Jacqui and Richard Abroad

Wednesday, April 5, 2017

Monday March 27th – A nothing day, with a display of Nature at its best

We had a quiet morning but saw the most amazing thing going back to our room at about noon. It was a “National Geographic” moment. We were walking on the dock to get back to our villa which is on stilts, and in the water, very close to shore, there were hundreds of small fish, about 10 cm in length, all swimming in a row formation of about 1 m wide by 20 m long. There were also about 15 – 20 of those bigger aggressive fish (40 – 50 cm in length), looking for lunch, and going after the small fish which basically had nowhere to go. So the small ones were jumping out of the water to try to save themselves, not knowing that a crane was standing there, waiting for them. It was quite a sight to see. I really wish I had my camera for this one.

The rest of our day was spent at the beach – what else are you going to do here? As much as some people might think it would get boring, this is what we needed at this time. We are enjoying our time on the island, and our time together! We are after all celebrating our 30^th wedding anniversary this year, and this is the perfect gift!

We had potential for a nice thunderstorm at night, but it turned out into a small light show at best!

We are in the third unit from this end

A path on the island

The "root" system of those trees is amazing

Don't need a GPS around here!

Sitting in the "garden"

Coral at the bottom of our patio (low tide)

Sunrise - view from our room

And a sunset ...

... to finish up the day!

Tuesday, April 4, 2017

Sunday March 26th - Massage, rays and sharks

We started our day with a full body massage at the resort spa. That led to a debate between Jacqui and I; she thinks it is the best massage she’s ever had, while I think the one we had in Sri Lanka is still first, with this one being a close second! Bottom line, it was awesome! We spent the rest of the day doing nothing, …. and it was great! We got set up at our beach chairs, then walked around the island, making sure to stop at the Sunset bar and the Pool bar on the way. At about 6 pm, we went to see one of the employees feed the rays and the sharks. It was pretty cool to see. The rays come right up to him, while the sharks (maybe 4 – 6 feet in length) stay a little farther. But as soon as he throws food into the water, they all look like teenagers! Food is gone in no time! We then went for dinner and had a quiet evening afterwards.

Sunrise, from our deck

Flower fallen from a tree onto the trail; it will be swept away by the cleaning staff (yes, they do sweep the trails)

Flowers in water at the entrance of the Coconut Spa

Pre massage preparation

Decisions, decisions.

View from the spa

Looking the other way!

It says it all!

Just off the docks leading to the water villas. People leave their shoes and now proceed barefoot onto the island

The way home!

Standing at a bar - Jacqui had to take a picture as this does not happen often!!!

Having a Maldevian Sunrise, at the main bar

The pool, with the pool bar (is there a theme here??)

At least, we know where we are! Pretty close to the equator. Close enough that with the tilt of the planet, the sun rises to your right and sets to your left. Really weird!

In front of a hut made up of corals

Off the beaten track, where the resort grows some of their herbs and produce their electricity

Feeding the rays

A shark swimming by

Sunset on a very nice day!

Saturday, March 25th – Visiting two local islands (Kamadhoo and Kihaadhoo)

We had a very nice breakfast and then went into the water for a bit and stopped at the Sunset bar for a drink. While there, we saw two schools of dolphin swim by. I t was nice to see. We then got ready for our afternoon excursion, which consisted of visiting two “local” islands. After a boat ride of about 30 minutes, we got to our first island, named Kamadhoo. It was an island of about 500 people and a fisherman’s island, and there was nothing else to do there. They had a school that did go up to grade 10. But with the size of the island, just like the one we are on, there are no cars, no motorcycles, no nothing motorized!

The second island, Kihaadhoo, was more developed; some of the buildings had AC. There was a medical clinic, a restaurant, a school, and colours on the buildings, as opposed to just being white/grey, the colour of cement. The population of this island was again around 500, and from what our guide was saying, that is pretty common. We did see some motorcycles on the island, even though I don’t know why with the size of it. Our guide actually lived on this island as he did not return with us. The whole tour lasted for about three and a half hour and we got back by about 6 pm. Just enough time for a quick dip in the ocean, a short walk to the Sunset bar to watch the sun set, which was amazing as the sea was as calm as can be (but no camera with us), then go for dinner. All in all, a very nice day! By the way, the food is amazing!