In the first article about the Maldives, you could read about our engagement on Fulhadhoo Island. Our romantic journey continued to the second island, Fehendhoo. Catching octopuses, mantas, turtles, snorkeling on the bikini beach, a private island, sandbank, or stargazing on a bench from a football field is just a fraction of what you can experience here.
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Contents
Day 5 –Transfer to Fehendhoo Island
Day 6 – Private island and octopus hunting
Day 7 – Turtles, mantas, and fishing
Day 8 – Beautiful bikini beach with sandbank
Day 5 (14.6.) – Transfer to Fehendhoo Island
Accommodation on the islandFehendhoo was arranged again directly through emails. The best offer for full board came from the Fehendhoo Stay guesthouse. As a bonus, they came to pick us up for free from Fulhadhoo. Our new host is the friendly Naeem, who has been living on Fehendhoo all his life, so we couldn’t have wished for a better guide. During the boat ride from Fulhadhoo to Fehendhoo, he shows us our future beaches – public and private bikini beaches. Both are equipped with bamboo loungers, cushions, and towels.
We were greeted with a coconut and noodle lunch. The guesthouse has a capacity of five guest rooms, but we are completely alone here. The next guests are not scheduled to arrive for another 5 days. To our surprise, we were asked what we would like for lunch and dinner. We were told that there are plenty of crabs around and immediately asked if we wanted some for dinner 🙂
After lunch, Naeem will show us around the island. Fehendhoo Stay is situated at the opposite end of the island from the bikini beach, so we need to cover up. Women should cover their shoulders and knees, and men should at least wear a shirt and shorts. Naeem lives just around the corner and shows us his home and introduces us to his family. We continue past the grocery store, diving center, diesel generator roaring loudly, until we reach the beginning of the jungle.
Fehendhoo
According to Naeem, the population is around 290 and the center is evidently smaller than that of Fulhadhoo. There are only two guesthouses on the whole island, with a third one under construction. You can also find a soccer field, a mosque, a hospital, a consulate, and a total of two stores. About 3/4 of the island is covered in jungle, cut through by one main road. Side paths lead to the individual beaches. We have the choice of a small private beach or a more distant public beach. We opt for the larger public beach, where we are alone anyway, except for the mosquitoes, which were thriving due to the rainy season in May.
TIP: On the right side of the beach, there is a coral reef where snorkeling is excellent.
Considering it is high tide in the afternoon, the visibility is fantastic. We saw a variety of fish like sergeant major fish, bluestripe snapper and others. After coming out of the water, we wanted to go relax on bamboo sunbeds, but local mosquitoes changed our minds. Let’s relax in our guesthouse. We have planned dinner for 7 pm, so we have plenty of time for a city tour.
For the welcome dinner, we have a spicy soup and two types of fish with roasted potatoes. The next day, we ask for something less spicy 🙂 Naeem sits with us throughout the dinner and willingly answers all our questions. For tomorrow’s program, we arrange bicycles, a private island, and an optional excursion for octopus hunting.
Day 6 – Private Island and octopus hunting
After the morning wake-up call, Maldivian breakfast awaits us – omelette, tuna spread mas huni, roshi flatbreads, toasty, and butter. We asked if they were afraid of storing eggs without a refrigerator. They said no, because when they crack them open, they look and see if it’s bad 🙂 We are served by a boy named Monin from Bangladesh, who earns money here and sends it to his family. After the meal, he offers us a choice of chocolate cake or fruit. Finally, tea and coffee.
Bike rental
The bicycles are already prepared for us at the entrance. They are not traditional mountain bikes; they seem more like children’s bikes in size. We adjust the seat to the maximum height, but it’s still low. At least the brakes seem to be functional. We set off to the opposite end of the island, which is about 2 km away. Sometimes we got stuck in the sand, but otherwise, it went fine. Jungle biking is an experience. We expected a beach at the western end of the island, but there is only overgrown bushes.
The sandbank is further away, and we would have to wade through water to reach it. Some 10-15 years ago, there was reportedly a beach at the western end of the island. However, the entire Maldives are sinking, and by 2050, they may no longer exist. Locals maintain a beautiful non-bikini beach with a sandy spit and sandbank. It’s incomparable to Fulhadhoo, where there were more rubbish at the end.
Private Island near Fehendhoo
We are waiting for Naeema at the main pier, which is only a few meters from our accommodation. The private rocky island is only 200 meters away. When disembarking, we spotted a small sea snake. Once again, we have bamboo lounge chairs with cushions and towels ready for us. Without mosquitoes, it’s a true paradise. And since it’s low tide, we collected many washed-up shells here. Exporting them is supposedly prohibited, but we managed to get them through in our large luggage. Aside from relaxation, snorkeling is excellent here. On the left side is the main coral reef with visibility like in a bathtub.
Octopus hunting
Around 11 o’clock Naeem arrives to pick us up with his octopus hunter. We move just a short distance to the coral reef and the hunter jumps out to search for prey. Octopuses are hiding among the rocks. Chemicals are used to drive them out of their dens. Then the hunter makes a few quick grabs until the octopus releases a large amount of red ink. After that, I grab it to bring it back to the boat. The octopus continues to wriggle and the suckers try to grab onto my hands and the boat. In total, we caught four, and the question of whether we wanted one for dinner arose. We certainly did not protest 🙂
On the way back to the port, we spotted a sea turtle in the sea grass. Know that after a short chase, the turtle gets tired and you can catch it. But we only did it once because we felt sorry for it. For lunch, we enjoyed fried rice and typical Indian papadums. Naeem’s sister is an amazing cook.
In the afternoon, we head to the public bikini beach to relax. The evening sunset is beautifully visible from the main port. The Maldivians watch it from hammocks, but probably for a slightly different reason than us. We are here during Ramadan, so the locals can eat and drink only after the sunset. Tonight, for dinner, we have promised crab as an appetizer. The main course is fish with roasted potatoes and the caught octopus.
Day 7 – Turtles, mantas and fishing
Today we have probably the most action-packed day. We start the morning with a snorkeling trip to the coral reef. Naeem takes a young assistant who will guide us underwater. We only sail a short distance to the left of our island. We go to the best spots, and right after getting into the water, we saw 3 turtles. There are thousands of fish here, black, white, blue, colorful, just beautiful. We saw large black fish and my personal favorite fish, the oriental sweetlip. Also, 4 gigantic fish, the largest I have ever seen while snorkeling. They could have been about a meter and a half long and half a meter high. According to the guy, they were parrotfish. We snorkel along the edge of the coral reef. Here we see the powderblue surgeonfish or angelfish and the moorish idol.
On the bottom of a rock, my buddy shows me a huge black moray eel with a long tail. Brrr, we definitely don’t want to meet that by accident. Many turtles are resting on the bottom and start swimming only when you tap on their shell. The guy knew how to dive well. He dived to the bottom about 10 meters and brought me a young turtle to touch. My dream was to see a manta ray. Naeem says the season is only at the end of the year – November, December, and now we can barely see them. But like everything, he didn’t refuse to make this happen for us. He said that if we pay for the fuel, we can go for a ride in the afternoon wherever we want.
We have lunch at 1 pm and then set off on a private boat trip around our atoll at 2 pm. As we were boarding the boat, we saw a large black stingray swimming just about a meter away from us. After a while, it disappeared into the sea grass. No one will get us into such murky terrain. And yet just a few meters away kids were swimming. Naeem reassures us that stingrays don’t attack, only if you try to catch them. We head to the first stop near Fehendhoo, where manta rays usually hang out. Unsuccessfully, the water is cloudy and no mantas in sight.
Goidhoo Island and surroundings
Our second stop is the beach on the south side of Goidhoo Island. It looks incredibly picturesque from a distance and feels like paradise. Naeem shouts from the shore that he sees a manta, but turns out it was just another stingray. We disembark on the island. Goidhoo only has the Horsburgh Island Guesthouse for accommodation. This island is about 5 times larger than Fulhadhoo or Fehendhoo. After boarding again, we head to a spot called Hanifalhu. There are hundreds of small fish here, but once again, no mantas. To keep ourselves entertained, we try fishing while moving between spots. When the fish aren’t biting, Naeem drops anchor, and we fish from the seabed. Pieces of octopus from yesterday serve as bait.
During an hour of fishing, we managed to catch 4 red snappers, 1 grouper and dead coral 🙂 At one point Naeem shouts that there’s a manta ray, jump, jump!!! But by the time I put on my goggles and jumped, there was nothing to see again. This time, however, it really was a manta ray. We slowly raise the anchors, time is unforgiving. From the boat, there is a beautiful sunset with the background of Fulhadhoo island.
Tonight we have beef steak with roasted potatoes and vegetables for dinner. We plan to visit the local aquarium, which is just a short walk from our accommodation. Although it was closed, Naeem gives us a tip that after 9 p.m. they will be packing little fish. And so it was. The fish travel to Malé and from there to aquariums around the world. Tonight the star visibility is excellent, so we sit on a bench in front of the soccer field and admire the view. For me, the most magical place in the Maldives.
Day 8 – Beautiful non-bikini beach with sandbank
We wake up to our last morning on Fehendhoo. Morning run to the end of the island is hell for us today. We walk back exploring hidden corners and beaches. We found a tree that looked like a lemon tree, but its fruits turned out to be nuts. For breakfast, we have omelette, tuna spread, toast, and pancakes as usual. Plus a coconut on request. After breakfast, we pack up and enjoy our last moments on the island. We head to the bikini beach, but it starts to cloud over somehow. Walking through the jungle in this weather is risky because of falling coconuts, so we turn back. The light rain turned into a heavy downpour within minutes. The first Maldivian storm after eight days has arrived.Fortunately, it passed in half an hour and we can head to a nearby non-bikini beach. The clouds are already over Goidhoo, so we are taking great photos with white sandy tongues and an Armageddon in the background. The locals have an amazing white beach with a clean bottom perfect for swimming. And since I didn’t want to be a rebel, I sacrificed a t-shirt for swimming. For a farewell lunch, we have red snapper fish that we caught yesterday.
TIP: At the guesthouse, they will willingly exchange dollars for rupees at a rate of 1:15.
It’s time to go to Goidhoo, from where a speedboat to Male is supposed to depart at 1:30 p.m. We already miss Naeem. We say goodbye with a warm hug and hope to see each other again someday. There are no waves and after 2 hours of sailing, we are in Male. We flag down a taxi on the street with a wave of the hand. We pay a ridiculous 35 MVR to get to the opposite end of Male to the Airport Ferry.
