This was our first visit here.
The Maldives officially the Republic of Maldives, is an
Asian country, located in the Indian Ocean, situated in the Arabian Sea. It
lies southwest of Sri Lanka and India. The chain of 26 atolls stretches from
Ihavandhippolhu Atoll in the north to the Addu City in the south. Comprising a
territory spanning roughly 115 sq mi, the Maldives is one of the world's most
geographically dispersed sovereign states as well as the smallest Asian country
by land area and population, with around 427,756 inhabitants. Malé is the
capital and most populated city, traditionally called the "King's
Island" for its central location.
The Maldives archipelago is located on the Chagos-Laccadive
Ridge, a vast submarine mountain range in the Indian Ocean, which also forms a
terrestrial ecoregion, together with the Chagos Archipelago and Lakshadweep.
With an average ground-level elevation of 4 ft 11 in above sea level, it is the
world's lowest country, with even its highest natural point being the lowest in
the world, at 7 ft 10 in.
sunrise & sail in
I had set up a Full Day Adventure of Snorkeling &
Island Villages on Traditional dhoni Boat (wooden boat) with Secret Paradise. https://secretparadise.mv/tour/local-day-activities/
Today
we were joined by Kris & Andrea, John & Toni and Tom & Lynn. (and
later Sonya)
We
got on the first tender, so we were about a half an hour early to meet our tour
guide, but you just never know when you might get added to a tender.
Often
times, tour guides are early just in case you get off early, but we waited and
waited. Our 8:30 tour meeting time came and went. I stayed with the group and
Greg walked the pier in both directions and no tour operator with a sign with
my name or wearing a Secret Paradise tee shirt.
Several
locals came up to us to see if we wanted to take their tour. I said we’d wait
for the tour we had set up. One offered to call our tour guide and when he did
the phone was either turned off or out of range. So, we finally decided that we
would go with these guys. They were less than half the price of the tour I had set
up. It was a bit shorter and only went to one island and we didn’t get the
buffet lunch experiencing the local foods. We didn’t care about the price and
would have gladly gone with the original company if they had shown up.
photos while we waited for the guide
We
walked from Jetty 1 to Jetty 3 where our traditional dhoni (large wooden boat) was
waiting for us. We got in and then another lady from our ship was walking by
and they recruited her to come along. She agreed and joined us. Her name is
Sonya and we all kinda knew her. She didn’t snorkel and stayed on the boat and
took photos.
A
couple people asked if they supplied water and one of the boat guys went and
bought a case of large bottles of water. These guys really took good care of us
all day. We got 3 snorkel stops and then went to one island for lunch at a
restaurant on the beach.
walk to the boat
our boat
Kris & Andrea
Kris, Andrea & Lynn
John & Toni
one of the crew
Lynn & Tom
view out of the front
ride to the firsts snorkel stop
John
caught a couple of tuna on the rides between snorkel stops. The boat guys had a
line out (no pole, just the reel of line) and John brought in a couple small
tuna.
Our
last stop was the most awesome experience ever. I think everyone in the group
said it was the most fish and the largest stingrays and eels that we have ever
seen. After a short time in the water we went over by this wall and some guys
on shore poured some chum in the water and all of the schools of fish, the eels
and the rays swarmed all around us. The rays weren’t Mantas, but they were
HUGE. There were eels large and small free swimming amongst the fish to get
food. One large eel grabbed a large chunk and swam away with it. The whole
scene was just surreal. While there have been many places with much better
corals, this is probably the best fish, eels and rays that we have encountered.
Then
we headed to the island of Himmurfushi for lunch at a restaurant called Sea
Breeze. Our guide took us through the narrow streets and call to prayer could
be heard from the speakers about the island.
He
took us to where we could use the restroom and then led us to a table to get
some lunch. The waiter gave us a menu and took our orders. Greg got fish &
chips and I got fried chicken noodles. We got photos of the beach and the
colors of the water were so many shades of aqua and blues. Just paradise! 
walking through town
Kris, Andrea, John Toni, Sonya
Kris, Andrea, John, Toni, Lynn
looks like they all discovered the free WIFI
where we shopped
ride back to the port
While
we will never know how good the experience would have been with the company
that didn’t show up, everyone said they didn’t know what could have made the
day any better. (other than more snorkeling) Thanks guys for going with the
flow.
We
then went back to the pier and most jumped right on the next tender back to the
ship, but Greg and I went for a short walk around town. We only went a few
blocks, but it gave us a feel for the place. Unfortunately, it’s a Muslim
island and we were here on a Friday, so most things were closed.
We
had beautiful sunny weather and just super visibility for snorkeling. Plus, it
was just a great group of snorkelers today. We were very pleased with the guys
that rescued us from not having a tour today. I asked the name of the company
and they just said it’s called Excursions & Tours. It looks like they do
tours for some of the resorts & hotels. The email address is hassangaalib@gmail.com
They do tours by speedboat or traditional dhoni. Highly recommend the dhoni
since it has so much room. (as long as you didn’t have 20 or 30 people packed
on it)
We
got back earlier than expected and we checked out the dinner menu. It was a
menu we hadn’t had yet on this cruise. It was dim sum, tempura shrimp, sweet
& sour pork and a few other Asian dishes. So, we got showered and dressed
for dinner. Our waiter said he saw the same menu last year, but they don’t do
it often. It was to represent the region we are in. Not exactly, but it was
yummy.
The
entertainer was Jim Hodson from Australia that played, electric guitar,
electric ukulele and the trumpet. He did a great show and did some silly jokes.
He ended with Stairway to Heaven.
***When,
we got back on board I checked my phone and the tour operator that stood us up
had sent an email saying they were concerned since the guide had not found us.
Said he was there from 8:15. They were worried that we were poached by a cheaper
operator and we stood them up. We actually told this guy several times we
wanted to wait for the guide we had booked. There is no way our guide was
there. It was a small area and it would have been hard to miss him. I’d think
since he was looking for 8 people and we were the only small cluster there, it
should have been easy. He just didn’t show up. He said he had a missed call,
but when he called back it was a wrong number. I watched the guy call and he
had me listen and it didn’t ring and I heard the message that it was either
turned off or out of area.
I
also had an email from the tour operator in Sri Lanka about our fiasco of a
day. It said I’m looking into what happened. I’ll get back to you.
We
are happy that we have 3 sea days to rest and maybe look at our photos from
this past week or so before we make our stop in the Seychelles.
Maldives snorkel video https://youtu.be/xXcB_V2Sm00
Male, Maldives – https://photos.app.goo.gl/GP9T64D3TzNbqaiv8
Maldives Snorkeling – https://photos.app.goo.gl/YESGn1Fvu9ei8c4p9
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