It began with Amelia's charging cable, then my flip flops, later my iPhone cable and then just before our final day of diving my snorkelling mask.. Our belongings slowly but surely 'gave up the ghost', it was as if they knew our trip was nearing its end..
According to our knowledgeable dive instructor Gareth, less than 1% of the world's population dives! That means there is a whole lot to see and discover under what covers most of our planet. Casa Mia's dive instructor 'Stina' had recommended a recently discovered dive site called 'Kuda Kandu' for our last day of diving. With her description of pristine corals, macro critters and pelagic life, it ticked all the right boxes. And if Stina, the hard to please Swede endorsed the site, we thought it must be worth a visit! As before we were on the doni (traditional Maldivian boat) by 8:30am and heading towards Kuda Kandu with a borrowed mask to save my day.
Correct weighting for scuba diving is critical for an enjoyable dive. Unfortunately Amelia had loaded too many weights into her gear that morning, so struggled to fully enjoy the first dive whilst struggling with buoyancy issues. Nevertheless we were both pleased with Stina's recommendation. The corals were untouched and we saw a variety of aquatic life including turtles, an eagle ray, reef sharks and a huge school of yellow snapper and redtoothed triggerfish unperturbed by my presence.
After a one hour surface interval (to allow nitrogen release) we were back into the turquoise waters for our final dive. Our last dive in the Maldives was at 'Dinalhu Kandu' and it did not disappoint. Amelia was correctly weighted, the dive was long and we saw an abundance of life. Including turtles, a sleeping white tip shark and a manta ray! It was the perfect way to finish a great morning.
Diving can be tiring, so after a quick bite to eat at the local eatery, we spent the rest of our day relaxing on the white sandy bikini beach and catching up on our blog.
Dinner, as always, was a fulfilling feast of a variety of western and Maldivian food. Much to our surprise the chef, sous chef and waiter were all Bangladeshi. The youngest of the three (the waiter) explained in broken English how his dad had pleaded for him to leave Bangladesh in order to make a better life for himself. I'm not sure his dad would approve of his first month's wage being blown on a broken iPhone though!

Ismael and Sameer (the two Maldivian owners) were very keen for us to try out their excursions. Which was unsurprising considering the 'little' we had haggled for our accommodation and half board package. Before we'd even heard the sales pitches from the brothers we'd decided that we would go on the manta ray snorkelling trip. Having had a previous interaction with mantas in Indonesia, we were aware of the best conditions needed in order to swim with the mantas near the surface. So despite the push from business minded Sameer, we waited for the ideal day. With the aid of two newly downloaded apps we were able to check the conditions which, according to Ismael are surprisingly reliable. Even though the previous day's diving had zapped our energy, we were excited about going out on what was forecast to be almost perfect conditions.
A speedboat picked me, Amelia and Ismael up at 9am for our excursion. As soon as we left the island I felt good about the conditions, the apps had proved well worth the tedious download time.
Less than half an hour into our journey we caught glimpse of dorsal fins breaking the surface. But, they were not manta dorsal fins.. the fins belonged to a pod of dolphins, which were curiously playing in the wake of our boat. With my recently repaired mask on ('superglue' to the rescue!), I was eager to jump in! However, I had to settle and understand that wild dolphins are notoriously difficult to swim with. Ismael explained to us that it could take up too much time and advised that we should continue.
We carried on our pursuit for manta rays and we didn't have to go far.. our experience with the mantas at Komodo National Park flashed past my very eyes, they were there and in their dozens! The captain gave us a nod, so off we jumped into the abyss. At first all I could see was the seemingly infinite 'deep blue' and a lonely reef shark a few metres below. A moment later though we were being guided through the plankton filled waters by the sight of a giant from the deep. It approached us with its cavernous mouth wide open, filtering gallons of water for the microscopic organisms it survives on. Watching the majestic manta rays glide right past our faces was beyond belief. At one point I found myself following the largest manta I'd ever seen! Before I knew it I was roughly fifty metres from Amelia, Ismael and a dozen other mantas. Fortunately, the currents were mild and with my fins on I was able to relocate myself within minutes.
It's hard to put into words how extraordinary an interaction with these intelligent creatures is. But, as ironic as it may be, when they brush past for an inquisitive look, one can really feel their sense of our 'unthreatening' presence.
We were in the water with the mantas for well over an hour and a half, by which point we were well and truly shattered! The captain stopped for us to climb aboard for a rest and head to the second part of our excursion.
Not far from Mathiveri is a beautiful reef to explore. Ismael as before led the way, we were in search of turtles and sharks, but sadly after another good swim around our quest was fruitless.
Needless to say we were 'buzzing' for the rest of the day and couldn't help but talk over and over about it. Ismael was equally as pleased and invited us to share pictures and footage with him at the bar that evening.

With no forecast of rain and cash running out, we spent the last couple of days on the dazzling white beaches of either the 'bikini area' or private island just a short swim from Mathiveri. Despite our dwindling funds we were able to enjoy every minute, getting to understand and be a part of the local life was fascinating and enlightening. Bizarrely fruit bats would fly around during each afternoon in search of food. So whilst Amelia watched stingrays feeding in the shallows, I would eagerly stand sweating with the SLR in hand to try and capture a photo of one of the huge bats in the afternoon sun. It was a very relaxing few days and a great way to end our time on the idyllic island of Mathiveri.

Compared with the outbound journey, the conditions back were a lot calmer. After a transfer to the manmade island of Hulhumale, which was conveniently connected to the airport island, we eventually found our hotel and the nearby beach. Compared to the picturesque island of Mathiveri, Hulhamale was rather uninspiring. In fact, if we'd only seen that part of the Maldives we would've been bitterly disappointed! Luckily we had just the one night to spend on what is essentially still a building site, before flying back to Sri Lanka.

After our brief one night stopover in Colombo, we took our 26th and final flight back home to surprise all of our family and friends in the most imaginative ways we could think of!

In short, our 'Great Adventure' was nothing less than epic, life-changing, fear-conquering, eye opening and educational. We have both learnt a tremendous amount over the past fifteen and a half months and experienced things we never thought would be achievable. We have created lifelong memories and travelled each country as thoroughly as possible. Nevertheless, we both feel there is more to see and experience in this part of the world so who knows where our next adventure will take us..