Life in the tropics

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Picture this: swaying palm trees, white warm sand, 35 degree heat, humid air, afternoon siestas... ah yes, this is the life. The routine is generally sleep, eat, gym or swim, eat, read or dive, sleep, read or email, eat, drink, sleep! Every now and then I go to the capital to get off this however many metres squared island we live on, but other than that, life goes on as usual. I start working from Sunday, so that will keep me a little more occupied, although so far so good! Don't think I will be signing up for any "Survivor" challenges though...
Getting here was a bit of a round-the-world trip: San Francisco, Frankfurt, Venice, Singapore, Maldives. Highlights of the voyage itself: a 400 metre sprint through Frankfurt airport laden with backpack, computer, camera and handbag in 30-something degrees (a fun-filled adventure); coming off the plane in Venice to find that my legs had swollen to look like sausages; and arriving in Venice to find my luggage was stranded in Frankfurt. Oh well, the glass of wine I drank en route to Venice must have helped my zen, as I was just glad not to be travelling anymore! The main reason for our visit was the baptism of Cris' niece Andrea, who is 7 months old and very cute. That done, we spent the next 9 days wandering around Mestre (where Cris' parents and brother and sister-in-law live), Venice and Sienna with our local 'guides'; ate our way through enough food to last us a month and generally had a very nice time. We also went to friends of Franco & Luisa (Cris' parents)- Renzo & Cicci for dinner 2 nights before we left. I am happy to report that there was no 'nervete' (nerves) being served this time! Instead, there was a 6 course meal which was absolutely divine. Cicci is a very good cook, as I find are most of the people Cris' family knows. Must be in the air or something! We both quickly developed what they like to call a little 'rotolino' - in other words a little belly roll. It was hard, but it was worth it 😊 I left Italy to fly straight here on Sunday, while Cris spent 2 days in Dubai with some friends (another chef and family) who were travelling through. The place looks amazing! He went to the Abu Dhabi palace, as well as to Gordon Ramsays resturant... in other words continued the eat fest we had started in Italy.
The Maldives
I landed here on Monday, 7 May at 10pm, ready to catch my boat to the mainland, find my hotel, and crash. Cris flew in from Dubai at 8am the next morning, and as luck would have it a boat was ready to go back out with some guests, so off we went. Cristiano and I live in the North Male Atoll on an island called Bodu Hithi or “Big Island” - makes life simple huh! From Male a speedboat trip takes around 40 minutes.
To give you the lowdown, basically everyone who comes to the Maldives lands in the same place - Hulhule Island, which is the airport island. Apart from the fact that you can't actually see land before you land, it all happens smoothly. The customs process is a little on the sluggish side, but in the scheme of things, not so bad. By then you have started to feel the heat. And then you get out into the tropics... whoosh that hot air hits you and you wish you weren't wearing those trousers that were so comfy on the plane. Anyway, adjacent to Hulhule is the island capital of the Maldives called Male, the highly populated main island. A ferry transports passengers to and from the capital (approximately a 5 minute trip - it’s not far). If you are lucky, you land at a decent hour and can get on a seaplane or boat to your destination straightaway. Tourists going to the far islands are re-routed by seaplane and those close by speedboat. If you are not so lucky, you may have to stay in the airport island hotel, which is actually pretty decent, but you need some luck to get a room - the place is heaving most of the time). If you are not so lucky for the second time, you stay on the mainland of Male. It’s no big deal, it just means a bit more travel 😉
For those of you who don’t know much about the Maldives, here’s the skinny:
The Republic of Maldives is made up of a group of 26 atolls containing more than 100 islands in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives are located south of India and around seven hundred kilometers (435 miles) south-west of Sri Lanka. Seaplanes are a great way to see a wonderful birds eye view of the islands and atolls (see picture). The name "Maldives" derives from Maale Dhivehi Raajje, which means "The Island Kingdom under the authority of Male'". This was originally a Buddhist nation until Islam was introduced in 1153. It later became a Portuguese (1558), Dutch (1654), and British (1887) colonial possession. In 1965, Maldives obtained independence from Britain (originally under the name "Maldive Islands"), and in 1968 the Sultanate was replaced by a Republic. In 38 years, the Maldives have only had two Presidents, though political restrictions have loosened somewhat recently.
In total, the population of the Maldives is around 298,800. It is the smallest predominantly Muslim nation in the world. The language, Dhivehi, is from Indo-Iranian Sanskritic origin. According to legend, the kingly dynasty that ruled the Maldives in the past has its origins in the North of the Indian Subcontinent. The Maldivians themselves are generally very dark skinned with Sri-Lankan type features but often finer bones. Most of the women are tiny; the guys are generally not very tall but there are some exceptions. They are a fairly chilled out people in general - I haven't learned the term for 'manana' yet but there has to be a word for it... things can happen at their own speed around here. But after you get used to it, it becomes part of the woodwork. On the resorts though things work a bit faster - gotta keep those guests happy! Currently the main industry here is tourism, however until the 1970s when this began fishing was almost the only industry the country had. Fishing is still a thriving industry in the Maldives especially with the supply and demand from resort islands. Fisherman use fishing boats called Dhoni, which only began to be motorised in 1974. It really is like another world here.
My first real solo expedition in Male
Went in to Male with the tourist expedition. I needed to find a doctor in Male and had two hours to do it. The boat landed, I was pointed in the right direction of the shops, and off I went. At first it all seemed easy. I was confident that at some point I would find a big sign saying “Shopping Centre” or “Medical Centre” and that I would stroll through the air conditioned lobby and find just about everything I needed there. That assumption was incorrect. No streets have street signs in Male, so it’s anyone’s guess as to where the hell you are, you just wander in some sort of grid pattern and hope that you are going in the right direction. Bear in mind that the temparature is also generally in the region of high 30 degrees celcius with 80-90 something % humidity, so wandering isn't exactly a walk in the park. After a while of meandering around, I saw a very small green sign saying ‘pharmacy’. As it happens, a doctor resided next door in a dingy, run down building so in I went. Let me tell you it doesn’t fill you with extreme confidence when your doctor's reception area is dirty, there is a rusty old fridge against the wall that makes a noise indicating it’s about to shuffle off anytime soon, rust and god knows what other stains on the walls and ceiling, etc etc. I obviously have led a sheltered life for too long! With a few heads flicks and some communication attempts I understood that I was to wait in line - 2 other people before me. Waiting, waiting, and the suddenly after a ‘ding-dong’ noise, the door to the surgery rolls back (automated) and someone inside shouts out something (I had no idea what). The next patient goes in. Ok, I say to myself, interesting, but this should be fairly easy to figure out. Ding dong, one out one in. When it was my turn, to my surprise, inside lay a clean room with an Indian lady doctor, who was very helpful. Educated in India and originally from somewhere I can't even pronounce, she has been living in the Maldives for 31 years. For the first 20 she worked for the UN, and now works for the government. Anyway, basically it all worked out just fine, I got what I needed to, and off I went to find a pharmacy that would accept Visa. 15 minutes later, I found myself walking to the other side of the island where the hospital is located. It seems that Amex is the card of choice in this place … if only I still worked for Minters! With 15 minutes to spare, and no taxis in sight, I started walking in the direction I thought the ferry was in. After asking a guy on a motorbike for directions, turns out I was slightly off! He ended up offering me a lift to the ferry and I made it just in time. Ah the joys of new and unusual places. All in all, a productive day in the tropics...
These last couple of pictures were taken at the jetty by the Dive shop - the sunsets on this side of the island are very beautiful. At dusk, you can see all the guests staying in the villas facing the sunset out on deck with champagne glasses in hand, savouring the view. Generally I wander around the island at about this time as it's a little cooler and the colours are beautiful. You see people everywhere just taking it in - on the pool deck, by the jetty, and no matter how many times you see it it's as beautiful as the first. Ahhhh. The boats in the picture are a combination of supply boats and dive boats. If you take one of these boats to Male it takes 2.5 hours, as opposed to 40 minutes on the speedboat. So far I haven't been tempted, but they're great to go diving on.

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Comments

[margie]

fanatstico!
What a brilliant idea to share your travels. Glad your life is so much fun! Keep it up so I can enjoy it vicariously