March 24

This morning we did our deep water adventure dive. Arnaud gave us 4 problems to work underwater to see how we handle nitrogen narcosis. We both did well. We only stayed at 30 meters for a few minutes to do the problems, then we came shallower to conserve air. We saw lots of fish (moray eels, sting rays, porcupine fish, parrotfish, etc). We stayed underwater for 37 minutes J

This afternoon we relaxed. On the way to lunch, we went by and picked up my new ring. We picked one out that looks like a dolphin, the eyes are sapphires, and diamond flakes on its back. We also went by the spa and set up a time to get a head, neck, and shoulders massage. We ate lunch and went back to the room. Mark read, and I worked on tonight’s homework for the fish identification and tomorrow’s for drift diving. Then we met our neighbors on our way to the spa for our massage and decided to meet them afterwards for a drink at the bar before dinner. We were out with them until about 8 when we went to dinner. There were crab races again tonight, and we had purchased a crab. But we were both too tired after no nap and staying out so late last night that we gave our crab to Leslie and said goodnight.

March 25

We went on our first dive this morning without Arnaud. He went with the full day divers, so Oliver was with us for our fish identification dive. It wasn’t any different from other dives, but we were to pay extra close attention to the fish we saw. Some fish move in pairs, some in groups, and some by themselves. We couldn’t see very far and there was a low current which meant that we drifted along without really having to kick much. We saw things like porcupinefish, squid, angelfish, a pair of butterflyfish, an orangefairy basslet, a cod, a goby, a shrimpgoby, a red toothed triggerfish (Mark’s favourite), and lots of anemone. I got to inflate the SNB at the end to show the boat that we were about to come up and to come and get us. It was (again) lots of fun. Tomorrow morning will be our last dive of the honeymoon. Mark and I agree that we will be at a loss when we don’t go diving every day.

As is becoming normal, we went and ate lunch after rinsing the saltwater off. Also, during the heat of the day, we went back to the room to relax so we won’t get too much sun. Around 4:30 we went out snorkelling for the first time since we started diving. We had to admit to the fact that our scuba equipment fit better than the ones we bought – especially now that we know how it is supposed to feel. So, we snorkelled a bit around our bungalow with our stuff, but ended up going to the diving school to use the equipment that was deemed “ours” while we dove. We took our underwater camera to get some more coral shots with our camera. There were some pretty fish on the reef around the island, but the sun was starting to go down a bit and was getting a bit chilly. So we stayed out until we finished our camera then went back to shower and get ready for supper tonight. We had a special supper to celebrate the anniversary of our engagement. We had a candle lit dinner on the beach J We got there at 8:00 to eat. We started off with a smoked chicken appetiser, which was good enough to be the full course for me. Next, Mark had Tomato Soup, and I had Asparagus Soup. I had never had asparagus soup, and it was wonderful. Next, Mark had lobster and French fries, and I had lamb chops with mashed potatoes, beans and carrots, French fries, and ratatouille. For dessert, they gave us strawberry and chocolate ice cream – a great finish to our meal. It was a nice dinner, and it was fun to watch the crabs coming out of the surf. There was also a crane that flew in for a few minutes. After supper we went over to the bar for just a few minutes because, once again, I was completely tired! I guess I’m just not used to so much exercise with scuba diving and snorkelling and walking everywhere we go and all the sun we’ve been getting. They had a neat thing going tonight, though. They had made lots of pina coladas, and the jeweller had put 2 amethysts and 2 white stones (not sure what they are called) into 4 drinks and whoever got those kept them.

March 26

Today started off like normal here at Velidhu. We woke up, got ready, ate our normal breakfast, and off to the dive school we went. Today we went to the same dive spot as Saturday, but we were focusing on a completely different skill – drift diving. In drift diving, there is a current that you are following while underwater that goes along the reef. It was fun. For the first time, we did a negative entry into the water, which is where you go into the water with your vest deflated and start going down the second you hit the water. So that was different than our other dives. After we got finished with our dive, we were both exhausted, so we actually went back to the room and slept until around 4:00. When we woke up, we ate some chips and girl scout cookies and watched some tv. Then we packed for a while and took a shower.

On the way home

Well, after I finished typing yesterday and went to take a shower, my stomach started giving me trouble, so I lay down for a little bit. Of course, it didn’t go away like we wanted it to. I took a bath/shower around 6:00 and ended up getting sick around 7:30. Feeling a little better, Mark and I walked to the restaurant a few minutes later. Because this was our last night here, we wanted to say goodbye to some people and settle the majority of the bill. Mark walked through the restaurant while I walked towards reception. While walking past the bar, I saw Leslie and her group. I walked over to tell them bye, and they all said that I looked “peeked”...well, whenever mom used that word to describe how I looked, it wasn’t good – so I knew I looked quite sick. Mark met me in reception and we got everything settled with the cashier. Then Mark went to the restaurant to get a plate of food to take back to the room with us – I was feeling ill again. Sweet Ali wrapped up Mark’s food and got us a couple of sprites and walked it to the room for us. Mark walked with me acting as my crutch and had to carry me on the bridge to the water bungalow. I was sad because last night we were supposed to get our diplomas for our diving activities (We got them this morning instead). The doctor came to the bungalow, and gave me some medicine (which I threw up about 30 minutes later). The medicine was disgusting, so I only took the pill for nausea and went to sleep.

I slept through the night – Mark doesn’t believe that because he says I kept telling him “I love you” all through the night J We went to breakfast around 8:30, went by the shop to get a book on the Maldives, and videoed the island a bit – like we meant to last night. After that, we went back to the room and finished packing. We were finished by 10 or so, and then we just relaxed and watched TV for a while until it was time for lunch. I was trying my best not to over-exert myself since I had to get through the sea plane ride this afternoon. We met Arnaud at the Lighthouse Bar for lunch. It was nice visiting one last time with him. We think that he’ll come to South Africa sometime to go diving, and we’ll meet up with him. We have his email address and he has ours, so we’ll keep up with him. We walked back to the dive school with him and got 2 t-shirts – something we’ve been meaning to do all week.

We got back to the room at 2:00, and the guy came to get our luggage at 2:30. We settled our final bill – just what we had purchased today – and got on the 3:30 sea plane. It wasn’t the calmest ride we’ve been on. We had 3 stops on the way to Male. Neither Mark nor I was in a wonderful state when we got here. We decided to relax at one of the restaurant areas. I got a 30 minute nap and Mark read. After a while we got something to eat, and started feeling better. We called mom, Fran, and dad to say hi and let them know the flight plans and when we’d be back in Johannesburg. We walked around for about 20 minutes and ended up at an ice cream place that was air conditioned. Mark got a milkshake and I got some chocolate ice cream. When I was finished, there weren’t many people there, so I curled up on the couch where I was sitting and slept for almost an hour. Now it is after midnight, and we are sitting in the lounge area waiting for our 2:20 flight to Dubai. When we get there, I will post all of the happenings since the wedding. Hope everyone is well and here’s sending out lots of love to you!!!

So much to do, so little time

Hey everyone...this one will be short because I have got to get some sleep. Just an update, we had a party tonight at Anastasia and Ken Jones' house. Here are a few of the pictures taken at the party. (Sorry Suzy, I had to steal the pics from your page because I had none on my camera with you and MPB) Good night :-)

Me, Suzy, and Kim

My mom with her sons-in-law

Me and Mary Peyton (won't she be a cute flower girl?)

Me and Stacy

All the South Africans here for the wedding

Mark, Mama, and Me

Natural Science Museum

Hey All!!

Today Mark got his bloodwork done for the marriage license and guess what - we can get married :-) Talk about sympathy pains, when Mark was finished and began standing up, I about passed out. Don't know why, but that is what happened. We then went and got our wedding bands and drove down to Star to pick everyone up.


Dad met us at the Agricultural Museum for a tour. Then we went to the Natural Science Museum. All of the group from South Africa seemed to enjoy themselves. I will edit this blog once I get copies of Simon and Neil's pictures.


Tonight Mark and I went to see my cousin Rachel in the features pageant. We might have been biased, but we think she was definitely the most beautiful one up there. I told her that she couldn't wear that dress on Saturday because she wasn't allowed to out shine the bride. Here are a couple of pics from tonight. Hope everyone had a great day. See you soon!

The South Africans are coming...

And some of them are already here.

It has been a good weekend. Neil, Colleen, Simon, and Mark all got here safely on Friday. I DID say safely... not quite fully conscious when they landed, but safely none the less. Neil, Colleen and Simon got here at 11:30, so we took them for lunch at McAllister's - good start for sweet tea!! We then went to Star, where they will be staying until Thursday. Mark got here at 7:15 on Friday night. We all came to my parents to let him eat, open a few wedding presents, and go to sleep.

Saturday dawned a spectacular day. Unfortunately, Candice and Sandy's plane was delayed in Jo'burg for 4 hours, so they missed their connecting flight, but caught the next one and arrived very jet-lagged around 5:20. Sandy, Candice, Amanda (my neice), Mark, and I drove to Jerry's Catfish House on Hwy. 49 (the igloo) to meet everyone else for supper. Then I took all South Africans back to Star.

Sunday was cold, yet another beautiful day. We woke up, had breakfast, and drove into town for church. After church, we went to my parents' house for lunch - very good (roast, minestra, green beans, salad, rolls, cake, and chocolate covered strawberries - YUM). We stayed a while, then went back to Star where we rode 4 wheelers for a bit.

Mark and I came home for the evening and went to visit Nana - who had a birthday today. We then grabbed some Krystals for supper and came home where it is now time to go to sleep. Hope everyone has had an excellent weekend. Hope to see everyone in 6 days at the wedding (WOW - only 6 days :-) )