Friday, March 29, 2013

March 19th – Another Day in Paradise in The Maldives

Cruising to the Maldives offers two contrasting travel experiences – you can either have the stereotypical paradise island experience of sugar white sand, turquoise seas and amazing coral gardens; or you can visit the concrete jungle that is the capital Male, one of the most densely populated cities in the world, with 100,000 people crammed into its one square mile.

Having spent plenty of time in Male before, we sensibly went for the stereotypical island paradise option, by taking the boat trip out to the idyllic Kuda Island. So, in 45 minutes we were transported from the claustrophobic high rises of Male, to an absolutely picture perfect desert island. We claimed our spot under the shade of the swaying palms, and launched ourselves into the warm water with our snorkels to see what we could discover.

As soon as our heads were underwater, there were so many beautiful fish on display, in all shapes and sizes, and all the shades of an artist's palette, decorated in vibrant spots, stripes and smudges of colour. Just after we got to where the reef dropped off, I spotted a couple of large sting rays glide by into the depths, but they were my only encounter with anything menacing-looking.

After taking in the underwater sights, there wasn't much else to see on an island that you could walk around in 7 minutes flat – but, that was the point, we were here to relax. So, that's exactly what we did, until it was time to go for another snorkel, and then time to get the boat back.

If paradise is half as nice as the Maldives..........