The Maldives

I feel so fortunate to be been able to take a girl's trip last weekend to the Maldives.  This is a group of hundreds of islands in the Indian Ocean.  Most of the islands are so small that a single resort encompasses the entire island.  I went with my neighbor Esther and a friend of ours, Zoe.  (both from the UK)

We boarded the Qatar Airways flight at 1:00 am.  Yawn....

Esther

The wind was wild (so was Esther's hair)!

As we were preparing to land on the main island, Male, where the airport is, I was able to get this picture out the plane window.  There are literally hundreds of tiny islands like those dotted below all through the Maldives and we were told by a local that the entire group is bigger than India.

Once we cleared customs in Male, we awaited our boat ride to our island, Kurumba.

Kelley, Zoe, & Esther on the boat to the island

When we arrived at Kurumba, the view was beautiful!  The following pictures are from the boat as we arrived to the side of the island where the restaurants and reception areas are.

Esther and Zoe just off the boat

Kurumba is the name of the island and our resort.  The resort included the entire island.

We stayed in a deluxe beach front bungalow.  This is a picture of part of the inside of our room.

View looking out from the room to our own beach!!

The bathroom was amazing!  It was open to the outside over the bathtub with the shower actually outdoors!  While showering, you could look up and see all the beautiful palm trees.  Unlike anything I have ever experienced!

Bathroom with outdoor shower

Since we took an overnight flight, after checking out the room, we headed to breakfast.  This is one of the views from the restaurant.  A champagne breakfast was included with our room daily!

Esther and Zoe toasting to the start of our vacation.

Kelley and Zoe

The black barriers you see lining the water are actually stacks of black coral covered with a wide black mesh.  We were told they are there to provide wave breaks.  The waves were causing major beach erosion so these prevent further damage.  The water is so clear in the shallows and an amazing color of blue.

The view from our little section of beach was one of the most beautiful views of the ocean I have ever seen.  It was like standing in your own personal postcard.

The back porch of our villa overlooking the water/beach.

Esther floating in the shallows.  The water was the perfect temperature.

A view of our room from the water.

We were only 3 little bungalows down from a little bar set up on the beach so we decided to have a cocktail.

Esther and Zoe

Kelley with pina colada

A couple getting married walked past us getting photos taken.

View from my lounge chair.

The sunset on the first night was gorgeous.

The resort had several restaurants to choose from.  The first night we went to the Japanese one.  It was delicious!!

That night they had a group of Maldivians come for entertainment.  They played drums and danced.  It was pretty good, but too dark to get a good picture.

Another view from the breakfast restaurant.  As you can see, the resort is set up for romantic getaways and Esther, Zoe, and I were the only people there not as a couple.  Most people looked like they were on their honeymoon or were travelling with young children as a family.

Very often we saw baby black fin reef sharks in the shallows of the water.  Esther and I went snorkeling every day.  I bought an underwater camera and took lots of photos and will post them separately.

Here we are having a cocktail at the sand bar on day 2.

We walked all the way around the island along the beach in about 20 minutes and along the way, we saw a couple of these areas that jut out over the water.  They were all facing the sunset and are used likely for weddings and private dinners.  Zoe and Esther pretended like they were getting married in my photo.  :)

Esther enjoying the sunset

Another beautiful sunset.....

Zoe and Esther taking pictures of the sunset

That night we ate at the Ocean Grill (seafood) and then danced some.  (they had a DJ)

The next morning when Esther and I went snorkeling, my leg scraped up against some coral.  Esther's foot also was cut on some coral.  It happened in the first 5 minutes or so that we were out there.  Just beyond the black coral wave breaks, the reef starts.  It is super shallow to swim over some of the coral.  The fish are amazing and it was like swimming in a tropical aquarium.  I saw more fish (beautiful, brightly colored ones) here snorkeling than I ever have scuba diving.  It was amazing!  Anyway, as soon as I hit the coral, it started stinging.  About that time I saw one of the mommy black reef tip sharks (it was about 6 feet long).  It swam REALLY close by me....  Esther was behind me and was looking the other way so she didn't see it.  I stood up and said, "don't freak out but a huge shark just swam past us".  We both swam off in the other directions.  We continued on a few more minutes and I began to have left shoulder and chest pain.  It was radiating all the way back into my shoulder blade from my chest.  We swam for the shore and went to the medical station to find out if it was an allergic reaction to the coral sting.  It was closed....  Just like in Doha, it was closed from 1:00-4:00 pm.  No medical emergencies allowed to happen then, I guess.  We went to reception and explained what happened.  By this time the chest pain had resolved but the sting was really painful and was bleeding from about 50 times puncture holes.  He called the MD on call and she told him to give us a tube of ointment that had anti inflammatories, antibiotics, and pain killer in it.  It soothed the pain right away.

This picture was taken just after I got out of the water.  It actually looked much worse awhile later but I didn't snap a picture then.

Esther and Zoe walking along the beach

The island was covered in beautiful lush green plants and flowers.  So different than living in the desert.

A couple of lizards outside our room.

The last day was our final relaxing day and we mostly snorkeled some more, read our books, and took more beach photos.

Esther, Kelley, and Zoe

View of our villa from the front side (non beach side)

We had a fantastic time!  I was able to relax and read an entire book, eat amazing food, hang out with some dear friends, and enjoy one of the most beautiful places on Earth.  I would come back to the Maldives if given the chance for sure!!!