Many moons ago I was assigned to go and produce a travel feature about an island off Saudi Arabia, which meant a stop in Dubai. It was barely springtime yet but the temperature was already extremely stifling.
“Ah, this is nothing,” our guide told us. “In summer it keeps on soaring… although officially, it never goes beyond 49.9°C,” he said, looking shiftily around him to check if there was anyone who could be a tell-tale government aide.
Then he whispered: “The law states that if the temperature exceeds 50°C workers can stop,” wink, wink. Coincidentally, the temperature there never exceeds 50°C.
Starting a new challenge can be daunting but having a buddy by your side will not only support you but push you more to achieve your goals.
This is one of the words of advice Michel Galea has for those who might want to start a big lifestyle challenge but feel that they might not manage.
“The buddy system works- the fact that I have Neil training by my side reminds me that at the end of the day I am not alone and that drives me to work harder,” Galea, who has promised to lose weight, told Times of Malta.
Updated 12pm
Olympian Neil Agius swam across the Gozo-Malta channel in two hours on Sunday, while towing a friend who sat on a paddleboard dressed as Santa Claus.
Departing from Marfa at 9.35 am, Agius was able to wrap up the challenge before lunch, with him and his friend Michel Galea touching land at Ħondoq ir-Rummien at 11.36 am. The journey is estimated to be around six kilometres in length.
Agius braved the fresh December waters and arrived to cheers and applause from his family and friends, who were beside him watching closely in a dinghy.
A few friends even jumped in and accompanied Agius in completing the challenge, as he swam the last few metres towards the shore.