Maldives

Whenever I wander ashore in foreign ports, I seek out the people. Here, the villagers flashed back vibrant, passionate smiles; beckoned me to join in erudite conversation (English is their 2nd language); young students asked for help with their Social Studies homework, so I asked questions to a host of memorized facts - I was a temporary family member, relishing the opportunity. By the end of our stay, I cried, feeling accepted and warmed by these affable villagers.

Note, it's imperative to honor their custom by dressing as the women do, irregardless of personal opinions. It's the only way to be accepted, by looking like them. I was lucky to actually have a longsleeve tunic onboard. My hair looked quite sad, so a headscarf would've been a welcome addition.

The children were shy, but wanted to practice their English for school lessons. It's their only way of solid practice, when the sailors pull in.

I brought balloons and little candies ashore to share with them. They loved that. They were always accompanied by an adult, who sat nearby. Never once, did I see young children roaming around town without supervision.

Our oldest son, Adam, joined us for the Indian Ocean passage from Phuket, Thailand, to Uligamu. It was a fast run on Scud, since she is a performance bluewater cruising cat. Sailing before a steady breeze of 15 - 18 knots, our passage took only ten days, when most monohulls took a month. Once we put the spinnaker up, we didn't have to touch it for days at a time and time simply drifted by in a slow stream of watching the sealife go by, baking goodies, eating them and sleeping.

The humpback whale was truly impressive, en route to cooler waters and feeding grounds for the season. Large pods of dolphins danced between our bows, sending our little Schipperke into a frenzy.

Shipping was heavy, though, as these are the routes used by tankers and freighters headed up the Red Sea and into the Mediterranean. Ah, but with our new AIS (Auto ID System ), the ships exact locations were displayed on our pc soft charts. We knew what they were carrying, their name and ID, all without relying on the aid of the binoculars, which we usually couldn't locate fast enough int he middle of the night when someone grew into panic mode. Using the AIS took the panic out of night watches and soon, we began to fight over who got the dogwatch, just so we could relish our own secret 'reflection time' without the clamber others. Life was good, and eventually, after nearly ten days of passaging from Thailand to the Maldives (1200 nautical miles), we dropped the hook in soft sand surrounded by paradise - again!

First on the list when we arrived was to repair our poor spinnaker. When it came tumbling down, it had made a loud tearing sound, then collapsed into the seas, filling us with despair – 300 more nm lay ahead! We cranked up the iron jennys (our twin Yanmar engines) to finish the final leg of our passage. Crikey! “Always carry two,” came George’s voice riding the wind, back in G’twn, Exuma, Bahamas (N American St. Francis dealer).

Fortunately, the village elder arranged a meeting with a fisherman on a neighboring island, whom was competent in sail repairs. Adam bagged it, brought it in, and went over it with a fine-toothed comb with the fishermen, in order to make certain they understoodhow important it was to double stitch the edge. Two days later, it was back onboard. Marvelous! It held all the way to Yemen. Note: we picked up a new one in Gibralter, shipped from Quantum Sails in Capetown, South Africa.

All of us took a dive behind the boat, swimming with manta rays, and spearfishing with a Hawaiian sling for lobster and snapper. So magnificent to be in crystal clear waters again!

Adam was invited by the Moas, the local teacher, and Asad, the Immigration Official, to go fishing. They disappeared for hours across the horizon, and we began to worry when they hadn't appeared by sundown. At dusk, they finally appeared - but first! - a stop at the local fishing dhow for some fish, since they'd been skunked. We had a good laugh over that one!

We arrived at sundown for a beach barbie with the locals, in our honor, along with "Pacific Bliss". Coconuts were hacked from trees for sweet milk to share, while a large snapper was prepared for the 'beach oven'. First, tomato paste, mixed with curry and garlic, was smeared into diagonally lanced slits of the fish flesh, for flavoring. Then, a fire was built from bush kindling, and the snapper skewered onto a palm frond stem. Once pierced into the sand, it was covered by a rusty coffee tin for smoking. An hour later, a succulent snapper emerged from the oven. The Muslim girls’ local rice dish accompanied it, along with Lois’s incredible rye bread, and my tasty sidedishes.

As the enchanting evening whittled away, we talked, watching beach shadows grow wider. Finally, the sun fell into the sea, taking its rainbow colors with it. A heartfelt eveving, to say the least!

The Republic of Maldives is like a string of 2,000 pearls dropped from the sky, and scattered north to south in the Indian Ocean, 400 miles SW of India and Sri Lanka. Only 200 or so pearly islets are inhabited, and were first discovered by Buddhist seafarers from India and Sri Lanka.

The country's name means "mountain" in Tamil, "garland of islands" in Sanskrit. Today, the island is nearly 100% Sunni Muslim, which meant little Bella, our puppy, was refused shore-leave. She 'may' carry jinn - evil spirits! According to tradition, for protection, a Muslim who sees Bella may do a charm or spell later to ward off her evil spirit, once she gets back home.

To exercise Bella, I took her for a ride on my back while swimming with the dolphins and manta rays. I couldn't tell if her barking excited them or drove them away, because they seemed curious in her.

This northernmost island of the Maldives has become a popular stopover for yachts en route from Sri Lanka to the Red Sea. We departed from Phuket with several yachts headed in the same direction and ran into “Pacific Bliss” right away, when we arrived in port. In Uligamu, the clearance procedures were simple and the authorities were very welcoming. “Anything we can do for you, let us know!”

A villager was available on hand for helping with chores and preparations for passages up the Red Sea. He organized fuel, removal of trash, ferried water in wheel barrows and generally doted on all of us. You wouldn't see a kinder, more helpful person.

To get our barings in the small village, which can be trasversed in 45 minutes, we stolled down the sandy lanes most afternoons, just to chat with the kid and watch the people. The kids were eager to talk, wanting to practice their English from school.

The village was exceptionally clean and tidy with friendly faces peeking out from behind most doors.