Athama Palace Male

The clear light blue sea with little cottages on the horizon. That is Maldives, my dream holiday destination!

I have seen a lot of pictures showing perfect mirror-clear sea water around small huts--but I never had a chance to visit --until May this year of 2009.

Amid the flu scare, we flied to Maldives , a small atoll in the vast ocean. When we arrive at the airport , I ...

... hidroviao, o primeiro voo em hidroviao das nossas vidas, e foi bastante agradavel pois voamos bastante baixo e podemos disfrutar de vistas espectaculares sobre as ilhas do Atol Male Norte. Helengeli e uma ilha pequena (algumas centenas de metros de comprimento por menos de 100 de largura) e bastante tranquila. Na ilha ha apenas 50 quartos para turistas, e ao chegarmos descobrimos que 90% deles eram suicos. A praia de areia branca e o mar azul criam uma paisagem ...

... was awesome! Ate and drank far too much as you always do on all inclusive! It was free to take out pedlo's and kayaks so went out on a kayak one day, it was just beautiful! Had a wee game of golf one day which was a good laugh, it was only a 6 hole course and I was 18 over par! So basically I'm rubbish, although considering it was the second time I've held a golf club, it maybe wasn't too bad. We played in the Texas ...

Well, not too long after the last post I was attacked by the Z monster. I got on the flight from Colombo to Male and passed out until the flight attendant was telling me to put my seat up. I landed at 1900 at Male international and got through immigration quickly. Ali had some of his airport security buddies looking after me, but they didn't reveal themselves to me until I saw Ali and his brother Ziyad. We took a dhoni over to ...

... all, and was picked up by my first hotel. I never even saw my luggage after having cleared customs. I was so impressed by the service level, it's extremely high. I had a couple of hours at Maldivian air taxi terminal waiting for my short flight to Komandoo island. I thought I'd be very tired after my long journey, but the wait was fine, I amused myself watching the seaplanes take off and land, so two hours went by very quickly ...

... worn by men in India (and I assume Sri Lanka). As they sailed away, I couldn't help but wonder what our conversations could have been if we could all sit around a table, a fire, etc. and communicate freely. How old were they? Will they fish their whole life? How many fish, and what type do they catch? Do they have kids? and so on. It may seem silly, but it is these kinds of moments that really enlighten my spirit, because no matter how different your worlds, travelling ...

... would hit and someone would pity my 16 year old looking self with a pro bono $100 night at a resort rate) it was confirmed no place on any beach under $300. Okay, so I am off on the ferry to Male island to Host Inn hotel for $65. I just have to say though how shocked I was to realise that the hundreds of foreigners around me packing into immigration were absolutely rich. I mean, these people are all here spending at the absolute minimum $300 a night and many $3000 a night. I just ...

... to Maldives until the end of the project - timelines a little uncertain but potentially May 2007. I'm getting quite sad about leaving and I suppose that is made worse by the fact that Doug will be here for another 5 months. We finally had a submarine ride a couple of weeks ago. It was delayed by two days due to an extensive search that was underaken with the help of the submarine for someone lost at sea. Apparently there was a hit and run (involving boats of ...

... of hikes in the Gatineau Hills-outside our door. Last year at this time I was building a tree fort for the kids - finished off by Fred and Caitlin over Thanksgiving weekend. We will miss my most favourite time and holiday of the year as well as my father's birthday on Thanksgiving Monday. Melissa wants me to make pumpkin pie already - not sure if I can find pumpkin but I'll check. That's it for now. Take care of yourselves during this busy time of the year. xo Linda

... beach bungalow with an open air bathroom and our own stretch of the beach, we knew we were in for a fantastic 2 weeks. The first thing after dumping our bags was snorkelling. Diving in the warm and seeing the underwater life and coral was just out of this world. Every kind of tropical fish you could imagine. The house reef on Maayafushi was amazing, considering the coral bleaching in the Maldives and that the area was still recovering, the sights we saw will ...