Maldives - the Final Chapter

You Knew it was Coming, Right?
With all the foreshadowing of the last few posts, you knew I was destined to go ocean snorkeling, right? Dodo worked on me and I also worked on myself. I saw how well she floated with the life jacket and that gave me some comfort. We set off in the speedboat and were at the pavilion in 5 minutes. As I put on my equipment I noticed that the sea was not as rough as before, but there were some sizeable swells. I asked Dodo to get in first so I could take my time - she paddled away without looking back. I stepped down the first few steps and could feel the strength of the current. At the dive center the small Japanese lady who rented us the equipment told me to swim into the current and let it bring me back to the pavilion.

Maldives - Special Breakfast

But the Weather Wouldn't Cooperate
The staff set up a special breakfast table for us on a small jetty near the restaurant. They warned us that the weather was looking a bit off, but encouraged us to give it a try.

Maldives - Nighttime

Stargazing and Snacking
We usually didn't eat dinner at night. Rather, we'd visit the lounge and have a drink and some snacks on their deck. The star gazing was second to only Peru in my experience. It got deeply dark out in the middle of the ocean and the stars gleamed that much brighter as a result.

Maldives - Ocean Snorkeling

It's Official - I'm Dating a Crazy Girl
Nothing could dissuade her, not my logic, not the recent storm, not her snorkeling inexperience. She was going to go snorkel in the deep water - out at the "ocean pavilion."

Maldives - Fishing

Manly-Style: With a Hand Line
I learned to fish with a hand line in Bermuda. No pole, no special stuff, just the fishing line wound around a spool, a hook and bait. I was excited to learn they fish the same way in the Maldives. Dodo and I signed up for a twilight fishing trip in the ocean. We took a speedboat out to the Maldivian-style fishing boat. We were accompanied by our butler Khartik, a Japanese couple and a Chinese couple and their 3 year old daughter.

Maldives - Spa

More Water Views
Our hotel specialized in Indian-style massages and spa treatments. Not that I know a lot about this type of thing but when I looked at their menu that's the feeling I got. You could opt for various natural oil treatments where you are slathered with strongly-scented oil, sit in an old-fashioned steam box and then take a shower. You could also opt for a mud bath, where you are covered in mud and you lay on these warm tile beds, below.

Maldives - Lunch

By the Pool
On an island this small, having a poolside lunch rather than at the restaurant is considered variety. On the western side of the island close to the gym is a large outdoor pool near the ocean. We sat, ordered lunch and trolled through our photo shots.

Maldives - the Critters

The Fish are the Stars of the Show
However, if you don't have an underwater camera you have to focus elsewhere. One day we saw a grey heron drinking water on the lounge deck. He stood there so still that I wasn't sure he was real or part of the decoration.

Maldives - the Beach

A More Traditional Approach to the Water
On the western side of the island there is a beautiful white coral sand beach. Near the northern end of the island there is a small jetty with two deck chairs and an umbrella. You could sit out there, soak up some rays and sip a cool drink. See the small pavilion on the horizon, to the right of the umbrella? That's the "ocean pavilion." Crazy people take a boat out there to deep water snorkel.

Maldives - Ban on Electronics

So, We Kept it Analog
In an obvious strike back at me, Dodo banned television watching. I'd not let her bring along laptop or cellphone and this was retribution. I thought about arguing, but why bother? Matter of fact, when we arrived and learned there was a library that also had two computers with internet connection, I got worried. I told Khartik right away that Dodo was banned from those computers and I thought I'd have to keep my eye on her. To her credit, she never even tried. I, however, did watch a bit of television from time to time. Mostly, though, when we weren't swimming, eating or sleeping, we spent our time reading.

Maldives - Lagoon Snorkeling

Facing the Fear
On the morning of our second day with the low tide in my face, I couldn't hide any longer. I had to prove to myself that I wasn't a chump. Ok, the truth - I had to prove it to Dodo. Had she not been there, I could have comfortably chumped out - it's worked fine so far in my 44 years. I put on the flippers, spit into the mask, wiped it down (I remember that trick from Wild Kingdom), squeezed it over my head and bit down hard on the breathing tube. I waddled over to the ladder. Dodo gave me the thumbs up sign. If she only knew - I could barely breathe already. Once in, the water only came up to my navel. Still, these old fears are not rational. I bent over and put my face in the water. My pulse shot up. I was talking to myself. "Calm down, calm down. Breathe." Then, I did it - I pushed off and floated face first. The water closed over my ears and POW, I shot back up, standing straight, creating a huge splash.

Maldives - Yoga

Listen to the Sound of My Voiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice
I like Yoga. Rather, I like it after I do it - it really loosens me up good. Check out the yoga pavilion - out over the water with a view into the lagoon. So relaxing. Our instructor was a Indian guy whose name escapes me now. He was a doctor of yoga. I didn't know you could become a yoga doctor, but since it was on his nametag, I believed it. I was on vacation and ready to be gullible.

Maldives - Breakfast

..and Getting Used to Service

I didn't order a butler and it didn't appear that everyone there had a butler but for some reason, our villa came with a butler. His name was Khartik - he was from Chennai, India originally. He'd introduced himself the night before and walked us to our villa and I thought that would be it, but no, everywhere we turned, there he was freshening up our room, looking to offer help, giving us a ride in a golf cart or asking to book us some excursion. Neither of us was used to a butler - it really threw us in the beginning.

Maldives - the Plunge Pool

This Was More My Speed...
I'm not sure why it was called a "plunge" pool - maybe you're supposed to dip in and out quickly? I liked to lounge in it near one of the tall shutters that blocked the sun. I borrowed Dodo's hat and laid back, relaxed and sported my golfer's tan. Later I'd practice snorkeling - with flippers and all. I'm sure it looked pathetic - a grown man with a mask and fins splashing around in a 2-foot deep pool.

Maldives - Testing out the Lagoon

I Was the First One In, Sorta
You readers know that the kid doesn't necessarily like water. I like looking at it, cleaning with it, drinking it - I just don't like to swim in it. Sensing the low tide, however, I made my break. I'd been awake perhaps 20 minutes and wasn't thinking clearly. There were about 9 ladder rungs in total and 6 were showing. The water felt a bit cool so I just made a quick move in. It was very shallow, only to my waist, I had to kneel to get the water over my shoulders. I spent about 5 minutes in and then came back up.

Maldives - the Setup

Surrounded by Water
Our island was only about 700 yards long and perhaps 50 yards wide. It stretched north to south with a restaurant and bar on one end and a gym and spa on the other. There were a few small houses on the island near the beach but the majority stayed in thatched roof villas which were perched on stilts in the lagoon. The time zone is three hrs earlier than Singapore so we were wide awake by 6am. The tide was at its lowest - around 4 feet deep and the sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon. It was warm: 85 degrees with a nice breeze.

Maldives - the Approach

A Plane then a Speedboat
On the cab ride to the Singapore airport the Dodo was scratching her arms. "Babe, why can't I bring my iPhone?" She seemed a bit panicked. I'd banned all electronics - no laptop, no Blackberry, no iPhone. I don't think she'd ever been without electronics in her life. On the plane she was still poking me and complaining. However, once we landed at Male airport at the top of the map, below, the complaints had ceased - the adventure had begun. We were met at the airport by two hotel reps who walked us approximately 100 yards to a waiting speedboat. We hopped on and zipped along for 15 minutes to Embudhoo. It was around 10pm and totally dark.

We walked to our room and collapsed.

Mystery Trip Revealed....

South Male Atoll, the Maldives
Where? The Maldives are a series of 2,000 coral islands about 450 miles away from Sri Lanka in the Indian Ocean. They're a 4 hr flight from Singapore. The Dodo had no idea, not until we checked in. She thought she knew it all. As I told the cabbie what terminal to take us to, she confidently boasted "I know where we're going....to Bali!!" NOT.