We're still in Uligamu in the north Maldives. An absolutely gorgeous atoll made up of a circle of about 20 beautiful islands, most uninhabited, all with coconut trees, brilliant white sand, and surrounded by lagoons of stunning iridescent turqoise water, teeming with amazing fish. Sadly, 95% of the coral is dead (we gather an el Nino effect), but there must be plenty of nutrition, because there are millions of fish of all varieties and sizes - manta rays, sting rays, great schools of barracuda, turtles galore and endless brilliantly coloured small reef fish.

We went on a trip to an uninhabited island about 6 miles away this afternoon where there is a steep underwater wall - the sand and reef about 10 to 15 metres deep suddenly drop over a cliff to godness knows what depth, and the fish feeding on the edge were simply unbelievable - great shoals of all sorts: in particular a deep blue coloured fish that swam past us like a great river of flashing deep blue. As we returned to Hygeia we were met by a large school of dolphins, which stayed playing round the boat while Mie and I had our tea and ginger-nuts.

Its now 21:15, and I've been sitting up in the cockpit reading, while around me I can still hear the dolphins blowing and squeaking.

We have another 5 days here - Richard and Pat Fisher arrive on Monday, and after a couple of days we'll set off on the last real ocean passage of our circumnavigation - 1250 miles to Salalah in Oman, and then down the Gulf of Aden to Djibouti, before we pass through the Staights of Bab el Mandeb, and head up the Red Sea to Suez and the Med. It will be a wrench to leave here.

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