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| The Beach |
From Istanbul, on March 21, 2022, our intrepid travellers finally got to go to the beach. Mrs Gym wanted some beach time and that is what she got!
As you might have guessed, our globetrotters had returned to the Maldives. You may recall that in 2019, Gym and his dear wife made their inaugural trip to this fascinating place. They liked it a lot. It is a great place to uplift your body and soul by taking in some negative ions, some vitamin D and the solitude of a desert island punctuated only by the sounds of the surf. The Maldives are very therapeutic.
The thing about the Maldives is that there are scores of islands to check out, and this time our jet-setters visited an entirely new atoll. The Westin resort is situated on Miriandhoo island, on the Baa Atoll, about 80 kilometres from Male International Airport. This trip required a transfer from the Turkish Airlines jet, to a seaplane. Seaplanes are the most common form of inter-island transport. Gym was pleased to see that the seaplanes weren't just any seaplanes, they were Canadian-made Twin Otters, the famous bush plane of the north. However, in Canada's bush country, the Twin Otter pilots always wear shoes. It was a little disconcerting to see the Maldivian pilots flying with bare feet (see below).
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But our dynamic duo enjoyed the Twin Otter ride and soon they were cruising at a couple of thousand feet above sea level to Baa Atoll. The view of the islands from that height was breathtaking.
In no time at all, our travellers splashed down at Miriandhoo. Minutes later they were greeted by Westin staff and were checked in and given a tour of the property. Shortly thereafter, they were led to the beachside bungalow, their home for almost two more weeks.
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| The "lobby" of the Westin |
looking south
the path to Gym's bungalow
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| the back door facing the Indian Ocean |
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Looking towards the ocean we had a screen of
bushes for privacy punctuated by a narrow footpath to the beach |
Once settled, Gym and his dear companion, relaxed into an easy daily regimen including a daily workout - usually in the early morning, a late breakfast, a dip in the ocean, a nap, mandatory attendance at happy hour and a late dinner. This gruelling schedule was punctuated by some snorkelling by Gym and several beach combing sessions by Mrs. Gym. Mrs. Gym became a proficient beachcomber as time went by. She deftly scoured the high tide line for the most attractive crustacean mobile homes, often beating poor homeless hermit crabs to the most sought-after abodes (no crabs were hurt in the making of this vacation).
The coolest part of the stay for Gym, was a half-day trip to a good snorkelling reef, off of an adjacent island. On the way over, the dive-boat passed over a giant pod of bottlenose dolphins. There were hundreds of them feeding on a shoal of smaller fish right below the boat. After a bit of sight-seeing, the snorkelers got into the water and struck a coarse along the drop-off for about 500 metres or so. Gym wanted to make an underwater film and had purchased a clear iPhone bag for just such a purpose. In the process though, he lagged the group and he needed to abandon the project so he could catch up. Gym proved to himself that he ain't no Jacques Cousteau.
Two weeks flew by very quickly and it was soon time for Mrs. Gym to expertly pack the bags and prepare for the journey home. The 3-leg, 24-hour return journey went without a hitch.
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The main pool at night. Happy hour was on the
second floor. |
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The Twin Otter exit from Paradise Island
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