050 - Chapter 50

Chapter 50 Paradise on earth:

(Illustrations: Our holiday on the island of Baros)

Bob took early retirement in 1997, at the age of 50, but then took up supply teaching to supplement his pension. When I retired from  teaching five years later, we decided to go on a very special ‘once in a lifetime’ holiday to the Maldives! Even the Emirates flight was exciting, with so many of the latest films at the touch of a button, and views of the ground below on camera, especially when landing and taking off, and flying over mountains. I woke up early on the flight there and quietly slid open the door which covered the window, and I caught the first light of dawn and watched fascinated until the sun came up in all its glory.

When we landed, we were taken immediately by motor boat from Mali, to the coral island of Baros, and the tour guide informed us that we were about to visit ‘Paradise on earth!’ Baros was beautiful, exactly like the brochure photos. It was a tiny island, only a mile in circumference. It didn’t take long at all to walk around it, so there was nothing else for it, but to laze around on the beach, and at mealtimes walk to the restaurant. What a different daily routine that was for us. 

I had never seen so much delicious food before. It was really appetising and so fresh, just my kind of food really i.e. tropical fruit, salads and seafood dishes. A few days after we arrived, however, I caught a really painful tummy bug and I couldn’t face food for almost four days, which was awful. Bob had to go along to the restaurant and eat alone.

We became very friendly with our waiters there Abdul, Appu, Ali, and another Ali and Atif. Once they knew of Bob’s involvement with sport, they invited us to watch the volleyball matches which they played at their base in the centre of the island. We felt very privileged to have been invited, no-one else had. Their volleyball court stood adjacent to their living quarters and a small mosque was next to it. They played matches every day, and we both went along to watch their games regularly, and found them to be highly skilful players.

We had been informed in our holiday information leaflets, not to take any Christian literature with us in our suitcases, but that was a rule I could not go along with, for no-one was going to stop me taking my Bible and my daily reading matter with me! Besides, in our country we don’t have such a rule for anyone coming to our country! Fair’s fair!

We also got on well with men from the Philippines who formed the music group which entertained tourists each evening. They let me borrow one of their guitars and we would ‘jam’ together. I ended up performing with them several times. One asked me later on the quiet, “You don’t have any Christian books do you?’ He must have really trusted me to ask for ‘forbidden literature’. I’m not saying any more on that subject, but it made me think how much we, in the west take the Bible for granted!

As well as sunbathing, eating and reading, we found a hidden world in the shallows of the Indian ocean, just by donning our snorkelling masks! We saw brightly coloured fish of every size, shape and every hue; some were electric blue, some bright yellow, some neon, and even one clad in Newcastle United colours! They weren’t afraid to come and nibble at our toes or test out Bob’s skin tag warts! These fish, along with other marine life, brought home to me the awe and wonder of God's creation. 

As an RE teacher, when it came to creation, I tried teaching it from three different points of view i.e. the theory of evolution, the creationist theories, and theological reflection. I always tried to give a balanced view, but I’ve got to say I believe in intelligent design. You cannot create ‘something’ out of ‘nothing’! I can’t believe that this wonderful world in all its incredible and infinite variety came as a result of an accident or a big bang. I always preferred to keep an open mind, and I feel sad that evolution is often taught now as an accepted fact, especially when certain scientists, just as intelligent and qualified, testify that there are discrepancies and fakes in evolutionary theory; e.g. the fossil record showing no change over time; inconsistent carbon 14 dating systems; an inaccurate chart of linear progress from monkey to man. Not all scientists agree that ‘Lucy’ the so called ‘missing link’ was a human ancestor. One astrophysicist I read about claimed that life on the earth originated from microorganisms in outer space, which were able to initiate life on reaching a suitable environment If that’s the case, who created the microorganisms? It’s an absolutely fascinating subject to debate, and I love to listen to all the arguments, for and against.

One morning Bob, when snorkelling alone, Bob met a reef shark, dropping its young off, just beyond the reef, and he also saw large turtle swimming past. My most exhilarating 'snorkelling moment', came when I launched myself out into the blue deep, just beyond the coral reef. It felt like leaping from a cliff top and flying weightless, in slow motion. The water soon went from warm to cold in seconds around my body, and when I saw how very deep the sea had suddenly become, I began to wonder what large sea creatures might be lurking there. I swam back ever so quickly to the safety of the coral reef, but that silent moment of launching out into ‘nothingness’ will stay with me forever.

Manta ray fish visited our bay to be fed every evening, they seemed to know the exact time their food would arrive, and in they came en masse. Their visit had become a tourist attraction. I fed one, which I thought was rather brave of me. Pods of dolphins could also be seen leaping near our boat, when we visited two other islands; Bandos and Hura.

The sky was blue each day, the beaches white and spotless. An employee swept the beach each morning! No twigs, no unsightly leaves or debris were allowed to disturb the guests’ leisure time there! What a thankless task it must have been with the fluctuating tides. I also felt sad for Domthuthu's job was to make our beds on the island each day, folding the sheets artistically, and decorating them with red hibiscus flowers and pink roses, while his own wife and family lived some distance away on another island. I wrote a poem for him, and left it on our bed to say thank you to him, before we left for home. All the employees lived on the island, and only got to go home occasionally, but I suppose it was vital employment for these men so they could provide for their families, but all these little touches of luxury just didn’t sit well with me somehow. The great divide between rich and poor was obvious, how did they really feel about the tourists they served?

We were sad to leave the island of Baros, but we were ready for home; we’d had a wonderful second honeymoon there!