhoo Island, which was larger than Gulhi but no highly-touristed like Maafushi.  It comes with a good stretch of sand on the northern side that comes complete with a sandbank.
• My heart sank when we pulled up to our lunch stop at the island-city being built off Gulhi.  This was the substitute for the awesome sandbank that we went to last year.  Tidal conditions today didn’t make it possible for us to visit.  While the replacement spot looked quite picturesque in photos, the white sand had a lot of coral in it.
• We ate our fried rice and opted to move on as it wasn’t worthwhile lingering like at the real sandbank.
• Lastly, the day’s highlight was the snorkelling with nurse sharks about half-way to Male.  Sure, they were throwing bloody tuna into the water to attract them but it was still an awesome experience, especially for Boo being his first time.
• We returned to Gulhi about 1500.  I knew that the so-called full-day trip falls a fair bit short of a full-day.  But it was still a good day.

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For dinner, we ate at a simple local-style place.  The tuna curry portion was generous and tasty.  It seems that prices don’t vary much on the island (and also later in Maafushi) regardless of the standard of the outfit.  It was similarly priced to the fancier restaurant two nights ago except for the 26% service and tax.