On 23rd March we decided we had spent enough time at Thulusdoo and should return to Hulemale to start preparing Songster for shipping. We had had an enjoyable time there but it was time for a change so once the sun was high enough to spot the bombies in the lagoon we set off back to Hulemale where we are now.

Time is passing by and we are still here, now been in the Maldives 2 months. The latest news on our ship is that it should be here around 5th April but of course much depends on its current progress from Ho Chi Min City, Vietnam, where it is due to dock today and any delays it experiences between there and its arrival here. Once we have some definite dates we can all make arrangements for flights and accommodation both here in Male and in Turkey. Having had a number of days in Thulusdoo with no wind we now have westerlies which have picked up the chop in the anchorage making it at times somewhat lumpy and particularly difficult when going ashore with the dinghy.

Our first job back was to clean the bottom on the dinghy which had about 3 inches of growth, quite a garden. We hauled it up on to the foredeck with a couple of halyards, this is the first time we have done this and we will be doing it when we ship. Needless to say it took us a time to fathom out the best way to do it basically as it is so heavy. However we managed it and set to on the cleaning. By the time we had finished we felt it better to wait until early next morning in the lighter winds and flatter seas to return it to the water. Well that was when we got ourselves into trouble, using the windlass to haul the dinghy upwards, we had done this to lift it out, we had a total jam up and the dinghy would move neither up nor down and was suspended from the top of the mast. Thankfully a great group of guys from other yachts came to our rescue and within a short time someone was up the mast to untie the knot and the dinghy was back in the water. Another friend climbed the mast to release the rope and found the block had totally broken and the halyard jammed so it was all removed and brought down. It was simply wonderful for us to have help and a job that would have taken us all day to fathom out was sorted in less than an hour. Can’t tell you how grateful we were to everyone for their help.

Another purpose of returning was to renew our cruising permit which had expired so we are now legally able to stay until the end of April, but just hope that by then we will have been in Turkey a number of days.

We have also been able to purchase fuel. At Uligan we sold the excess fuel as we knew we would only be able to carry a small quantity on the ship, of course that has all been used so we are now buying more! A huge tanker, well by Songster’s standard, came alongside and tied to us. The sea was pretty choppy, one mooring line broke with the swell, but we both held on Songster’s anchor so we feel pretty safe here.

Since being here in Male we had not found a reasonable supermarket so we set off a couple of days to find Fantasy, a nice clean supermarket with plenty of good imported products, it even had very large packets of Kellogs Corn Flakes and Persil detergent. Not always available eslewhere. However, the prices were a great deal higher than we have been used to over the past couple of years and the shock of a cauliflower for £9 made me soon return it to the shelf. Unfortunately I did not realise how much the avocado was I bought until after I had paid for it – almost £4. I did not read that they were priced for 100g weight. In future I will stick to buying fruit and veggies where the locals shop.

Whilst in Thulusdoo I came across a tailor and asked if he would copy an extremely old sleeveless shirt I had bought in M&S years and years ago, no problem he said and I returned 36 hours late to collect it. Every time I have something made I always say never again, this was no better, he obviously was only used to making shirts for men so it was made with the button holes on the wrong side and a collar like a man’s shirt, all stiff and very high, so much for giving him something to copy from. However he did make a fantastic job of mending a tear in the old shirt. I am sure I shall wear the new shirt and noone will notice it does up on the wrong side.

Yesterday we took a load of laundry in to yet another place here in Hulemale, it seems everyone has a small cottage industry going on at home. From there we then caught the ferry to Male and then picked up another to the airport which is at Hulehule south of Hulemale. The two islands joined by a causeway and previously coral reefs have been reclaimed and are now considerably bigger than Male itself in area. The airport was teeming with people and to celebrate Singapore Airlines introduction of daytime flights there was a local group drumming with a few dancers. The noise was deafening and impossible to hear anyone speak. Whilst at Thulusdoo we heard drumming practices in the evenings, presumably this would have been similar to what we watched yesterday. We ambled around and then walked down to the Hulemale Hotel for a Western lunch of burger and club sandwich at a total cost of $30. This was somewhat dearer than the price we have been paying in Male at Trends for a buffet lunch at around £5 each so we will return to the local food in future.

Despite the boredom of waiting we have kept ourselves busy, most nights we have done something we never do, watch a DVD. A couple of nights ago we managed to watch The Kings Speech which we bought here in Male. A great film. Many cruisers are exchanging DVDs but as we are not avid fans of film we have a very embarrassing selection to offer, all too old or not violent enough. In fact we were loaned a film called Red with Helen Mirren, neither of us could make head or tail of it, everyone was shooting guns, we soon stopped it and returned to our books. Reading has become a favourite leisure activity for us. Brian keeps himself busy, at the moment the watermaker is giving him grief and we have had to buy water. The parts needed are relatively inexpensive but to get them shipped here costs a fortune so we will wait until Turkey where transportation by courier should be simpler and less costly.

We plan to fly from Male to Istanbul, not sure how at the moment and then spend a few days in Istanbul to do the sights before heading south by bus to Marmaris where we are booked into a cheap hotel to await the arrival of Songster. We then plan to return to Yat Marin, the marina we left from back in April 2002 to head to the Middle East.