Bonjour de la Suisse: Paradise found!

Sun, sand, and sea… that’s what the Maldives are all about. We wanted to go somewhere a little different (and warm) for our last “big” trip of our stay here in Europe, and the Maldives sounded perfect! It is the "European Hawaii” and it is an absolute paradise. The Maldives are made up of over 1000 pristine, tranquil, tropical islands with white sandy beaches, swaying palm trees, and brilliant turquoise lagoons.

The Maldives are truly unique. 99% of the country is covered by the sea and it holds the record for being the flattest country in the world, with a maximum natural ground level of only 2.3 m (7½ ft). Situated in the Indian Ocean, southwest of Sri Lanka, it’s a major destination for scuba divers, who come for the fabulous reefs and the wealth of marine life.

I couldn’t scuba dive on this trip (although G could), but I could snorkel. We decided to stay on the small, rustic island of Vilamendhoo (which only measures 900m or ½ mile long by 250m wide), based on its house reef which is one of the best for snorkeling and we weren’t disappointed! There are over 1200 species of fish in the Maldives, and the snorkeling was about the best I had ever experienced… but before we could do that we had to get there first.

We flew through London (surprise, our luggage didn’t get lost this time). From there we had a ten hour flight to the capital city of Malé (pronounced: "Maa-lay"). We had given up our two seats together for a family, thinking this would bring us good karma on the trip… no such luck. I got stuck next to a couple who made-out for most of the flight and my headset was completely broken. We didn’t even get a complimentary drink for our troubles (I would have given mine to G)… oh well, we were headed to paradise!

Once there, we flew to Vilamendhoo by sea plane, which was very cool. Unfortunately we landed in what seemed to be the middle of a monsoon! But the staff welcomed us with flower leighs, welcome drinks, and a giant pink umbrella that we got to keep all week (but hoped we wouldn’t need too much). We were exhausted after all the traveling, so we just settled into our beachfront bungalow and relaxed for the rest of the day, thrilled we were finally here.

At dinner we were shown our assigned table we would have for the rest of the week. Good thing; it was a table for two. Bad thing; it was smack in the middle of the buffet line! No joke… it was the ONLY table in the area where people were getting their food. Now I normally don’t complain about anything, but this was ridiculous! Thankfully we were reassigned to a 4-person table and ended up meeting a really nice couple from South Africa who G dove with most of the week.

The next day was fantastic, the sun was out and it seemed that all of our troubles were behind us. In the morning, G did his check dive and I got the lay of the land (it only takes about 20 minutes to walk all the way around the island). After, we had a nice lunch out at the beach bar and we met our neighbors, a really nice couple from London. We spent the afternoon snorkeling and lounging around, which was very nice.

But the day still had a couple surprises for us. First we somehow managed to lock our key in our bungalow and then we found out that at the “Adventure Center” the only speedboat on the island (as well as the only jet ski) were both broken and would not be fixed for at least a week. I was bummed because the speed boat was the only way to go on further a field snorkeling trips to see the manta rays and whale sharks (which is what I was most looking forward to doing). It turned out that we weren’t really in the manta ray or whale shark season anyway, so in the end it didn’t really matter.

Wednesday was here already, so we took advantage of the good weather and snorkeled for most of the morning. The conditions were great; we saw so many amazing fish and even a sea turtle! But our bad luck was still with us…. We thought we had lost our bungalow key altogether on out outing and we searched the water to see if we could locate it (there is a $100 fee for lost keys). No luck. G decided to head to reception to tell them the news. , Unbeknownst to him, he had cut his foot pretty badly on the coral and only realized it when a woman in reception pointed out the huge puddle of blood he was standing in!! Meanwhile, back at the bungalow, I discovered that the key had been sitting on our front porch all morning! We didn’t have to pay for a new key, but after that the entire staff knew exactly who we were! Thankfully the rest of the afternoon was mellow. I did some more snorkeling and hanging out on the beach and G went out on his first dive.

The next day we went on our first “excursion” which was a snorkeling trip away from the island. Our London neighbor was there too along with a couple of Turkish girls. Again, the snorkeling was fantastic with more fish and we even saw a couple of good sized eels. G went diving in the afternoon and I lounged on the beach with our London neighbors where we met a couple of guys from Lausanne (which is only ½ hour from Geneva). When G got back at dusk, we saw baby sharks swimming around just off our beach! We ended up seeing them a few more times at dusk and early in the morning. They were really cool to see.

That night we had planned a romantic dinner on the beach which we had to reserve in advance. As we walked to dinner, not 10 minutes before our reservation the skies opened up and it began to rain!! Our table was moved inside (where some kind of construction work was going on) and we were treated to some very loud 80’s rap music (I think it was to cover up the noise form the construction). Not exactly the most romantic evening, but we took it all in stride and reserved a beach table for the following night.

The next day the rain cleared up and we did our usual; a little snorkeling, lunch at the beach bar, and relaxing on the beach near our bungalow. I was really looking forward to dinner, but while we were getting ready I somehow managed to give myself a 220 volt shock from the curling iron. I felt it all the way up to my shoulder! Because I was 20 weeks pregnant we ended up on the phone with our insurance company and paying a visit to the island doctor. What a fiasco!

Turns out I was just fine, so it was off for a second try at a romantic candlelight beach dinner. Some things are just not meant to be. Because the winds had kicked up quite fiercely, they put our table in the bushes outside the restaurant (not exactly on the beach, but in the sand nonetheless). The poor waiter re-lit our candles about 8 times and by the time desert arrived, it was pouring rain again! The saving grace of the night (at least for me) was it was disco night on the island, so after dinner we sat in the bar, laughed our bad luck away and did a little dancing!

The next day there was a dive trip planned to where you supposedly could see whale sharks and manta rays. I was going to go along too, but just snorkel while everyone else dove. But because of weather it was canceled at the last minute and instead the dive boat was headed somewhere else. G still went diving but I literally jumped onto another boat that was leaving at the same time, but headed for an excursion to a local island.

They let me join the excursion, which turned out to be a very interesting look into Maldivian culture. But because I thought I was going diving, I didn’t have a dime on me! About 2 hours of the afternoon was set aside for shopping and since it was drizzling, I couldn’t even sit outside and wait for everyone else to shop. The village people were really hawking their wears and I felt so bad perusing their shops and not buying anything. Our German tour guide took pity on me and lent me $20, so I could at least buy a few trinkets here and there. It turned out G had a better afternoon than I did; he said the diving was good and that he actually got a fleeting glimpse of a manta ray! I was thrilled for him!

On our last day we got in some more snorkeling and beach time. It was the 23rd of December, and since it was the eve of Christmas Eve, that night the resort decided to turn on their Christmas lights early. What a spectacle! It was like the Griswold Christmas had hit the tropics… there were literally lights everywhere, covering almost any surface that didn’t move!! Some of the lights even played music (which was super cheesy, but funny). I honestly have never seen so many lights up anywhere in my life. Thank goodness the overwhelming Christmas cheer was limited to the main reception and restaurant area… our little bungalow was quiet and dark, just the way we wanted it!

The next morning greeted us with glorious blue skies and lots of sun, but it was time for us to leave. All in all we had a fantastic trip, despite all of our misadventures! I was sad to leave… I had really grown to love our little island and I had grown happily accustomd to not wearing shoes. It had been just what I needed, lots of beach time, warm weather and so relaxing… and we came home with some pretty good stories… priceless!