Male, Maldives

Male, Maldives
The Maldives is a chain of more than a thousand low-lying coral islands. In fact, the highest point in the entire chain is only 9’ above sea level. The fear is that the whole archipelago could be submerged within the next 30 years due to climate change.
We docked in the city of Male, which is not terribly interesting - the city covers only 1 square mile, but is populated by over 60,000 people. Definitely not conducive to strolling peacefully and enjoying the outdoors. It is a Muslim country under Sharia law and there are many rules for foreigners that are seemingly only tolerated.
We were a little frustrated to learn that there did not seem to be any information about snorkeling since we were in one of the prime coral reefs in the world(?). Everything we pursued through the ship and on the internet seemed extremely pricey and not very satisfying. So, relying on our good-naturedness, we decided that our day would be walking around the city.
As Jeff got a map before we left, the local concierge told us that we could go to a nearby island on a ferry (it cost a whopping 50 cents) and walk to a beach for some snorkeling. This all seemed very strange since everything we had researched was to the contrary.
We got our snorkel gear and suits and long pants and shirts to swim in (there was a question about how much could be exposed while on the beach - turned out it was just no bikinis and no indecent behavior). As we got off the tender, we started following some of the ship’s staff since they seem to always know where to find the beaches. We did get to a nice beach and did some good snorkeling with lots of diversity of coral and sea life. The bonus was that the water was quite clear and very warm so the trip was very worthwhile.
The morning announcement on the ship was that no pork or alcohol was to be taken into town. We all agreed that we would not tell on Jim who had bacon for breakfast.
The second photo is of the city of Male as we approached.
The first photo is of the ferry ride - not the plastic chair backs that are bolted to the benches - we think this was an upgrade from just benches at some point. The ferry was comfortable and crowded.Read more