For a chakra-friendly walkway, Sun Siyam Iru Fushi’s new refurb includes a reflexology path leaing up to its new spa…
“A pebbled path winds amidst wild tropical blooms and endless shades of green. Splashes of light filter through the palms, dancing on the rippling water of a gentle stream. Luring you, a faint aroma of sandalwood and jasmine, heady with the scent of the earth. Rounding a curve, a sala appears – a haven of tranquillity, yours to revel in.”
When the world gives you lemons…make lemonade.
When the world gives you lemonade bottles…make eco-friendly walkway.
One of the more creative solutions to the earth-friendly plastic bottle disposal issue in the Maldives is Chaaya Reef Ellaidhoo’s walkways. They have coated their discarded plastic bottles with a layer of natural looking cement and used the result cylinders to make an extensive set of walkway liners.
Well, that was quick. Make that ‘36’ things. The same day I published my latest “haven’t seen” list, I get alerted to Anantara Kihavah’s underwater webcam. Forget all of those dodgy aquarium screen savers. This is the real deal.
For many Maldive aficionados, the holy grail of the ideal idyll is a spectacular house reef. Typically, the best house reefs are on the dot-shaped islands in the center of an atoll as the topology on the edges of the atoll lend themselves to long, broad shallow tables which make for great lagoons, but often hard to reach “drops off” (the defining feature of a great house reef).
The Gangehi resort has a very distinctive house reef because its drop off is in a “channel”. Channels exist all over the Maldives and are narrow water passages between the inside and the outside of the atoll. Gangehi’s is named “Gangehi Kandu” which is the Dhivehi word for these waterways.
Bigger fish tend to like the deeper channels, but being intra-atoll, they should be a bit calmer. Certain species tend to favour outside the atoll and other the inside. But this area would seem to have the best of both worlds (Gangehi also has a sheltered side (East) to its house reef to provide more conventional house reef snorkelling). The resort brochure describes…
“Gangehi Island lies on the north-western edge of Ari Atoll, on a oceanic pass, a natural channel crossing the atoll ring that keep in communication the atoll lagoon with the open ocean. The pass, named ‘Kandu’ in Divehi, has a very high ecological function for the Atoll marine life, as it makes possible the renewing lagoon waters. Kandu usually subject to strong currents, incoming or outgoing depending on the tide conditions, and creating a unique environment great for many pelagic species, and a few benthic species cling to the substrates. Gangehi Kandu is one of the longest channels in the Ari Atoll, with a drift of more than 2.5 km from the channel’s entrance to the end of the dive at the inside of the Atoll. The wall here is quite unremarkable really. There are interesting things to spot such as lionfish, moray eels and porcupine fish but the real action is out in the blue. With an incoming current the visibility can be excellent and the parade of pelagic and local residents, impressive. You might see vast schools of fish like fusiliers and blu trigger fish feed in colliding waters, a number of reef sharks as well as barracuda, jackfish and tuna. Large squadrons of eagle rays are frequently seen here seemingly flying in formation in an unforgettable display. The bottom of the entire channel at Gangehi Kandu is sandy, making it a perfect resting ground for Stingrays, White Tip Reef Sharks and the Leopard or Zebra Shark which is commonly spotted here when the conditions are right. At this impressive sites divers can find caves covered with excellent soft coral, a wide range of colourful invertebrates, gorgonians and sponges. The water inside the atoll is breeding ground for plankton and when the outgoing currents bring the plankton-rich water through the channel into the big blue large and beautiful species like manta come to feed.”
Lori and I had the immense pleasure of snorkelling the kandu during our stay there and Lori then went on a drift dive at the edge of the atoll where she saw black sting ray, octopus, eagle rays, a monstrous Napoleon fish (bigger than herself) and many, many sharks especially grey sharks.
That’s the Kandu Spirit!
April is the heart of cherry blossom season around the world from Japan to Washington DC. And in the Maldives, you can see “cherry blossoms” both all year round and underwater (like so many Maldivian marvels). Specifically, at the Fotteyo dive site near Alimatha resort. Maldives dive author Tim Godfrey reckons it is the best deep dive in the Maldives…
“For deepest dives in the book, I’d suggest Fotteyo for the steep walls and caves, Rakeedhoo for the deeper step terraces and Rasfari for the deeper outer reef and steep outside wall.”
In line with its snorkelling paradise fame, the Maldives is mostly distinguished by its shallow dives. This makes it a great place for beginners. In the Maldives, dives are typically 15-18 metres. By contrast, in North Carolina seaside (where we often vacation visiting Lori’s family), the wreck and megalodon dives go 30-40 metres. Fotteyo is more of a North Carolina scale dive as Tim describes in his book Dive Maldives…
“An excellent dive regarded by many divers as the best dive site in the Maldives. It is a photographers’ paradise and a mecca for marine biologists. This is a dive with many possibilities. The best diving is on the outside corner of Dhiggaru Falhu. Divers can start at a bend in the outside reef where there is a cave at about 30 meters with holes you can swim through. Around the bend near the entrance to the channel is a special place with many caves and overhangs. These caves have a thick covering of wavering soft coral in all colours. They look like blooming cherry blossoms in springtime. Most of the cherry caves are found between 25 and 40 metres.
If you prefer your seaside fun in the sun to be more loud, boisterous and frolicsome, then Brazil’s Carvinale starting today offers the energetic antonym to Maldivian idyll. Especially with World Cup Rio just weeks away and the Summer Games in Rio next on the Olympiad calendar, all things Brazilian will have a bit more cachet and buzz these days.
For a taste of effervescent Brazil in the tranquillity of the Maldives, Constance Halaveli’s sommelier Cedric Jacob (see above) offers a distinctive collection of Amazonian varietals which he shared with us during our trip…
“The wine makers that I mention is Lidio Carraro. A pretty new winery because they open in 1998 and a pure family business that we could say ‘Boutique’ winery. What I particularly enjoyed while tasting those wines was the fruit character and the purity of the wine. I love wine that express themselves naturally without adding any ‘make-up’, these kind of wines that you can literally bite in the fruit while drinking it. Among the one I tasted, here was my favorite:
It is actually funny but since we were talking about all the things that are going to happen in Brazil, especially the World Cup, I just rode that Lidio Carraro became the official sponsor for this Event in 2014. “
Obrigado!
A whole entourage of superlatives are emerging out of the headline royal visit of Saudi Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz to the Anantara this week. Most amount spent on a holiday. Most rooms booked at once. Tightest security (reportedly staff are not allowed to have their phones on them). But my favourite from all of the reports is the building of at least one helipad for the prince’s helicopter on his mega-yacht (see above). “Helipad” has long been on the “not seen yet” list ever since the surrender of the Maafushivaru Lonubo’s to the inexorable tides. I’ve seen them pencilled in on some of the extravagant resort plans like the one with the underwater golf course, but nothing “on the ground” so to speak until now.
The 2014 Winter Olympics at Sochi wind down today with one of the climatic events, the men’s Ice Hockey gold medal game. For those wishing to join in the Olympic spirit, the One & Only Reethi Rah offers a first rate air hockey table. Gives a new meaning to the winter games phrase “big air”.
Another performer who has sprung onto the Maldives resort scene with the greatest of ease is Khun Goy at Centara Grand…
“Circus Under the Stars, staged regularly at Centara Grand Island Resort & Spa Maldives, has as its star someone who is very well known on the island, for she is also known to guests as Khun Goy, the resort’s leisure and entertainments manager. The show, which is held on the beach, includes breath-taking performances on aerial silks and the flying trapeze. Khun Goy (the word ‘Khun’ means ‘Miss’) first had the idea for putting on shows during the Christmas and New Year holidays, and they proved such a hit with guests that the shows are now regular features, provided free of charge under the resort’s cashless island program. Her real name is Thaiyara Suvan, and she is a super-fit 34-year-old from Bangkok who began her career in the performance and fitness coaching business twelve years ago. She developed an interest in working on the flying trapeze and from that began to work on her skills with various forms of the aerial arts…She joined Centara Grand Island Resort in October of last year, where she teaches adults and children alike in aerobics, gymnastics and yoga, as well as organizing entertainment events.”
The Brit Awards last night celebrated the top musical acts in the UK, and if there were a “Mald” awards, a leading nominee would be one of the budding musical stars of Maldives is Mira Mohamed. We saw her at Bandos during our stay. Unlike the typical background music pervading the sparsely attended night-time lounges, she stopped me in my tracks as I was rushing to a meeting with the deputy resort manager. A classy and talented performer, she brings a very personal flavour to her song renditions. She has toured a number of resorts, but Kurumba is featuring her as a regular headliner.