We have been heading for this archipelago of twenty-six atolls for three days, and for three days, the question has been “Will the ship stop there?” The country has been under a state of emergency since early February owing to a political crisis. If you look up the country’s political history since independence in 1965, you begin to see that this is business as usual. Their politics reads like the food fight from the movie Animal House, with coups, attempted coups, exiles and mutinies.
So we approach this visit with some skepticism. The day before arrival, Peter Croyle gives us a thumbnail sketch of the place, and says that the government is assuring tourists that everything is fine. So indeed we are going. Unfortunately, the walking tours have been canceled as any group of fifteen people or over is deemed, under the emergency decree, as a riot. But we will be taking a boat to another island to go snorkeling.
We pull into port about an hour late, so our 8:30 Maldives Snorkeling excursion is postponed for an hour. This is a tender port, and we will be taken to Male’, the capital city, at which time we will transfer to a local boat to be taken back out into the harbor. The city is located on an island that is 1.2 miles long and .62 of a mile wide and has a population of just over 100,000, making it one of the planet’s densest populations. It is packed cheek to jowl with buildings right to the edge of the island, which makes us understand how their politics might be a little tense.
Islam is the official religion of this country, and is practiced by everyone that lives there, which isn’t surprising, since other religions are banned. The Arabs had been trading since there since the 12th century, the Brits ruled the place for a time. I’m sorry if my attitude is showing, but their history of who actually ruled and how they did so is confusing to anyone but the most fervent devotee of the place that I can’t quite follow the trail.
The economy is based on two industries: fishing and tourism. One potential problem is climate change, if anything close to the sea level rise that is being predicted ends up reality. The highest spot in the nation is 8 feet, and the average elevation is about half that. In what I can only see as a victory of symbolism over substance, the country’s political leadership has declared the country will be carbon neutral in a few years. The impact that this tiny country going green could possibly have on world climate is nonexistent, but there it is.
Well, we do come into the city on our tender from the ship, and immediately transfer to this adorable fifty-foot boat (pictured at the beginning of this post) with four young men who will take us on our snorkeling adventure. It takes about thirty minutes to reach the coral reef off the coast of a small island. The variety of boats, ships and watercraft of all kinds is very entertaining. The sea is pretty choppy, but doable. Gear has been dispensed to everyone who needs it on our way out to the spot, so upon arrival we are all ready for our first of 45-minute splash. Cathy at first decides not to participate, so in I go.
In all honesty, this was not my favorite of all activities. The chop was such that when I wanted to shed the mouthpiece for a breath of fresh air, I kept getting salt water in my mouth. I wanted to stay with the rest of the group, but kept losing track of them. After about twenty-five minutes, I had had enough and boarded the boat. Cathy was not on board, but she did climb out of the water fifteen minutes later.
Turns out one of the guides had gently convinced her that he would take special care of her if she would go. He gave her a life ring, helped her into the water, and stayed with her the entire time. She had a ball. [Peter was with us and he said it was one of the best diving experiences he had ever had. I was surprised to hear this because I thought it was really good but not fantastic. It was choppy and the water was a bit murky. So I guess in true Cathy and Steve fashion we started at the top when our first snorkeling experience was in the lagoon in Bora Bora. Because this was nowhere near as good as that.]
Everybody came back to the boat, which was moved to another spot for another 45-minute session in the water. After everyone was finished, it was generally agreed that the snorkeling was awesome. I must say that the crew of the boat was most hospitable, and did everything possible to make this an enjoyable outing.
We arrived back at the dock, and it was chaos. A tender had just unloaded and reloaded, our boat unloaded and reloaded, another tour was underway, and there was a full complement of people wanting to return to the ship. Some people in our group had decided to stay in town, but Cathy and I were soaked and hungry, so we were glad to return.
At one point, we thought we might return to walk around, but it never happened. As you can tell from my remarks, neither one of us was all that predisposed to eagerly embrace this culture. The place is under a state of emergency, women have to be covered, all the walking tours are canceled as being against the law, and it’s 90+ degrees in the shade. So we stayed on the ship.
We are due out around 7pm, and there is a beautiful sunset tonight just before we leave. Down to the Grand Dining Room for a dinner featuring “comfort food,” which includes fried chicken, mac ‘n cheese, and our choice, meatloaf with mushroom gravy and mashed potatoes. A fitting end to the day. The Maldives are in the rear view.
