Maldives boat trip May 28, 2004

Everyone on the plane was eager to get a glimpse of where we were going to land in this expanse of ocean. The Maldives international airport is on one of the 1190 small islands that make up the republic. The runway starts and ends at the waters edge.

Exiting the airport I was mesmerized by the clear, bright, aqua-blue color of the water. A speedboat waited to take me to Lohifushi island resort.

Tiny palm fringed islands with thatched roof over-water bungalows dotted the sea.

The salty sea spray was refreshing in the warm humidity. The excitement really kicked in when I got my first glimpse of white water lines hitting the reef. At closer inspection I could see feathering lumps of ocean chasing the surfers from behind.

Long overhead lefts were barrelling briefly before peeling off perfectly down the reef. I couldn't wait to get out there myself!

The other side of the island was all about relaxing in hammocks, snorkelling and taking time to smell the frangipanis.

The bar overlooking Lohi’s was perfect for sunset beers while watching the last rides of the day.

It was now time to meet up with my boat trip. On board we had Anna from Currumbin, Ben from Bondi, Andrew from New Zealand, Sue and Kevin from Hong Kong, Adam and Gabe from Surfbetter.com, our Maldivian crew; Zac, Bashir, Rasheed, Martine and Asoka our Sri Lankan chef.

The first night we slept on the deck of our 70 foot boat the “Triton” moored in Male.
It was bizarre seeing the bright lights and billboards of this small, 4 km long capital city island and hearing the 4:30 am call to prayer coming from the mosque

The next morning we headed off to start our trip, 10 days of surfing, eating and sleeping in a tropical paradise.

We surfed the breaks around the North Male atoll for the first few days before heading south to surf uncrowded secret spots with just a few friendly local kids surfing in their undies. They were all smiles calling us in to share waves with them.

The water was so clear and warm, just like sitting on a giant tropical fish tank with bright blue parrotfish and other technicality fish below. Sadly a lot of the reef is dead due to coral bleaching however sea life is abundant here. Turtles swim past you in the line up. There are leaping manta rays and sailfish. Dolphins’ fins slicing up and down through the waters surface chasing splashing schools of fish. The flying fish were my favorite. They would shoot out of the water and dart up to 100 meters along the surface buzzing their wings in flight before penetrating the dark blue water again. I watched their antics as I trolled a line behind the dingy hooking a tuna that our chef cooked up for lunch.

It was so relaxing, the gentle rocking of the boat, lapping water, the sound of waves breaking on distant reefs, towels and leggies flapping in the warm breeze, sunned skin, sea air, wax and sun cream smells. I could not have felt more happy, relaxed and healthy.

We didn't get the bigger waves we were hoping for but had plenty of fun, long, empty, wackable waves in sunny, clear, warm water with good people.

It was so nice having no idea what day, date or time it was. Surf, eat and sleep times only. Forgetting what it was like to wear shoes was another pleasure.

We visited a few of the inhabited islands. It was like stepping into another world of straight, white, sandy streets and simple, tidy coral houses. Trees somehow grew out of the white ground
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Relaxed, mellow, quiet people were playing cards out the front of their houses sitting in chairs resembling fishing nets on a wooden frame. At both ends of the streets you could see the sea and above coconut trees contrasted against a sunny blue sky. The setting was spectacularly beautiful, yet simple.

The kids were beautiful too and friendly.
All the girls look very pretty in their little dresses and the boys are all budding soccer stars. I played for team Maldives and we thrashed team Australia, running around barefoot on sand and coral!

Downtime was spent analyzing the video footage of our surfs, snorkelling, sunning our selves or doing yoga on the top deck. The competition for the titles of Mr. Triton (chess competition) and Miss Triton (body building poses oiled up with hair conditioner, plus various other physical challenges!) was fierce. A few crazy drinking games, many beers and moonlight jumps off the top deck added to the fun.

It was nice sleeping out on deck and then jumping straight into the water at sunrise to wake yourself up. That's if the monsoon showers didn't send you on a mad dash back to your hot cabin in the middle of the night.

We headed back north to Male where we did a walking tour around the capital.

The fish markets almost only sold tuna, thousands of them; I've never seen so many tuna before!
The fruit and veggie markets also sold bundles of dubious cigarettes hand rolled in newspaper. The wharfs across from the markets were lined with colorful wooden dhonis (local boats with a curved structure at the bow).

Male was hot and bustling with bikes, motorbikes, taxis and pedestrians. A big contrast to the quiet island life.

Our trip was drawing towards the end and our last few surfs were at Sultans with the hoards from the nearby resorts. We certainly appreciated our time down south surfing alone.

I began to miss everyone before I even left. I had a lot of fun with a great bunch of people. It was the end of one super fun adventure and now I was off to Sri Lanka to surf Arugam bay.

Story by Mel.