Picnic Island (Saturday) The day of surprises.

Once again, we arranged to leave at 10am. We were sad to learn that Nahoo and Shaha would not be joining us at picnic island, but glad that Safwan and Mohammad were. For some reason, the boat was not working so....we got to take a speedboat (surprise number one).

Upon getting on the speedboat, Safwan asked if we had evening plans....nope!

"Good, because we are going to have a special Bodu Beru show for you", he said (surprise number two) How lovely

The speedboat is fast, but not too fast for spotting dolphins!  

We saw a few skim the top of the water, then the driver made a fast sharp turn and we idled for a bit...dolphins surrounded us, they were beautiful (surprise number three).

Dolphins!

What a day and was not even 10:30 yet!

Arriving at Picnic Island

Picnic island was....beautiful. It is known as the uninhabited island. It used to be an island resort, but it shut down and was never reestablished. It now serves as a lovely stop for locals and tourists. We docked near a large group of locals playing games and barbecuing. We walked around to a pier and set up there.

Local Get Together

We asked Mohammad about the cultural shifts due to the increase of tourism. How do locals feel about all these foreigners? Is is disrespectful for tourists to photograph local people? Are they offended at the sight of women in bikinis? 

Mohammad said most local people are not bothered at all. Is is fine to take photos, and the people here are open to different cultures, so they understand that bikinis are just-something different. These statements were obvious through our experiences thus far. 

Although Brittney wears a one piece, we never felt like people were 'staring', and of all the local people we met, they were just very kind and warm. It did not feel like they were doing things to impress or get extra tips from you. We have been to places where staff will stand and wait until you tip them-here, or get pushy on buying things or upgrading-it is just not common here. Instead, they tell you all of your options, how much they cost, and leave you to it. However, most things do include an 8-10% service charge.

Exploring the Island

Mohammad let us borrow his GoPro camera (Brittney has been eying them for a while, it was nice we could try it out) while we snorkeled. He said we could take photo and video and he will email them to us (surprise number four).

On picnic island, we snorkeled, found nearly four moray eels, saw a manta ray fly out of the water, found more nemo fish, and Safawn and Mohammad caught three octopus with spears. We were actually under water with him during one of these catches. 

The Ink

R.I.P Slimey Sucker

Our new friends

Lunch was delicious again (same as yesterday). Mohammad observed that we order vegetarian food, we shared our eating choices, then he asked asked if we would eat the octopus. We both said we would try it at the drumming event. He seemed very excited and pleased.

Sunset Dinner

Once back on the island, Safwan said he will start the show at 8. He asked Brittney if she would dance, and then quickly told her she must. 

We went around the island shops again, had another nice sunset dinner (and snickers), then waited for the show to begin. We felt awkward because not many tourist were on the island and we didn't want them to have to play for just us..fortunately, people started showing up when the drums started. It was so great!

Before we joined the dancing

THEN, a drummer/dancer asked if we would stick around because it is the General Manager's birthday and they want to surprise him. We didn't know it at the time, but the birthday boy was Mohammad. They started drumming a happy birthday song, then Safwan gave Brittney a raw egg, he told her to smash it on Mohammad's head when he gives the signal....and she did.

We shared cake with the locals and then Shaha and Nahoo came back, along with a friend from Male named Nishall, and Mohammad's cousin, Izzat. We began chatting and getting to know one another....then came the octopus. Brittney announced "I never liked seafood, ever. But I will always try it. However, if I gag or spit it out, please do not be offended". They laughed but agreed. They laughed again when we tried to tear it in our teeth because, it's impossible to 'tear' octopus with, anything. But....we both ate it. It wasn't too fishy tasting. No gagging or spitting up. Success!

Party of Seven

 Mohammad said, 'Okay, then join us for dinner'. A nice spot on top of the guesthouse was set up for a group our size. We laughed and ate, and laughed at the egg in Mohammad's face and hair. Then we decided to go to a different place for coffee/juice and a game of UNO.

We spent the evening learning about Maldivian cultures, sharing truths about ours, laughing at things, and realized another reason we love UNO. Our new friends spoke their native language during most of the game, but the language and facial expressions of UNO are universal. We didn't need to know what they were actually saying in order to completely understand. 

Phillip was the winner! Poor Izzat had to pay because he lost....he never really had a chance till the end. 

Nuts with 'kick' 

A traditional 'after dinner' thing (not dessert).

You place the brown 'nuts' on the leaves, 

sprinkle on some 'kick', roll, and chew. 

We have no idea what it was, 

but it was refreshing and cool.

It was an amazing experience. The Maldivian people are so open and welcoming. We were kind of sad to be leaving for a resort the next morning. Mohammad even invited us to join in on a morning snorkel before we left. On one hand, we would like to just stay in Maafushi with the locals, but on the other hand, we found an offer at a resort that didn't cost much more, so we thought we ought to experience both sides on "The Maldives".

Until next time...(Fihalhohi)

-B and P