The Maldives
When you think of the Maldives, you think of idyllic islands, pure white beaches - as near to paradise as you can get; and the island I went to was certainly all of those. I initially flew into Male airport, the country's capital and the biggest island in the central archipelago. It only measures six kilometres square, and every inch of land is used - it is the most densely populated capital city in the world as well as being the smallest. The island itself is less than a metre above sea level and it has no beaches - it's just full of skyscrapers, shops, restaurants and places where people live. It is surrounded by a man made sea wall to try and protect it from the rising oceans, but it is in constant fear of disappearing into the sea - in the not so distant future. When I arrived at the International airport, I had to transfer to the sea-plane section ready for my flight to the island of Meedhupparu. This airport is like nothing else I have ever seen - just look at the photographs below. The pilots who fly these seaplanes are known as "Bare foot Pilots", as from here onwards, the only thing you walk on is sand - there is no need for shoes at all.
The colour of the sea was incredible! I have never seen anything like it, the most beautiful turquoise aquamarine imaginable - and it was dazzlingly bright. Once inside the small plane (A Twin Otter), it was so hot; there wasn't any air conditioning at all - just a small hole in each window. As soon as we took off, the air came in through these little holes and made the temperature bearable; and the views of the reefs and islands below were wonderful. The Maldive Islands are a geological wonder of the world, originally formed from a chain of oceanic volcanoes that slowly subsided into the ocean; then reefs built of over millions of years, some encircling lagoons others making channels - quite a remarkable sight. The Maldives are made up of many different Atolls, each containing numerous islands - the Raa Atoll where I was going, has more than eighty islands - of which only a quarter are inhabited.
It wasn't long before I arrived at Meedhupparu, my own little paradise; a coral island in the Raa Atoll, rising no more than a metre out of the Indian Ocean. It was only two weeks after the devastating tsunami in December 2004, and right up until the day I left for my holiday, I didn't know if it was going to be cancelled. But I had been assured that there were no problems on this island - which I found hard to believe with it hardly rising out of the water. But, apparently, due to the surrounding coral reef and its gentle beaches - the waves were detracted around the island - rather than over it. That was nice to know - but still slightly un-nerving! The first few days it was hard not to keep looking out at the horizon and imagining the horror people went through when the devastating wave struck. But it was such as idyllic place, I soon began to relax.
The Island generally has British and Italian tourists, but the Italian tour company had stopped its clients coming due to the tsunami; so there were no more than twenty tourists on the whole island - it was very close to being my own deserted island.
Everyone had their own little bungalow, nestled in between trees and bushes, and just a few yards from the purest white beach; the bungalows were in pairs, and their nearest neighbour was quite a distance away. You were so secluded, and felt as if you had your own private beach - except for the odd person walking by, perhaps doing a circuit of the island - which only took about forty five minutes. You may think that it would be boring, stuck on an island with no telephones or television (although they are probably there now!), but I can honestly say that I was never bored - not even for a minute. You could walk around the island several times each day, paddling in the clear waters, watching the most colourful fish swimming carefree between your legs - I have never seen so many different varieties of marine fish. I have never been snorkelling, and I'm not very brave, but I was desperate to see more of what was underwater. So I swum out from the beach, with a big rubber ring and a pair of goggles on - what a sight I must have looked! But after that first attempt, I was so excited at what there was to see, I became more confident every day - and very quickly lost my buoyancy aid!
In the centre of the island, there was a swimming pool, next to the restaurant - and what little entertainment there was on an evening was centred around this area. It is an All-Inclusive complex - a good job really; as there is nowhere to pop to if you wanted something different to eat or drink!
Each bungalow had it's own sun loungers, and patio furniture - so there was no fighting for sunbeds. You could, and I did.............drag the sun lounger right to the water's edge - or occasionally into it. That was my idea of heaven - sunbathing whilst dangling my feet in the sea! Whenever I walked around the island, or passers-by walked past, the topic of conversation was always "Did you see.......", or "Have you seen ......" - it was always about what was in the ocean, and every day there was something new to see. There were sharks, rays, dolphins jumping out of the water, as well as such a multitude of colourful smaller sea creatures and fish.
As well as the complex in the centre of the island, there was a beach bar that opened at certain times of the day - specifically for sunset - a delightful place to spend the last hour of the day before getting ready for going to dinner. As soon as the sun had set, it was really dark; there were hardly any lights anywhere and it was pitch black walking through the forest to the restaurant. I would definitely take a torch if I went back again - I would love to go back again one day.
At that time, I didn't have an underwater camera, but this might give you an idea of what colours you could see whilst just paddling .........................
The long pier went right out to where the reef ended, and from that point it literally was the dark, deep blue sea - an immediate colour change from the lighter aquamarine of the reef . By the end of my holiday, I had become brave enough to walk along the pier, jump off the end and snorkel back to shore - that was a real big thing for me! What did surprise me was the noise for those few minutes when I was in the darker section - it was noisy; as if the ocean was alive and talking. Nothing like the quiet, serene feeling whilst I floated back into shore above the coral reef.
It wasn't like other resorts around the world, where you could book various day trips - there wasn't anywhere to go; but they did offer fishing trips on certain days. These took place late afternoon and I decided to have a go. After several hours of sitting (slightly bored and feeling a bit queasy!), I felt something tug on my handline. Oh the excitement! It took me about half an hour to pull in, what I was convinced was at least a six foot shark..............but this is what it was! I was so proud of myself!
All the fish that were caught, were taken back to the hotel to be eaten by the guests and hotel staff.
It was certainly the place for sunrises and sunsets - you could always go the the appropriate side of the island for the perfect shot.
Lynne
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