In early January, Vladi returned from his vacation in the
Caribbean and asked whether I would like to visit the Maldives…..what could I
say but YES! He busied himself searching
for the best price, and soon had us booked with Aeroflot round trip from
Brussels to Malé via Moscow for 600 euros per person during my school Carnaval
holiday week. We asked Alex if he would like to join us, and he very quickly
had permission to take the week off, flying from London to meet us in Moscow
for the long overnight flight to the middle of the Indian Ocean.
Saturday/Sunday, February 14/15 Brussels…Moscow…Malé, Maldives
After a three-hour flight to Moscow, we wandered through the
airport’s tunnel-like corridors, lined with endless duty-free shops all selling
the same perfumes, vodka and matrioshka dolls.
Alex arrived several hours later from London to join us for the
overnight flight to the Maldives. I
never manage to sleep on such night flights, so when we arrived in Malé the
next morning, I had to revive myself for a day of walking around the Maldivian
capital, pulling my rolling carryon, as we had five hours before our ferry to
Maafushi island.
The first impressions of Malé included the whizzing of many
motorscooters, a well as small trucks loaded with goods bound for the harbor
and transport to hundreds of islands within the archipelago….a truckbed full of
watermelons, another with water heaters, one with a huge stock of cornflakes….
The Maldives has been under Islamic influence since the 12th
century, and all local women on the streets wore head coverings while a few
were wearing burkas with black veils completely covering their faces. They are
Sunni Muslims, and Islam is the only religion permitted in the Maldives. We
stopped to refresh ourselves at an outdoor café near the ferry docks, and
listened to the call for prayer emanating from the orange and white mosque just
around the corner. With the exception of
three visits to Turkey, I have not spent much time in Muslim societies, and I
felt quite conspicuous walking along the street in a sleeveless cotton dress,
bare-legged and in sandals. With a
temperature of 29 degrees Celsius and high humidity, however, I had little
desire to cover myself in more clothing.
Buildings in general were gaily painted, and many had the
battered, dilapidated appearance that reminded Alex and me of our image of
Sofia, and the neighborhoods around the Jewish synagogue where his baba
(grandmother) once lived. In the
Maldives, this look is well-justified.
The average annual income here is the equivalent of 8,000 US dollars,
and just over ten years ago, the country was badly damaged by the tsunami of
2004. I noticed a number of vacant lots strewn with trash and overgrown with
vegetation where perhaps a structure had previously stood, but has not yet been
redeveloped since the flood waters receded.
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| seen on a wall in Malé |
The ferry trip to Maafushi took 1 ½ hours, and upon arrival,
a young man from our hotel greeted us and directed his assistant to place our
luggage on a cart mounted on bicycle tires.
We followed him on the main street parallel with the beach, and he
pointed out the area where we could swim, reminding us that swimsuits were only
allowed on the beach, and that we must wear proper clothing on the street and
in the restaurants. Maafushi is not a
resort island. Maldivians live and work
here, there are schools, shops, businesses, even a prison. I was
near exhaustion from lack of sleep, and had nearly dozed off on the hard wooden
benches of the ferry, but when we finally reached our guesthouse, Stingray
Beach Inn, our gentle hosts handed us ice-cold cloths to mop our sweaty faces,
then offered us each a glass of fresh watermelon juice. Thus revived, I put on my bikini, covered up
for the 1-minute walk to the lovely white sand beach, and we dove in. The sun was setting, the water cooled and
refreshed us, and I felt alive again!
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| ferryboat station in Malé |
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| Finally on our way to Maafushi...exhausted after a sleepless night on the plane from Moscow |
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Fellow passengers bound for Maafushi
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| The ferry's first stop...Gulhi, an inhabited island in the South Malé atoll |
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| My toes just touched the water...within minutes of arrival, going for our first swim before sunset | | | | | | |
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| first sunset |
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| inner courtyard of the Stingray |
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| The Stingray's restaurant at dusk |
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Our hotel: The Stingray Beach Inn
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| the main street of Maafushi, along the beachfront | |
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| Maafushi School |
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| coconut "chocolate" wrapped in dried palm leaves |
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| Maldivian language, Dhivehi* (see note below) |
Monday, February 16 Stingray
Beach Inn, Maafushi….boat to Fihalhohi
February is actually the ideal month to visit the Maldives
as it is the driest month of the year. I
noticed that two umbrellas are provided in our room. After breakfast on the open-air terrace of the
inn, we followed our host back to the port to board a small motor launch that
took us on a 30-minute ride over calm seas to a tiny resort island called
Fihalhohi. This was one of many
excursion options, but we get a better price by joining in with other tourists
to lower the transport cost. Unlike
Maafushi which is an inhabited island, (192 of the 1,192 Maldivian islands are
inhabited by the population of 328,000) this tiny speck in the universe is
dedicated solely to tourists. Here we
had to pay an entrance fee to visit the island for the day. We were dropped off, and our boat would
return to collect us at 5:00 pm.
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| Fihalhohi |
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| Blue heron on Fihalhohi |
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| island transport |
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| Alex adjusts to island life... |
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| new life springs from a fallen coconut |
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| So this is what paradise looks like! |
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| Tourist resort facilities on Fihalhohi |
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| a kite surfer takes advantage of the potential storm |
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Can you believe that this is Fihalhohi too? It is!
A storm was rolling in...but passed us over |
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| The sun came back out, but everyone had left...the beach was all ours! |
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| A storm seemed to roll in ...then passed over |
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| A familiar sight..our pilot and copilot, both aged 20 |
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Our innkeeper had provided us with snorkels, masks and fins,
and Alex and I were eager to see what we could see. I had to get used to breathing through the
tube, but once acclimated, I was enthralled!
A coral bed just meters off the beach was teeming with colorful fish and
an array of coral….it was like swimming in a giant aquarium! Once I got started, I couldn’t stop cruising
along the ridge of coral, with a huge drop in depth just beyond which gave me a
sense of what the continental shelf must look like. Instead of terrifying me, the vast deep ocean
beyond fascinated me. The fish swam
peacefully all around me in a rainbow of colors and sizes…some I recognized
from pet stores and home aquariums, like old familiar faces. I reached out to touch them, and they moved
just out of reach, but in no great hurry.
Once, I spotted a large school of bright yellow fish feeding on the
bottom, then saw a long narrow fish, nearly transparent, with a needle-like
nose. The corals themselves were
fascinating. Most were white or shades
of cream and beige, but they took many shapes and forms from spherical to
fan-shaped, branch-like to ridged and porous.
Here and there, my eyes were drawn by shocking corals of bright violet
blue, florescent yellow and green. The
whole scene was mesmerizing eye candy! I
just couldn’t get enough!
Back on shore, I noticed that dark clouds were gathering,
and indeed a small but rainless storm rolled over us, temporarily blotting out
the sun and stirring up some wind that chased the clouds away within 30
minutes. We took the occasion to walk up
the beach to visit some semi-luxurious accommodations built on stilts over the
water, each with their own private entrance.
When the sun returned, I took cover in a hammock under majestic coconut palms to read a book (a novel I am
teaching to my students about Bangladeshi immigrants in East London….funny,
here I am closer but still so far from that culture!). Before we had to return to the dock to meet
our speed launch back to Maafushi, I donned my mask and fins again to visit
with the fish. The sea was slightly
rougher, bobbing me this way and that as I swam, but the experience was still thrilling
to me. The only other snorkeling I have
ever done was in my childhood in Lake Michigan where the underwater world on
view is quite different, I assure you!
The boatride back to Maafushi was a bit wild…our little
vessel listed heavily to the right as we rode at top speed across the waves,
spray flying. Safely, back on ‘our’
island, we strolled back to the inn, stopping at a small stand which captured
our attention with curious exotic snacks on offer, suspended from thin strings
in little parcels, or stacked neatly, wrapped in dried palm leaves and tied up
at the ends, appearing somewhat like huge fat cigars. When I inquired what was
inside these mysterious parcels, the vendor replied, “coconut chocolate.” We
purchased one, and after a great struggle to untie and unwrap it, I discovered
that it was almost purely coconut, and exceptionally sweet and sticky.
We had dinner next to the beach in a grove under towering
palms and tropical trees with their trunks wrapped in Christmas lights. Dinner was a barbecue buffet in which we
could help ourselves to as much as we liked for twelve dollars per person. After the meal, we discovered what the
Chinese children from a nearby table had been clamoring about during dinner…at
the base of a tree by our table, tiny hermit crabs were busily scuttling about,
some the size of a fingertip, others 5-6 centimeters in diameter, each hauling
on his back a shell of appropriate size in a variety of styles. It was a fascinating miniature world of its own,
and I was dismayed to think that I had probably stepped on several of these
diminutive creatures as I traipsed back and forth to the buffet, filling my
stomach.
Tuesday, February 17 Rihiveli
Once again this morning, we headed out on an excursion at
9:00 am, boarding a motorboat with tourists from several guest houses around
the island. We were headed for Rihiveli,
another small resort island 30 minutes away. In fact, the islands of southern
and northern Maldives are arranged in circular shapes delineating the rim of the caldera from which
they were formed. It seems that no matter where you go in the Maldives, you
must take a boat. Even when we landed at
the Malé Airport, we were obliged to take a small water ferry to the city
center. As we sped across the calm
waters of the Indian Ocean, it occurred to me that for Maldivians this is their
superhighway, and young boys surely dream of growing up to get their driver’s
license so that they can steer a boat such as the one we are traveling on at
top speed. On the islands there are
almost no cars, but plenty of motorbikes.
On our way to Rihiveli, the driver slowed the engine and
detoured slightly from our direct course because he spotted a school of dolphins. Soon we were cruising among them, with pods
on either side cavorting alongside our boat.
There were dozens and dozens of them, and some leaped and pirouetted
joyously high in the air! I also spotted an infant keeping pace with its
mother, jumping completely out of the water.
It was a thrilling experience to see so many of these beautiful and
intelligent sea mammals surrounding our boat, showing off their speed and
acrobatic skills. We took some photos
and videos, but it was difficult to capture the sense of spontaneous excitement
they generated.
On Rihiveli our greeters offered us a welcome drink and
oriented us for the day. This resort has
simple palm-thatched cottages with no air conditioning or wifi. They provide opportunities for families to
enjoy each other’s company the old-fashioned way, and reward returning guests
with the honor of a wooden fish inscribed with the guests’ names attached to a
large totem pole in the center of the island.
After closer examination, I determined that most of the overnight guests
on this island were French or at least francophone. The staff member next led
us across the island, a two-minute walk, to a small pier where he attracted a
swarm of large manta rays by feeding them from a bucket. We also spotted an array of crabs in varying
sizes scuttling up the cement wall.
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| Alex had us all paddle boarding |
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| a hermit crab |
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| this grey parrot is not a native...he has his wings clipped |
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| stingrays at the dock on Rihiveli |
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| one of the small islands we swam to seen in the background |
Our main activity during our visit was to swim from the main
island to two tiny uninhabited islands.
The water was a pristine pale turquoise, extremely shallow with a fine white
sand bottom. I enjoyed the swimming,
floating on my back and looking up at the blue expanse of sky. Later, after lunch in a large outdoor
pavilion jutting out into the ocean, we rested under the shade of palms. Alex and I have both found that we burn after
very short exposure as the sun is very direct and strong here on the
equator. Alex rented a paddle board, and
we took turns balancing on it to maneuver around the waters between the three
islands.
Once back in Maafushi, we showered and went out for a stroll
through the town, stopping to watch a woman watering her garden planted in recycled
plastic water jugs, and listening to the melodic call to prayer emanating from
the mosque. (see video below) We walked through the sand
streets, observing residents playing football, chatting while seated in front
of their doorways, zooming past on motorbikes.
As night fell, what appeared to be a large bird suddenly took flight
just in front of us from a large tree. I
thought it might be an owl, but Alex informed me that it had a ‘rodent’
face….another rustle of wings caught my attention, and when I looked up into
the deep purple sky, the huge webbed wings assured me that my nocturnal bird
was actually a huge bat!
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| street scenes on Maafushi at dusk |
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| the cat from The Stingray Inn |
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| Maafushi container gardening |
Wednesday, February 18 Rannalhi
This morning,
I decided to try Maldivian Special #1 for breakfast which consisted of an
omelette accompanied by a mound of shredded coconut mixed with finely flaked
tuna and chopped onion. This mixture
could be scooped into the center of flat bread a bit like a crepe, folded up on
both sides and eaten like a sandwich….quite tasty and satisfying.
By 9:00 am
we were once again headed for the port to motor to another resort island called
Rannalhi also located in the South Mâle Atoll.
We were soon aware that Rannalhi is a preferred destination for
Italians, and I heard a woman exclaiming enthusiastically to her companion: “Guardi!
Guardi i pesci volanti!” ("Look! Look at the flying fish!" I also saw flying fish twice during our boat trips, leaping and gliding just above the surface for several seconds.) This island’s
main distinction as a resort is that it has a continuous open bar offering free
drinks. With the heat and midday sun,
one gin and tonic already had my head turning.
Alex and I headed for the beach, put on our borrowed snorkel gear and
began exploring the coral reef that began just meters off the shore. The guide at the reception had advised us
where to snorkel, and said that if we were lucky, we might see a sea turtle……stay tuned!
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| the now familiar morning boat ride |
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| the beautiful handcrafted dhonis of the Maldives |
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| cargo loading on Rannalhi |
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| guest houses for tourists on Rannalhi |
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| hotel on Rannalhi |
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| I could get used to this.... |
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| The banyan trees are enormous and exotic-looking! |
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| banyan roots in the sandy soil |
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| banyans often have passages right through them! |
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| banyan branches...sculptural and snakelike |
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| a blue heron hunts on Rannalhi |
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| the coconut palms are majestic |
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| the dhonis are built by hand locally...we saw them in their workshops |
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| my snorkeling gear... |
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| preparing his daily Snapchats to send off... |
The
snorkeling was good, though the water was not as clear as it had been on Fihalhohi.
I spotted many of the same fantastically
colored fish as I had seen two days earlier, but also discovered some new
varieties, and never tired of watching the fish feeding on the corals, chasing
each other head to tail in a swirling ballet, or finding myself suddenly in the
midst of a large school of tiny fish.
I
enjoyed watching the little zebra fish dart in and out of coral branches at my
approach, imagining myself to be like a giant shark whose shadow appeared on
their horizon, blotting out the sunshine from above.
After lunch, we ventured back into the water for another
snorkeling adventure. We began on the
other side of a large wooden dock, but that proved to be rather
uninteresting. I swam under the dock to
make another sweep up the stretch of reef that paralleled the beach. I found it thrilling to go to the edge of the
reef where the ocean dropped away sharply to a much greater depth, and I could
swim along and observe the fish moving in and out among the many layers of
coral seen at a cross section. I
returned along the same path, each time noticing new sea life all around
me. It is like a continuous spectacle
with the scenes and actors constantly changing.
I met up with Alex and we exchanged observations. His mask strap had broken, but he managed to
squeeze it back on to make the most of our last hour before the boat from
Maafushi would come to retrieve us. He
told me he was tired and was headed back to rest on the beach. “I’m going to spend just a few moments
longer, then I’ll join you,” I said.
I submerged my head again to swim along the reef one last
time before departing.
As I was admiring
the phosphorescent
yellow and electric
blue fish just beneath me, a sea turtle
approximately 70 centimeters in length
suddenly emerged from around an outcropping of the reef and paddled
nonchalantly just in front of me!
We
were face to face for a second or two, and he then continued his journey in the
opposite direction of mine.
I quickly
turned and began to follow him as he plunged slowly and gracefully deeper,
edging the reef.
My one thought was to
keep him in sight and yet try to surface and call Alex back out in time to
witness this incredible creature.
I swam
along parallel with the sea turtle for a minute or more, attempting twice to
alert Alex, who splashed excitedly out to join me, but alas, too late!
I consider myself very lucky to have had this
chance to swim with a sea turtle!
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| This is not my photo, but he looked like this |
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| returning to Maafushi |
Thursday, February 19 Vaavu
Atoll: Kunavaashi (also known as Vashugiri), Fulidhoo
Today’s excursion was our favorite of all….no resort
islands, but a series of activities that took us first by speedboat to a coral
reef in the middle of the atoll to snorkel.
We traveled together in a small boat with two 20-year-old Maldivian crew
members, two unfriendly Russian girls, and several very friendly passengers
including a Malaysian named Mun and his Swedish girlfriend Cecilia, and two Poles,
Mike and Kuba.
Our boat sped ahead of a
companion boat which carried the provisions for our barbecue picinic, including
a cooler of large fresh fish.
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| our shady swing bed on the picnic island Vashugiri |
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| lunch is served! |
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| preparing the fish for the barbecue |
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| the picinic shelter adjacent to the kitchen |
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| Alex on the beach of Vashugiri...snorkeling here was good! |
We jumped off the boat and snorkeled for an hour, observing
some new coral forms unseen before closer to shore.
These were shaped like large flat plates with
a smaller ‘plate’ stacked on top in the middle…quite intriguing.
The water was not as clear, however, and
there were fewer fish than we had seen on the reefs nearer to shore.
Nevertheless, it was an experience to be out
in the deep water with plenty of room to move about.
Because the atolls are ringed by small islands
on their perimeter, the water rarely gets rough, so the conditions are perfect
for swimming and snorkeling.
Back on the
boat, we motored on, and our young drivers took delight in taking on some wave
action, letting the prow of our boat ride up out of the water, then slam
down
heavily before popping up again…a
bit of amusement park style thrill.
One
of the Russian girls started screaming and white knuckling it, so her friend
asked the crew to ‘please, slow down!’
Once again, we approached the favorite dolphin grounds, and
delighted in watching their antics all around our boat as the driver circled us
slowly to and fro among them. Alex
managed to make some video clips of them which I will share here. Seeing their fins skim in unison along the
surface, then the surprise of new acrobatic stunts we had not seen on the
previous trip…a summersault, sideways jump, twists and turns…they seemed to
enjoy themselves immensely in showing us their skills….such charming and agile
animals. I could never tire of watching
them. While the rest of us oohed and aahed
at the sight of the dolphins, I noticed that the Russian girls had
crawled out onto the tiny front deck to take glamour shots of each other,
posing like models in their bathing suits….they seemed oblivious to the dolphin
frenzy surrounding us!
Our boat continued on, leaving South Malé Atoll and entering
Vaavu Atoll to reach our picnic island destination. Kunavaashi or Vashugiri as our host calls it,
is an uninhabited island, but is equipped for picnicking with a small hut
containing a kitchen, toilets, and a large palmfrond sun shelter with long
tables and benches. They had also
provided rope swings and a few lounge
beds, as well as a raft our drivers used to gut and filet the fish for our
lunch. Alex and I immediately donned our snorkels to head out into the reef and
escape the heat of the day by submerging our bodies in the delightfully warm
waters of the Indian Ocean. The reef
here was extensive, with plenty of fish and some perfect specimens of brain
corals among others. I spotted a gaping-mouthed eel poking his head out from his hideaway beneath some coral, waiting
for just the right tasty morsel to pass by unaware. I also saw a new species of fish with a clown-like
face that I hadn’t seen elsewhere….always new surprises! I think I am becoming a snorkeling
addict! Alex told me that he made some
excellent snorkeling trips in Colombia two summers ago, so I envision myself
traveling to various reefs around the globe, searching for the ideal reef….:-)
Our picnic barbecue was fun, consisting of grilled tuna,
chicken, salad, fluffy basmati rice and watermelon for dessert. The company was entertaining, gathered around
the table with people from all over our planet….just my style. The heat here on
the equator is intense, so after a midday meal, you need a bit of rest on a
gently rocking hammock before moving.
We spotted a large ship anchored just off the island, and we
were told this is the prison ship. The
prisoners are taken out to clean up on various islands. Maafushi has a prison
compound occupying the far end of the island (It only takes about 5 minutes to
walk the entire length of Maafushi from end to end.) A Maafushi resident informed us that there
are only two prisons in the Maldives: the Maafushi prison is for criminals, and
there is a second one near Malé for political prisoners. Indeed, when I googled for information about
the prison on our island, I found news articles from October 2014 about the
escape of two convicted murderers serving life sentences!
After another swim, we reboarded our boats and headed for
Vaavu Atoll to visit another inhabited island there known as Fulidhoo.
Fulidhoo has only transitory tourism, as
there is currently only one small guest house on the island. We came ashore to
find a quiet little village with its own kindergarten facing the ocean, a lovely
mosque, several tiny shops on the main street, including souvenir shops, and a
small grocery where the shopkeeper was happy to sell about 20 ice creams in 20
minutes…
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| main street of Fulidhoo |
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| the lovely mosque on Fulidhoo |
Here, I noticed at least two older men who were dressed in
traditional style – a mundu, or long cotton cloth wrapped around and tied at
the waist, and extending to the ankles.
One
elderly man who was pushing a wheelbarrow stopped to speak to Alex and me as I
was taking photo of a political slogan painted on a wall.
“Photo?
Photo?” he inquired.
We were not
certain whether he wanted us to take a photo of him, or whether he was
inquiring if we wanted him to take a photo of us.
We smiled and declined, not sure how to
communicate, and also not wishing to offend him.
It was quite awkward.
Fifteen minutes later, we encountered him
again on the main street, and he offered us what looked like a very old
orange.
Alex said he observed islanders
interacting with him as if he was a bit ‘special,’ perhaps suffering from dementia.
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| quiet street on Fulidhoo |
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| a surreal image from Fulidhoo |
On our walk around Fulidhoo, we saw children playing
football under a giant banyan tree, its snake-like roots protruding from the
hardpacked sandy streets, and branches trailing to the ground, creating an
atmosphere of tropical luxuriance. I
stopped to buy a map of the Maldives in a stuffy little shop from the only woman
I had seen since arriving in this island nation who did not wear a
headcovering. She was very happy to make
this sale, perhaps her only one that day?
We headed back to the port and hurried back onto our boat as
a local began spraying a very toxic-smelling grey cloud of pesticide intended
to kill mosquitos and heaven knows what else! I suspect that it was DDT, as it
looked and smelled just like the cloud of spray our neighbor in northern
Michigan used to use in the 1970’s to rid the area of mosquito larvae around
his summer girls’ camp. He always came down before he started to warn us to go
inside and close all doors and windows.
Later that evening, we went down to the beach on Maafushi to
join in a celebration of the beginning of the Chinese New Year, organized by
Maafushians for tourists. They had set
up a deejay and disco atmosphere on the sandy shore under the huge starry night
sky. Visitors were dancing to new hits
and a few oldies, while a smoke machine let out big cloudy puffs, and young
local males stood stiffly in a row behind the deejay, watching us dance. I presume they were not permitted to join in,
but not forbidden to observe. It was a
curious sight. Looking up into the vast
night sky, I couldn’t help but notice Orion’s belt always just above us in this
remote part of the world. Being on such a
tiny island surrounded by a vast ocean made me feel more aware of the immensity
of the universe, and how small and insignificant we are. You feel somehow more cocooned in the man-made
landscape of a city.
Friday, February 20
Maafushi
We decided to take a break from island hopping and relax on
Maafushi’s tourist beach today.
Friday
is a day of rest in the Muslim world, so shops and businesses, schools and
public offices are all closed.
Restaurants and shops did open up at 2:00 pm, however, and there were
coconut sellers on the beach, offering to drill a hole in a coconut and pierce
it with a straw to suck out the milk.
You could then return your coconut to have it cut open to eat the fresh
meat.
We ate our fill, which is,
incidentally, low in sodium and cholesterol, a good source of manganese, but
high in saturated fat.
I tried
snorkeling off the shores of Maafushi, but unfortunately there was not much to
see except some sea grasses…no coral reef here! While we had originally planned
to leave on Saturday to stay closer to the airport for our departure on Sunday
at 11:15, we decided that an extra day and night on Maafushi would be far more
pleasant.
Our room at the Stingray Beach
Inn was already booked by someone else for Saturday night, so we began
searching for an alternative.
Our
innkeeper found us a room at Suntan Beach Hotel on the mainstreet of Maafushi
with an ocean view.
We had also checked
out a smaller hotel close to the prison (but very nice…we weren’t put off by
the prison which was not in view) called Equator Beach Hotel, but they were
already fully booked.
We also booked a visit for Saturday to the
little tourist island just 8 minutes away by speed boat called Biyadhoo where
we were told the snorkeling was excellent.
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| on Maafushi's tourist beach where 'bikinis' are permitted |
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| drinking coconut milk straight from the source! |
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| sunset at 6:20 pm on Maafushi |
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| capturing the ephemeral |
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| Health Center on Maafushi |
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| Maafushi Prison Gate...yikes! |
Saturday, February 21 Biyadhoo
At 9:00 am we were headed to the port to catch our boat to
Biyadhoo for the day, traveling together with Mun, Cecilia, Mike and Kuba. Once on the tourist island, we went through
the now familiar routine of arrival and orientation, including what was and was
not included for the price of our entrance fee to the island as day
visitors. A little map indicated that
the southeast coast of the island was off limits for swimming due to a strong
ocean current, and an area adjacent to it was not recommended, known for its
blacktip sharks. This species is
normally wary of humans, but can be aggressive when ‘food’ is present, and has
been known to attack humans!
With that knowledge, we preferred to head for the more
tranquil waters off the northern shore, known for its coral reef. Our first attempt to reach the edge of the
reef was a struggle, as the tide was low, and there were many corals just
beneath the shallow surface. In trying
to find a passage among them, I got my t-shirt stuck on a coral and scraped my
knee and thigh. It took me nearly 20
minutes to reach my destination! Once
there, however, I was rewarded by a beautiful view underwater of a layered reef
teeming with life. I quickly spotted a large golden fish, with a gaping mouth
and large pointed teeth. He swam in
place, listing to one side, his upper fin rippling in the water like a delicate
lace in the breeze. I eyed him warily
but with fascination…he appeared to be waiting for smaller, unsuspecting fish
to swim into the cavernous space of his open jaws….(see vimeo link below)
I also saw some of the adorable Maldivian anemone fish, somewhat
like the ones we associate with Nemo from Disney’s “The Little Mermaid”.
On the sea floor, I saw a bizarre and colorful creature which I have
not succeeded in identifying. It was covered with small,
rounded, protruding branches that looked something like an over-sized, hairy caterpillar …I wasn’t sure whether it was an animal or a plant!
Many times, I wished that I had an underwater
camera, or even better, one of the fabulous GoPros that our new acquaintances
were using.
When I was ready to head back to shore for a rest, I turned
around to swim back along the reef, spotting the titan triggerfish still treading
water in the same location, mouth still gaping.
I managed to find a clear passage back to shore through the coral, and
when I emerged from the water, discovered that the surface scratches from my
battle with the coral were bleeding….a small price to pay for the joys of
snorkeling….
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| not my photo, but this looks like the Titan Triggerfish I saw |
Alex and I decided to treat ourselves to Margaritas at the open-air
bar just behind our chosen shady beach location where we hung our snorkels and
masks on the low-hanging branches of a barringtonia asiatica. This is a waxy-leafed
tree that provided our comfortable shade, and under which I found the prize
souvenir of my trip - a huge seed pod, 10 by 10 centimeters, brown and shiny
with a lovely, sculptural form. We also
took a stroll around the perimeter of the island (time needed with stops for
photos: 8 minutes), discovering its windy southern boundary with waves lapping
the shore, as well as the exotic architecture of the palm- thatched spa and
living quarters for staff. One area
along the southern edge of the island was also indicated as a zone for eagle
rays, a spotted version of the mantas we had already seen.
Later, before our departure, we watched two seaplanes land
just off the coast in front of our beach, and observed a large local cargo
vessel loading before departing the island.
Alex and I took another snorkeling tour of the reef, and this time I
knew where to find the easy passage, made easier by a higher tide. I headed in the opposite direction, hoping
for another glimpse of a sea turtle, but it didn’t happen. Nevertheless, I never tired of the
fascination of these reefs, and I am sure that I will visit them again!
We returned to Maafushi and made our transfer to the Suntan
Beach Hotel for our last night before departure.
Our fellow guests and new friends from
Stingray Beach Inn invited us to join them and two Singaporeans we had met on
our picnic island outing to make a trip to the Mahu Floating Bar anchored just
off the coast of Maafushi.
The visitors from Singapore, Mira and Paul, had read about it on FB and Trip Advisor, and Kuba and
Mike had gone with them the previous evening to check it out.
They were enthusiastic, and I thought it
sounded like a nice way to spend our last evening in this tropical
paradise.
A little flat-bottomed boat
motored us out to the ship, which was decked in colored lights with the sound
of cool jazz and bossa nova emanating from its two decks, equipped with tables
and deck chairs to receive its guests.
The host, according to Kuba, is an Italian, former ship’s captain, who
has a number of contacts with locals, and decided to start this business
just months earlier at the urging of local business people.
The bar is strictly for tourists, however, as
Maldivians are strict Muslims who do not touch alcohol.
Ironically, the bar is moored just off the
coast of the afore-mentioned prison…a subtle reminder….
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| view in front of the Suntan Beach Hotel where we spent our last night |
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| in front of the Suntan... |
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| sculpture on Maafushi |
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| on board the Maaha Floating Bar |
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| with Paul, Mira, and Mike |
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| with Kuba and Alex on the Maaha |
|
|
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| our pilot snapped this as he took us back to Maafushi |
It was a pleasure to sit aboard under the stars, sipping a
glass of wine in the warm evening breeze, joking, talking and dreaming of
future visits.
The Polish friends still
had a week ahead of them, so the rest of us felt a bit envious as our trip was
coming to its end.
Kuba had been filming
his snorkeling trips with his GoPro, and had an encounter with a sea turtle as
I had. In his case, however, he had grabbed onto the turtle and let it pull him
along for a while, something I had not even thought of doing! We mused on this
anecdote, and I came up with an appropriate title for the film version of his
experience, captured on the GoPro: “The
Young (Polish) Man and the Sea (Turtle).” (I
hope you get my take on Hemingway….I know….bad joke…oh well!) Mun insisted on
calling me “Teacher” throughout the day and evening, so I didn’t hesitate to
assign him some homework…
:-)
Sunday, February 22 Departure
from Maafushi….boatride to Malé Airport
Our last morning!
Awakening to the sound of the breeze rustling in the palms, and a view
from our balcony of the blue, blue sea and expansive sky….”Remember this scene,”
I thought to myself. We had breakfast on
the outdoor rooftop terrace, watching the morning parade of islanders and
visitors begin along the sandy, palm-lined beachfront below. I ordered the Maldivian breakfast, enjoying
for the last time the tangy combination of tuna, coconut and onions.
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| breakfast at Suntan Beach Hotel |
We departed in a small motor launch with four other
passengers, including a pleasant young Serbian couple who had joined us on a
number of excursions during the week, and were on our flight back to Europe via
Moscow. The boat trip back to Malé proved a bit wilder and rougher than our
ferry boat trip the previous Sunday. We
hit some waves while approaching the capital, and our driver opted to place us
in the wake of a larger boat that overtook us in order to lessen the bouncing.
As we passed the city, we got our final views of Malé with
its golden-domed mosque glittering in the morning sun, and large container
ships loading and unloading an endless stream of cargo. The airport arrivals
and departures parking in the Maldives is unique…a watery parking lot where
boats pull up to dock and load and unload their passengers.
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| Airport parking lot in Malé |
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| arriving at the airport for our departure |
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| Final view from the airport window...filling out my exit card |
Once seated on our Aeroflot plane, though we were in the
central row, we were able to get an extraordinary view of the takeoff thanks to
cameras mounted on the exterior of the aircraft which gave us a pilot’s view of
the runway, which later shifted to show us the ocean, islands and atolls as we
ascended.
It was a fitting overview of
this amazing island nation that has found a place in my heart, and captured my
imagination.
*The language of the Maldivians is Dhivehi, a language which
is placed in the Indo-Indian group of languages. Dhivehi with its roots in
Sanskrit and according to some researchers Elu, an ancient form of Sinhala,
(spoken in Sri Lanka), is strongly influenced by the major lanuguages of the
region. The language has been influenced heavily from Arabic since the advent
of the Islam in 1153 and English in more recent times, especially since the
introduction of English as a medium of education in the early 1960s.
Interesting Links:
A-Z Maldives:
vimeo video
of a titan triggerfish like the one I saw off the reef at Biyadhoo:
theme music
for my underwater explorations :-) (Philip Glass “Glassworks”):
Mahu
Floating Bar off Maafushi:
Some Final Images......
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| on Vashugiri (picnic island) |
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| seen while eating breakfast :-) |
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| crab hole on the beach |
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| in a Malé shop window |
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| next to every Maldivian toilet-very sanitary |
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| on Maafushi |
