The
Maldives are part of an ancient continent that sunk into the ocean and are now
just a bunch of islands (atolls) in the Indian Ocean, just south west of Sri
Lanka (formerly known as Ceylan). There are 1190 islands making up the country,
with a total population of about 400,000, spread over a country that is made up
of 99% water and 1% land. The island that we are on, where our resort is,
measures 660 m by 220 m, according to the information given by the resort. The
highest elevation of the island is 7 feet, 8 inches above sea level (yes, we
did climb it!). The resort is the whole island! You can walk around the whole
island, which is all beach, in about 35-40 minutes, if you don’t stop at the
Sunset bar for a drink (but why would you not stop???)!
It took
three flights - Muscat to Doha (1½ h), Doha to Malé (4½h) and Malé to
Dharavandhoo (20 minutes) and a boat ride from Dharavandhoo to Reethi Beach
Resort (30 minutes and crossing a time zone) to get there, but it was all worth
it!
We got in
at about 1 pm, after taking a late night flight from Muscat (11 pm departure
time), so it was one of those “red eye” thing, where you try to get some sleep
on the plane. After we got here, we walked around in the afternoon, discovering
our new surroundings and also spending some time in the water. According to the
forecast that I’ve seen, it’s always highs of 31 and lows of 27. Water
temperatures is probably at 85-88o F. We can live with that!! The food that we’ve had so far has been very
delicious. Everything is fresh and very tasty. The staff is very friendly and
always willing to help you. So far, we are very impressed!! And the water is so
clear that you see fish everywhere, regardless of the depth. It has been a very
good first day (even though the evening part was short due to lack of sleep on
the previous night).
The one
thing that we have noticed is that there is no waste on the island; everything
is either reusable or recyclable. There is no plastic anywhere! There is no garbage
of any sort. All drinks are either served from glass bottles or cardboard
boxes, straws are made of the same material that they use to make sucker
sticks, chairs and tables are made of teak wood.
And the
island being this small, there is no need for motorized transportation, so it
is very quiet (there are no motorized vehicles on the island.
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| Boarding Pass - I guess we're going to the beach! |
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| Our air carrier from Malé to Dharavandhoo |
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| Atolls |
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| A resort on one of the many islands |
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| More atolls |
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| We are just a boat ride away! |
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| Deserted island along the way |
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| Getting close to "home" |
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| Our welcome drink |
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| Sandy path - it was sand everywhere! |
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| Desserts look good! |
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