First Impressions – 50 years of Independence

 Was glad to land early in the morning – the heat was already quite intense, but clear skies afforded incredible views of the archipelago – pure white beaches and shallow reefs holding beds of turquoise water and coral islands,  clear enough water to see the sea bottom from the sky. Too bad my camera was buried! (Quick tidbit: The Maldives consists of 26 natural atolls, or clusters of islands, comprising 1192 islands)

From the airport, on the mostly man-made island of Hulhumalé, I took a boat to Malé, the capital city and one of two cities in the country, then transferred to a taxi to get across island to the next ferry pier.

Malé really is a shore-to-shore city island, dense and tightly compacted with narrow brick-laid streets along with the intense traffic you’d expect in South Asia! Hold your breath and hang on... I then caught a second boat to the quiet little island of Villingili, where I am staying for this first week. This transit took a little over an hour and cost less than $3. Was interesting trying to navigate my girth of luggage through all this on my own (where's my habibi?!)… but I managed with a helpful hand here and there.

I happened to land on the 50^th Anniversary of Independence from the UK, (July 26, 1965) so the streets were shutting down for festivity, everything was covered in red, green and white ribbons and lights to match the flag, even the boats, trees and street signs. 

The Maldives’ President Yameen was in attendance and apparently had opened a special office this year to oversee the grand spectacle to mark the jubilee.  And for a little more interesting history, three years after Independence, in March 1968, there was a referendum which abolished a long-standing sultanate to establish the Republic in place today.