The four part series about my trip to Nepal has been put on hold as a result of my trip to Maldives. I will continue the trip report the day after tomorrow.
Maldives is a collection of tiny islands in the Indian ocean, just south of India. Each hotel forms its own private island secluded from civilization and separated from large swarming masses of tourists.
Early in the afternoon, I arrived in Male, the capital of Maldives, with my father and a few close family friends, excited about the opportunity of finally diving in clear blue waters with visibility as far as the eye can see.
After a bumpy and wet one hour boat ride on rough seas we arrived at the luxurious Taj Vivanta resort. The pristine beach and the hundreds of palm trees welcomed us as we walked of the boat onto the dock. While my father checked in, I walked past the infinity pool, through the gateway of palm trees toward my room. Crossing a small bridge, I arrived at a room that sat on wooden legs above the Indian Ocean. Looking out the window onto the porch, I noticed a stairway that led right into the water. I quickly surveyed the entirety of the room, in awe of the lavish accommodations.
But, within minutes, I walked back out of the door and across the bridge in search of the dive center.
My first dive in Maldives was the Hembadhu wreck that rested on the house reef of the Taj Vivanta. In the 51 minutes I spent in the water, I circled the wreck three times and continued on to the reef beyond the wreck. In that time, I swam by a giant stingray laying beneath the wreck, floated among rainbow colored fish and set eyes upon the kind of corals I had only seen on “Planet Earth” before that day.
The radiant red, orange and blue corals, combined with the brilliant colors of the clown fish, lion fish and hundreds of others swimming around them embodied an alien world beneath the waves.
Lumbering out of the water just short of an hour later, I dropped of my gear at the dive center and headed back to the beach for the stingray feeding session that occurred every evening at 5. My thoughts naturally shifted to the unfortunate fate of the crocodile hunter. Yet, the undertaking went by without incident. Grabbing a piece of rotten fish from a bucket, holding it under a stingray’s mouth and then petting the infamous creature proved to be an enjoyable experience.
I ran back to the dive center before it closed at 6 and planned a morning, afternoon and night dive for the next day. The Hembadhu wreck left me eager to get back in the water, especially at night where the underwater world becomes an eerier place for human beings to venture.