One of the most astonishing moments of sailing at the Maldives was when I shot my first picture. Once I got it, I absentmindedly started browsing through the various Instagram effects and I was taken aback to find that – for the first time ever – the original picture was the best. The Maldives seemed to have been photoshopped by nature.
Most people who travel to the Maldives are either honeymooners or divers. Now since I have never had success in obtaining either suitable husband or diving certificate, it had also never crossed my mind that I should make this place of paradise my destination I am usually in favour of trips loaded with adventure and challenge, but that particular winter, I wished for nothing else but snow-white sand, azure-blue sea and palm trees.
It became obvious pretty soon that resorts were not for my wallet, but surfing the net I found an interesting trip: one week on a relatively small boat with eight passengers and a staff of six, costing the same as a single night in a better resort.
Bunk bed vs resort
Sleeping in the bunk bed of a small cabin would obviously not be as comfortable as sleeping in a luxury bungalow; however our group wouldn’t be stuck in one place, and would have the opportunity to dive and swim at various small islands, and get to know the locals to a greater extent. Holiday makers rarely make friends with the personnel of luxury hotels, while due to living in close quarters with staff on a smaller boat, a more personal relation can develop.
When our plane hit the tarmac, the ocean was at arm’s length on both sides. I had never seen so many bright faces after landing. The eight passengers of the boat convened at the small airport were from different parts of the world. Soon we hit the water and the adventure was on.
Ninty-nine percent of this 90 000 km2 country is water. This basically means that if we put together all the dry landmass of the Maldives, we would get an area that is approximately the size of Kecskemét, a small town in Hungary. The landmass consists of 1190 islands assembled along 26 atolls, out of which 200 are inhabited and a further 90 are designated as resort islands. These latter host bikini clad, alcohol consuming tourists living a lifestyle completely different from that of the conservative natives.
Boating trips introduced
For decades there was a government ban on the operation of hotels on islands inhabited by locals. It wasn’t until a few years ago that opening guest houses became possible, which also made way for relatively cheaper vacations. Prices are still a lot higher than in Asia as, besides fish, everything has to be imported and if a guest wants to splash around in a swimsuit, they have to sail to an uninhabited island.
This latest problem was solved by the introduction of boating trips, which provide more varied opportunities for diving. At first it only became popular among divers, while today it is the cool thing to do for other tourists as well.
A Healthy Way of Life
As we were leaving the area of atolls that formed the airport through a narrow canal, the waves became stronger and most of us started to feel sea sick. Sitting in the fresh air on the deck, staring at the horizon made it more bearable, but as soon as you had to go down to the cabin or to the toilet nausea set in instantly. I was a bit panicky that I would be seasick for a week. Luckily, after the first few hours, we found our sea legs soon enough.
The daily routine turned out to be the following: it started with a huge breakfast; our crew even served French toast, one of my all time favorite meals.
This was followed by an hour or two rest and then snorkeling. Back on the boat again, we were given a snack, and not much later lunch. I had never eaten so healthy for a whole week in my whole life; the crew caught fresh fish every single day (mainly tuna), and the talented chef prepared it differently for each and every meal.
The after lunch siesta allowed for either napping or reading, and then in the afternoon we jumped in the water again. Afternoon snack was always some freshly baked cake, and before you knew it, it was dinner time. One of the passengers turned out gluten-sensitive, which meant no trouble for the chef, who prepared a separate meal for her each time. In the meantime, of course, our boat was constantly moving although from time to time we did stop at some of the inhabited and uninhabited islands.
My bodyguard
My first snorkeling effort was a bit of a disaster. I was the only beginner among the passengers. I had only used a snorkel once before, and that was in perfectly calm water. This time almost immediately, a huge wave washed over my head filling the breathing tube with briny water, making me choke and cough, my limbs flailing and splashing in the waves. Just like in a movie, captain Moe threw himself into the water in no time, firmly grabbed me under my arms and helped me back on the boat, where I could catch my breath again for a while.
After I have pulled myself together, I set out again and this time, successfully. At any rate, from this time on captain Moe did not leave me alone in the water for a second. If the water was calm, he simply swam near me keeping a close eye, but if it turned choppy, he put a hand on my arm for safety and guided me thus in the water. The fellow passengers started calling him “Eva’s bodyguard”.
No Sex Before Marriage
We made friends not only with captain Moe but the other members of the crew as well. I tried to figure out at no end how Balu the cook could fix a five to six course gourmet dinner in a simple, two square meter kitchen, but we also talked a lot with Bongo, our guide. I learnt that the Maldives holds a strange world record: the number of divorces is the highest here. There are 11 divorces per 1000 inhabitants, which is twice as high as in runner up Belarus.
According to strict Muslim laws, sex is not allowed before marriage, so young people tend to tie the knot pretty early in life. Such relationships can be emotionally unstable and completely lack financial support. No wonder they usually turn out dysfunctional after a month or two, so super quick divorces are very common, aided by uniquely lenient divorce procedures. It is enough for the husband merely to state his desire for divorce and the marriage comes to an end. Women have to appear in court to make the same request but even there approval is almost automatic.
A Thousand Shades of Blue
The sea showed a different face every single day. I who usually can’t stay put just sat on the deck staring at a thousand shades of blue. “We must live in a dream” – we confirmed with each other several times a day. Although all of us experienced world travelers, we had not seen such amazing blues before. Depending on the depth of the water, sometimes it was almost a transparent, other times a deep blue, showcasing every shade from light turquoise to azure in between. There were times when we were looking at a panoramic 360 degree palette of the colour blue, in every tint and shade.
Just like above water, the underwater world held stunning wonders for us. We swam among hundreds of colorful fish, but we also saw turtles, rays and baby sharks. You do not have to be afraid of shark attacks in the Maldives, and jellyfish stings are fairly rare too. Besides the extremely spectacular, diverse and safe diving conditions, another advantage is that the water is balmy warm; even deep divers wear no wetsuit.
Garbage:-(
On the uninhabited islands, we walked on white sand as fine as icing sugar. The only thing that made me said was the amount of garbage. Soft drink bottles, empty tubes of sun tan lotion and what not thrown overboard ships washed up on these beaches spoiling the illusion of paradise.
Sometimes we were anchored at inhabited islands as well. These were surprisingly neat, clean, and organized settlements, where strong emphasis must have been put on education as every school was especially nicely maintained. Everyone from young to old gathered on the beaches in the evenings. The adults were chatting, young guys played football, and the girls played tennis. Their social life took place in a truly friendly, peaceful, and calm world; and so for fun they didn’t need to turn to the virtual reality of Facebook.
No nightclubs
The Maldives are definitely not Ibiza. There are no nightclubs here, but they have a specific music called Boduberu, which is performed by a band consisting only of male musicians. They play drums and sing: and as the rhythm of the music quickens, males in the audience start dancing and go into trance by the end of the song.
Another unforgettable night was when dinner was served at an uninhabited island under a sky generously sprinkled with stars. Our crew prepared all the courses on board and transported the dinner with a dinghy to the island. When it got dark, they decorated the beach with dozens of lanterns. They even built tables and chairs from sand. There was fresh fish on the grill and a table transported from the boat was laid heavy with side dishes. The idyllic scene was only disturbed when a rat made an appearance, and this caused considerable amount of screaming among the women.
No Facebook
Being completely isolated from the outside world greatly added to our state of perfect relaxation. There was no internet, so nobody buried themselves in their laptop to browse news items or post on Facebook. We watched the sunset, enjoyed the warm breeze, and just talked around the table after dinner discussing the great questions of life.
It was hard for me to believe that I would not be bored on a vacation where there were no new spectacles to discover every day, not even a single world heritage site. Now I know that I am able to enjoy complete relaxation as well. There is magic in simply getting lost in the beauty of nature and realizing over and over what a fascinating world we live in.
