As dawn broke, we were already inside the Kaafu Atoll, one of three atolls with a total of over 1,900 islands spread across 35,000 square miles that collectively comprise the Republic of Maldives.
Our port of call today was Malé, the commercial hub of this island nation.
Tourism is the biggest industry in the Maldives. Judging from the number of planes we saw landing at the airport, business is good. Watching flights land could be distributing when viewed from an angle that makes them appear to be landing in the water. With an average height of 4'11" above sea level, the islands of the Maldives are the lowest nation in the world. Global warming and rising sea levels threaten the entire country. The airport is on its own island, as is the prison.
Other than fish and some vegetables, the Maldives produce almost nothing, so everything needs to be shipped in, then distributed via boat or seaplane.
There was no pier for cruise ships, so we went ashore in one of the ship's tenders.
Once ashore we walked a short distance down the queue, then boarded an air conditioned boat for a 45 minute boat ride to the Cinnamon Dhonveli which occupies all of Farukolhufushi Island. There we snorkeled, relaxed and generally enjoyed ourselves for three hours before returning to Malé.
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| I think he just saw the bill for his stay here. |
Back in the city, we wandered around for a while, seeking out some places of interest while happy to just stumble across others.
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| Main mosque and Islamic Center |
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| Sensitive to local customs about taking pictures of people, these are things left by school children as they spread out in a park wearing plastic gloves and carrying trash bags. |
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| A number of the trees in the park had unnatural colors. Upon closer examination, we found the trees were not only plastic, but plastic lights. The park must look quite interesting at night. |
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| texting stop |
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| the proud new owner of an ironing board |
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| The 'Friday Mosque' and graveyard. |
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| Motorbikes were everywhere, vastly exceeding the number of cars. Crossing streets was challenging given the aggressive driving technique of the operators. |
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| Apparently it was buy bunches of bananas day |
Hot, tired and our backpacks from the beach began to feel heavy, we decided to return to INSIGNIA.
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| water taxi |
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| civilian and coast guard boats moored inside breakwater |
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| riding on a tender looking back at city from outside breakwater |
INSIGNIA weighed anchor at 6:00 PM. Next stop Mangalore, India.
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