Day 35 – The Maldives

The Republic of the Maldives is an islamic archipelago country located in the northern Indian Ocean, approximately 470 miles southwest of India. It is the smallest country in Asia with a total land area of 115 sq miles and a population of 315,000. The highest natural point of the whole country is a mere 7 ft 10 inches above sea level, making it the world’s lowest country.

Sadly the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has warned that, at current rates, The Maldives will be uninhabitable by 2100, and an estimated two thirds of the nation’s coral reefs have already died. 😔

Today we visited the tiny island of Kuda Bandos, 15 minutes from the capital Male by fast ferry. Kuda Bandos is a one hotel resort and the whole island is only 150m from one side to the other. After setting ourselves up on our sun beds, Bridge enthusiastically took to the sea for an hour of so of snorkelling. Although the bulk of the coral is clearly bleached, there is still a wide variety of stunning marine life and swimming among it is a privilege and a delight. Unfortunately however, after about 20 minutes in the water, Bridge encountered a trigger fish – uh oh!! She immediately knew she had upset it because it swung around, glared at her with its beady eyes and then darted towards her like a bull at a gate! As she began to swim away, it furiously chased after her and bit her on the leg. Needless to say she then swam for the shore as though she was in the 100m Olympics final! We then had to go to the first aid centre so Bridge could be patched up.

Shortly after this, the weather closed in and it pelted down with rain for the rest of the afternoon whilst we huddled in the only bar on the island. 🙄 ☔️ 🌧️