So Many Islands, So Little Time...

We had to do something to get over the sadness of having Cooper go back to school.


Our empty nest was too much to bear.



That's our story and we're sticking to it. 



Enter stage left: The Maldives (Google it, but don't blame me for adding another thing to your bucket list).

We found some pictures of this country of islands about five years ago, but could never make the travel plans work out.  Suddenly, though, we are in Asia and getting there requires only four hours by plane, so Voila! our latest wish fulfilled!

There is absolutely nothing to do in the Maldives if you don't like to swim, read, snorkel, dive, or eat.  If you like those things, that is all there is to do.

Some people do not find that a good recipe for a vacation, but Swim, Read, Eat should probably be our family motto because Ted and I find it spectacularly easy to do, and do well.  After nine days, during which our most difficult decision was "shrimp or chicken", we were relaxed, happy, and ready to take on the real world again.

There is certainly a culture specific to the Maldives, and the people who do not value sloth and hedonism actually go and try to find it, but in reality a country of small islands and atolls that is pushed from all sides by the India, Africa and Asia has a hard time maintaining an identity all its own and no place to showcase it anyway.

So yet again, we spent our time not expanding our minds and not learning a damn thing, but boy did we have a good time doing it.

I have nothing to show you except vacation pictures.  So if you are tired of those, you can stop reading now, and thank you for coming.  :-)

The view from our front door walkway.

Count out 22 bungalows...that's ours. :-)

The path from the restaurants to our bungalow...

Our porch.  Down to the freshwater shower, down to the sea.

Bathtub with a view.

That's a picture window to the ocean.  No reading material required.  :-)

Oh yeah.  Drink.  That's another activity! For this shot, we are at the swim up bar.  :-D

Culture!  Right?  We did have some.  Fisherman going home.

This is Frederick. He was with us all 9 days.

That's right, it's a hammock.  In the ocean. 

You know me and clam lips. 

Watched this guy for a while after lunch.  Worked him into our busy schedule.

Fat starfish.  A first for me.  Had to dive down to get the shot, so...

My scale model demonstrating proper snorkeling technique.

Swimming through these guys was awesome.

Off our porch.

This coral is soft- it was waving in the currents!

This is Tony.  He lives around our bungalow. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SQUID!  Another first for me.  These guys were so much fun to swim with.

That's all folks!