Maldives - Clown triggerfish in 90% humidity

Upon arrival at Male airport , one can't help but thinking ''fuck'' , as landing on this man-made hairline fracture of an airstrip, enough to burn the rubber of the 757 without landing in the drink on the other side. Then a dhoni from the airport takes you to Male, the non-bustling capital island where new five storey buildings breathe over each other with the modern day commercial pressures of having to house its scores of tourists (even the water around Male is a brilliant emerald green with 10 ft of visibilty).

The next day after a boring night in Male , onward to Reethi Rah(means ''beautiful island'') the final destination via a breathtaking 2 hour speedboat ride. Atoll apparently derives from the Maldivian atolu, once an enormous volcano and now a string of pristine tie-dyed beaches with white sand like castor sugar and silky aquamarine sea that gently laps up to the beach with its lagooned cocoon. Reethi Rah is one of the 'longer' isles at 1km long by 100 metres wide. The instant impression one gets, other than living off a massive aquarium, is the searing 47°C and encompassing 90% humidity due to being very near the Equator. After a sleepless night of feeling slowly roasted in a banana leaf under the 2 mph fan, a move to an air-conditioned room was heaven & necessary, as the Redhead was threatening to leave the next morning !

There was a vast impregnation of colour that assaulted the senses , on land and underwater. The greens virtually neon at times, interspersed with the burnt tangerine stems of the young palms planted all over.... then underwater , another world that appears to be a endless plethora of colour and natural wonder. Miles of stag coral, brain coral, fan coral, beautiful coral... large aquamarine violet balls of brain coral juxtaposed with irridescent white stag coral with little fish scuttling around this huge underwater rockery. An abundance of fish in all shapes, colours and sizes from the parrotfish that crunch and crackle the coral while dolphinfish stalk their prey as the baby sharks inquisitively scour the edges of the beach.

Under the pier lie copious volumes of fish basking in the shade awaiting an expensive breadcrumb, while the snakefish with their sharp beaks are too slow to catch the regular morsels at mealtimes ...... sitting on the beach in a solitary white plastic chair half immersed in the water , cooling off and staring out to the distant horizon as the water unfurls like pale blue silk ..... the sunsets are another story in themselves.

Footnote : It has been said now that in 15-20 years all the Maldives will be underwater with their extreme proximity to sea-level and as we slowly but surely bugger this beautiful Earth and its ecosystem !!

Tags: Maldives + Male + Reethi Rah