​Our final dives have been taken, with an unexpected reef-hook one watching a gaggle of white tipped reef shark strut their stuff. The viz wasn’t brilliant but it didn’t diminish the experience. 

Talking of sharks, Mr Burley (& Mr B) had his arse whooped 3-0 at crib. SWEET (Chairman’s note. Keith and myself suffering from Maldivian narcosis. Not really our fault)

I’ve missed the last dive – poorly ear  as modelled in this photo…..

but the chaps had a fab one with sharks, eagle ray, turtles to end the holiday.

Oh, and here’s some chain for you Willy 😊😊…

It’s been very enjoyable and we’ve all taken our tub to our hearts. The diving has been great and we’d definitely come again. The crew are quietly efficient but friendly – they cleaned our kit for us and hung it up to dry – and there’s not been an idiot amongst the other 5 guests. (Chairman’s note – Fantastic hang time on last dive with Grey Shark. He had no bloody booze either. Catastrophic!)
Look! I see no whale sharks….

Cheerio folks until the next time, it’s been a pleasure blogging from the Maldives 😎😎😎

​We’ve moved around the south eastern perimeters of the south ari atoll visiting a plethora of thilas  (underwater plateaus about 5m) which that Bad Boy El Nino has ripped through with devastating effect. Although there’s loads of sea life the coral is mainly broken and bleached. There have been a couple of sites though, where this hasn’t been the case and they were beautiful. 

We all elected to forego a beach bbq for a bit of shopping on one of the islands. From the “square” in the middle you could see the Indian ocean. (Chairman’s  note – In all directions!) Lovely 🏝

Whale shark madam? Eer, no.

(Chairman’s note – The island is blessed with may retailers of tourist tat, but not a single off licence. Disastrous!!!)

​​The way they dive out here is that you have the accommodation boat and a separate dive boat in tow which holds all the kit and recharges your tanks. Our dive boat is called Luna! 

Craig (northen) and Arif (Maldivian) are our dive guides and they give an excellent dive brief. Craig it has to be said is a bit like an excited puppy but his enthusiasm is infectious. There’s clearly a bromance in the offing between him and Si….😘

First check dive was Lankan Finolhu a renowned manta cleaning station and oh boy, they must’ve got very dirty recently. must have been about 15 of these majestic birds of the sea flying in and around us. Stunning.

Unfortunately I was somewhat preoccupied by being over weighted with a faulty BC which didn’t inflate properly to fully enjoy it.

However, the chaps in the group all had a fantastic dive, or so they insisted in telling me.

No whale shark 

(Chairman’s note – Lager is $5 US a small  can. Second tragedy.)

​Welcome all to another round of Holiblog Logs. All started as intended with us leaving Barnard Manor at 2.30pm…just as well as the M25 was nose to tail. We exited our junction for the last 3 miles to Purple Parking. Southall is interesting and prepared us well for the mainly Muslim countries we were about to visit. 40 minutes and several mosques later we found the arse-end of Southall and the car park.

The flights were OK but we all arrived in Male a little out of sorts, not least because our booze purchased at Heathrow got “confiscated” upon arrival 😕 (Chairman’s note – The first major upset)

We met our dive guide and got herded onto a boat for 20 minute transfer to our home. As we rounded the marina, there was a plethora of gin palaces…how exciting….

Until we saw our boat anyone has seen the film Operation Petticoat……more potchine palace than gin me thinks.

 I must admit to a little embarrassment as it was clear that the other American dive groups on the transfer would be travelling in more style. Even the dive guide admitted that MV Atoll was the joke of the fleet!!! 
Compact and bijou though it is, our tub is all right and run like clock work. The curries Dixon our cook makes are to die for!!

Zippy and spanky fast asleep in the diving gear, dry and warm. 

A little cooler here this morning with clouds in the sky. So it’s goodbye Sri Lanka and the nice staff we have met in the Paradise Beach Hotel. 

The last day of the holiday, a bit of shopping to start, pool and sun and then lunch and drinks next door. 

More crib played – losing badly to the Roberts. 

Not much going on today. A walk up the road being harassed by people wanting to sell tuk tuk tours. 

A drink at lunchtime and crib this afternoon. 

Another lazy day today with a tuk tuk ride at lunchtime round Negombo. 

Saw a couple of temples, a herb garden and then to the fish market. Dried fish on the beach – yuk and also fresh fish in the market. 

Then beer o’clock for the boys and massage for the girls. 

A lazy day again today, just spent round the pool chilling and playing crib. Currently it’s 4/3 on the crib to Graham and Sue. Another thunderstorm tonight. 

Up early this morning for our trip to the Elephant Orphanage (which was an hour late), what an amazing place. 

Saw the elephants bathing in the river, fed them, and one took a liking to Sues camera.  

Our next stop was the spice garden – really interesting. Then a trip to the Ceylon Tea factory and a whistle stop look at the Tooth Temple in Kandy. 

Then time for our nightmare trip home nearly four hours of Sri Lankan driving and traffic in the most dramatic thunderstorm.