Our Anniversary

Cake and champagne - what a wonderful breakfast!

It's our anniversary (for real)!  Baros provides us with a complimentary breakfast on our villa deck. We enjoy the endless water view as we feast on our mimosas and eggs. Right after we go inside and have the dishes cleared, a huge storm rolls in. Great timing for us! It's fun to watch the wind and waves - we estimate the gusts at 30 mph.

At the start of breakfast...

...and the end of breakfast!

Time for one still life photo before the thunderstorm starts!

Night snorkeling, here we come!

We decide to try a private night snorkeling excursion so we can view some of the nocturnal water life.  Neither of us have ever snorkeled at night before.  In fact, I hadn't even known it existed until I saw it listed as an activity at our resort.  To begin we have an information session about some of the creatures we might see.  Apparently, all the poisonous, stinging animals come out at night, so I have no plans to touch anything!  We're also warned not to shine our flashlights directly into the eyes of the animals, like the sharks.  Sometimes they decide to swim towards the light....and you're at the end of it!  After our orientation we go to the cove and enter the water with our flashlights. We haven't even put on our fins and masks when a nurse shark comes into the cove. He's swimming around in less than 2 feet of water.   He's a juvenile, so only about 4 feet long, and I just double check with our guide that the babies understand they're not supposed to bite the humans! 

Sparky!

It's incredible in the water - I think I know what it must be like in outer space now. You can't hear anything and it's completely pitch black, except for what our beams of light illuminate.  A little spooky, but cool, too.  

We see Sparky, a turtle who swims around for us, and a couple more  sleeping in the rocks.  None of the nineteen turtles that live at the reef were out when we snorkeled during the day.  They all have unique markings, unlike the sharks, so the guides all know their names and where they like to rest at night.

the rare spotted sting ray

There's also a spotted sting ray, which is rare to catch sight of (Elise, our guide, is excited about it).

In the water, I have lots of fun quickly turning behind me with my light, to see the schools of little fish (hundreds of them) swimming behind us.  Right as my light hits they they would scatter.  Then they would drift back and I'd see them all again the next time I turned around. 

Lionfish, I think.  Whatever he is, he looks cool.

Pretty, poisonous coral!  No touch!

Here little fishy...

diving into the abyss

The parrotfish is too sleepy to poop out any sand.

I hope he's not hungry!

At one point two black tip reef sharks come nearby.  It's a little scarier seeing them at night than in the day! They're at least ten feet away, but we're also between them and a lobster, which they like to eat (me, too). I didn't want the sharks to get mad since we were between them and their food!  I keep an eye on them until they swim out of the reach of my light.  Knowing they're in the water is one thing, but knowing they're within ten feet of me and not being able to see them is another. 

Who gets to eat the lobster?  If it's me vs the shark, he wins.

We see lots of gorgeous fish, coral and starfish.  At one point we turn off our flashlights, then do a "dog paddle" in the water with our hands and feet.  The plankton starts to glow in the dark, creating a bioluminescence.  Thousands of mini points of light are glowing all around us.  Now it really feels like we're in outer space.  

Moray eel's head - he's unnerving!

It's a great adventure and we at least glimpse almost all of the 50-60 creatures that Elise talked about before we started.  The only ones we don't see are an octopus (hard to find) and a moray eel.  We kind of wanted to see a moray eel, but we're kind of glad not to see one, too.  They grow up to 10 feet long, and they look intimidating!

We're supposed to finish the evening with a private seafood dinner on our deck.  However, because of the strong winds today, they decide to move us to another villa on the other side of the island.  We quickly run back to shower and change, and find a message waiting for us.

They even spell my name right!

appetizers

Luckily, because it's a private dinner, we don't have to dress up (I don't even dry my hair.  Neither does Steve.).  We're escorted to the dinner location, a villa on the beach.  It's like we're on a completely different island.  There is absolutely no breeze here and it's blowing 15-20 mph at our place.  I end up with 17 mosquito bites (I counted) during the couple of hours we're there, and in five days I have zero at our villa (bats and wind - good for keeping away mosquitoes).  

Steve checking out the chef's technique!

We have our own chef and server with us. Steve enjoys watching the chef grill, though I think he wants to have his own turn at it, too! 

Our dinner menu

It's a nice experience and a fantastic dinner, but I don't think I'll be hiring my own cook anytime soon. It feels a little weird having two people there just to wait on us. We love being out under the stars though, and we have a wonderful anniversary.

scallops and corn salad

tuna tataki

The main course - reef fish and shrimp!  Hey, these aren't the same fish I see snorkeling, are they?!?

Anniversary dinner selfie!  (Hmm...I wonder if this pool is warmer than ours??)

Relaxing in the Maldives

Doesn't this look comfortable?  (Not really...I'm one of those people who fall out of a hammock three times before I'm able to lie in it successfully.)

Today's shooter - yum!

So I'm in love with our resort. I'm finally at a place that obsessively plans and takes care of details to the same level I do when I travel. It's very nice - everything from perfectly confirming all the details of an activity to making sure the one tea bag I use is promptly replaced (we drink espresso in the room, but I have a sore throat so I drink some tea one day. They actually check everything and make sure it's replenished).

The complimentary breakfast consists of a huge buffet of fresh fruit, cheese, sliced meats, salad items, many, many types of bread, cereals, and the usual American and British hot items, like hash browns, sautéed mushrooms, bacon, etc, along with typical Asian hot food items, like congee and laksa. Then you can also order items off a menu, like eggs Benedict and crepes. This counts as breakfast and lunch!  There's attention to little details, too - we're greeted with a welcome "shooter", which is usually a combination of a fruit, vegetable and herb drink - one morning it's papaya, celery, and basil. They're always yummy!  And of course, who can resist the six different fruit juices and champagne.  Mimosas for breakfast - delightful!

Two of the four different buffet tables available at breakfast.

At breakfast they have printed up a "news of the day" paper for 12 different countries/languages (so far, the first headline for every day on the US one has started with Trump) which isn't so important with wifi being available everywhere, but nice to glance at while eating. They also provide a handout with the activities of the day, along with the times for sunrise/sunset and high/low tides. Similar to a cruise ship, you can participate in different excursions (like snorkeling, fishing, dolphin watching, kayaking, yoga, visiting a local village on another island, nature hikes, etc) or just relax and hang out at your villa.  Of course, there's a spa, which we visit for massages.  There's just enough variety in things to do so you always have the option of something fun.

Showing us the color of the bananas when they are finished cooking.

One day I visit the chef cooking demonstration and lunch.  I learn how to make Kukulhu Rita (Maldivian Chicken Curry) and Maldivian Banana Haluwa (similar to bananas foster). I think I'll be able to cook them when I get home!  Just have to figure out where to buy curry leaves...

Stirring the curry...very important!

The spices all ready to go in the curry - when do
I get my own sous chef to to do the prep work for me?

The lunch plate!

Dessert on a clear plate - I still think they look pretty.

I'll have one of everything!  (BTW, this is only one of the 4 tables.
I want one of everything on them, too.)

One evening they have a grilled surf and turf buffet dinner on the beach. It's incredible - they have all sorts of fish and seafood (rock lobster, shrimp, six different fish, steak, chicken) and veggies, too.  You go to the buffet table, point to what you want, and then they grill it up and deliver it to you.  This is heaven!  I eat way too much.  I wish they had this every night, but maybe it's better that they don't.

Here's another little cultural/language difference.  They have six different sauces available for your food, but no melted butter - which in the US can always be found grilled seafood.  I ask if they have any, and they ask if I would like butter or garlic butter.  Garlic butter...what a great idea!  So I request that, and they bring me a large cold solid chunk of it - not melted.  Oh well, it was a good thought, and it tastes delicious even without the butter.

One of my plates...maybe I had seconds (or even thirds)...

I can't forget to mention the different cookies that are left in our room, morning and night. We get a little paper with all the ingredients in the treats, so if you have an allergy you know if it's okay to eat. Steve's favorite has been the ginger ones, and mine the chocolate chip. There's also a bowl of fresh fruit in our room, restocked each time they clean.  I comment to Steve on how they always fill the Nespresso machine with bottled water, and he says, "They always do that at hotels."  I then inform him that I'm the one who always does that for him.  There's no worries about running out of food or drink on the island!

Our deck

We're frequently out on our villa's deck.

Told you I'd be spending time here!

Steve gets to use the sunbed, too!

We face west, so we're hoping for some nice sunsets, but we never have the dramatic color changes in the sky.  We're not sure if the time of year has anything to do with it, or if some of the storms affect the appearance.  We still manage to practice our photography skills.

the blue hour (literally)

We have a path directly to the sun.

Muted, but still lovely.

The sun just peeking through the clouds.

Twilight

It's beautiful even when it's pouring rain.

We have storms every day, sometimes for a few minutes, sometimes for a few hours.  Even if it's not raining, the wind is pretty strong most of the time (more on that later). 

The sunbed drapes, blowing in the breeze.

Because of the clouds and precipitation, our pool is cold - colder than the ocean!  Steve is the one who braves it most of the time.  I can never get past the stairs.  It's amazing it stays that cool when both the high and low temperatures are in the 80s.  Because we arrived so late at night we skipped the villa orientation, so in the middle of our stay I check with the office to make sure the pool doesn't have a heater we're not aware of.  It doesn't...but apparently next year they plan to add them to the villa pools.  One good thing about the clouds - I'm able to lie outside without having to worry about putting on sunscreen (I hate wearing it).  The overcast skies help me tan a little bit, without being burned - natural sun screen.

I think he's actually shivering.

We can see the dhoni, at anchor.

For our last evening at the resort, we booked a private sunset cruise on Nooma, a traditional handcrafted Maldivian sailing dhoni.  Two hours before we're supposed to go out we get the call that the seas are too rough.  Oh well - I guess it just means we'll have to return!

The couple drinking champagne on the dhoni is not us (picture from a book).

One creature the stormy weather doesn't bother is the sharks!  Once we know to look for them, we see the black tip reef sharks frequently by the over-water villas.  I name them all Tie-Dye, because Tie-Dye has black markings at the tips of his ears, nose and tail.

In this picture you can just see the fin out of the water.

Here's a better picture of the shark by the rooms.

Just hanging out...hoping someone will decide to go snorkeling and become a shark snack??

Good Morning, Maldives!

panoramic view from our deck

Nice view to wake up to!

Our plane arrives in Male late at night, and we have just a 25 minute speedboat ride to our resort.  It's the only thing on the entire island (that's common in the Maldives).  After our welcome drink of passion fruit mimosas, we settle in our villa and go to sleep. This is our biggest time change yet in our travels around this side of the world - it's three hours difference from Singapore, and four from Tokyo - so it's 2:00am to us.

Our "hut" is in the middle!

For the first time, we stay in an over water villa with our own infinity pool. It's breathtaking!  Supposedly there's only a few places in the world where they can build these rooms, because of currents, waves, etc - usually in Oceania, like Bora Bora.  [They've just built the first ones somewhere in the Caribbean (I forget which island) but they start at around $2500 a night.  Ouch!  These are expensive, but not that bad.] 

Most of the time we're here it's windy (gusts are probably in the 30 mph range), and you can actually feel the room move a little when a big blast of wind comes.  Steve likens it to being on a boat, except you don't rock up and down in the waves.  No seasickness here!

Another view from the deck...and the sun bed, where I plan to spend a lot of time!

It's also my first time at the Indian Ocean...or is it really the Arabian Sea?  Wikipedia says the Maldives are in the Indian Ocean, but Google names the body of water the Arabian Sea, so I don't know where I am (a common occurrence, if you know my sense of direction).  Either way, it's beautiful. 

That's our island!

Zoomed out a so you can see where we are in the world.

Steve wastes no time hopping into the water.  We haven't had our island briefing session yet, so he isn't aware of the currents, tides, coral....or sharks, who luckily don't make an appearance at this time.   I wonder how fast he would have returned to the deck if he had seen a black tip reef shark?

Look, no hands!

Breakfast with mango (Sheila) & watermelon (Steve) mimosas!

After our breakfast at one of the hotel restaurants we have an orientation on the snorkeling around the island.  The island has a its own "house reef," with hundreds of species of fish, turtles, manta rays, eels, clams and yes, a couple of types of sharks.  Lara, the marine biologist (and our snorkel guide), says the sharks won't bother us (the joke is that they are vegetarian), but we'll probably see them.  She points out 50-60 animals we're likely to glimpse, along with the different vegetation and coral.

It's like my own private aquarium!

Lara then takes us for a 90-minute guided swim around the house reef.  I've never observed so many different fish, and I think we see almost all the ones she highlighted during the talk.  This location has the most variety that we've ever spied while snorkeling.

What kind of fish is this?

Diving deep to see what else is visible.

Pooping out sand!

 Lara tells us an interesting tidbit - the white sand that the Maldives is famous for is actually fish poop!  Parrotfish eat the coral as they look for algae, and then excrete it out as sediment.  It's estimated that 85% of the sand is generated by the fish.  (FYI - they say Hawaii is the same.)

colorful parrotfish

Southern Blue Devil - I like him!

Sweetlip and mystery fish

Trumpetfish, grouper, and mystery fish, playing together.

He'd make a tasty dinner!

Yes, you do here the Jaws theme song in your head when you see him.

Yes, we do spot black tip reef sharks! I see one (you can't tell them apart - their markings are all identical) four times. At one point he's only six feet away from me. But Lara is right - they don't pay us any attention. 

Um, Steve, maybe you shouldn't
go chasing after the shark.

I also learn SPF 8 is not strong enough for 90 minutes of snorkeling when you're at the equator. Luckily the backs of my legs are just pink, so it's not too bad.  It doesn't stop me from relaxing in the lounge chair after we finish snorkeling!

Obligatory toes enjoying the sun photo.