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Outside Traveler 2004
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Ultimate Islands: The Maldives
Miles of Isles (cont.)

FROM THE AIR, the Maldives look like a bead necklace dangling from a hook, a long, narrow collection of 1,190 coral islands, about 500 miles from end to end, 80 miles wide, and 360 miles southwest of India. The islands, only about 200 of which are inhabited, are clustered into 26 atolls. The creation of the atolls remains a mystery, but Charles Darwin believed they were the outlines of ancient volcanoes. (The word atoll is one of only two words in the Oxford English Dictionary derived from Dhivehi, the Maldivian language; it comes from the word atholhu. The other, rufiyaa, is the nation's basic monetary unit.) There are 115 square miles of land in the entire country, and every bit is the same: a low-lying coral island no more than 4.5 miles long. Every resort, village, and factory has its own island. The nation's single international airport is on a different island from the capital, Male (pronounced MAH-lay). Even the jail has its own island.

This, coupled with the fact that the national religion is Islam, makes traveling here a challenge for the average Westerner. While the government welcomes tourism, it's leery of the effect of too many visitors on the Maldivian social structure and the fragile ecosystem. (It's the only country I've visited where my luggage was x-rayed and inspected upon arrival; alcohol and any kind of religious material for distribution are forbidden.) Male is relatively open to visitors, but anyone who wants to see the rest of the country must sign on for a stay at one of the 87 or so resort islands, which run the gamut from basic to sumptuous.

The Explorer is one answer to the visitor's dilemma. Each week the 128-foot, 11-cabin luxury catamaran departs from the Four Seasons at Kuda Huraa for a swing through the rarely visited islands to the north and south. Although the boat's raison d'être is scuba diving, there's also plenty of opportunity for snorkeling, kayaking, and fishing. There's a lounge with comfy sofas and a DVD library rivaling that of any film nerd. There's also a massage therapist on board.

Dives are done from the dhoni, a smaller boat that can anchor closer to the reefs. When we emerge from the water, the crew offers us chilled bottled water and cold, lemon-scented washcloths, which they serve from a small tray with silver tongs. By dhoni standards, our boat is very fancy, with its lacquered woodwork and cappuccino machine. Chris Ellis, the Aussie captain, has dubbed it the Ferrari of the Maldives.

I'm the fifth wheel on the Ferrari this week. The other divers are two couples: Brazilians on their honeymoon (he owns a bank; she's an attorney at the law firm that represents it) and Russians (he owns an airline; she's a flight attendant on one of his planes). Otherwise, there are the dive instructors, Martin Lavoie and his handsome Maldivian colleague, Mohamed Niyaz, who goes by his last name, and about a dozen happy-go-lucky Maldivian crew members. Between dives they tease us, rushing to the bow and clapping their hands and whistling. Dolphins! We hustle out of our gear, trip over ourselves to see what they've spotted, and of course it's nothing. They laugh and high-five us. Every one of the Maldivians has astoundingly white teeth. The diet here consists mainly of fish and coconuts, so it's no wonder.


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