That’s pretty much what we did in the Maldives: absolutely nothing. After a very hectic six weeks of full schedules every day, thousands of years of history, etc., it was a welcomed change of pace to kick back and relax for eight days. But first … how we got there:
Chris and Julie will continue with us to The Maldives. Our departure point is Nairobi, Kenya and we have about a seven hour layover. They cashed in some travel points for a Sheraton airport room so we take turns showering and freshening up. The Sheraton has a complimentary shuttle so we are all set to hit the skies on Qatar Airlines at 1:30 am July 19, day #48.
Arriving at the dimly-lit parking lot of terminal 2, we were practically assaulted by several unsavory characters with luggage carts looking for a tip. Inside, terminal 2 turned out to be a big, nasty tent with plenty of chaos going on. Check-in was intimidating with lots of questions about where we were going AFTER we left The Maldives (still scratching our heads on that one). The business class lounge was a joke, consisting of some sort of modular trailer with cold food and warm beer. The boarding process was just as chaotic with “hurry up and wait” being the main theme. In short, we would have to reconsider ever flying through this airport again because it was simply a miserable experience.
Once on the plane, a nice big Airbus 350, we all settled into our cocoons for a six hour sleep before connecting in Doha, Qatar. Unfortunately, we had a short connection time because the Doha airport was probably the most beautiful one we’ve ever seen. New, sparkling and huge. Another five hour flight on another Airbus 350 and we are in Male, the capital of The Maldives.
This country is an island nation, consisting of about 1,200 islands spread north to south over 500 miles. It is located about 600 miles southwest of India and the bottom islands are just about on the equator. Many of the resorts own an entire island. Tourists fly into Male and then are disbursed via small planes to one of several smaller airports where the resort picks them up in a yacht for the final leg to paradise. Such was the case with our journey, flying into Kooddoo Airport, 350 Kms south of Male and the final 20 minutes by water.
Our resort is the Pullman Maldives Maamutaa Resort, built about five years ago. It is an all-inclusive resort meaning 24-hour food, drinks and twice-daily replenished minibar. The main buffet was just an incredible selection of ethnic foods, expertly prepared. The setting is simply indescribable, palm trees and turquoise water. We have a villa on stilts right over the water with private plunge pool and steps leading right down into the Indian Ocean. Julie and Chris are in an identical villa right next door.
So, getting back to the beginning, our days consisted of sleeping late, breakfast buffet, pool, fru-fru drinks, nap, happy hour, sunset and dinner, then repeat the next day. We did manage to do three dives on some of the reefs around the island.
Eight days came and went pretty fast but we are well-rested and ready to conquer the last segment of ATW64: Thailand. We are writing this in the Sri Lanka airport awaiting an overnight flight to Bangkok. Chris and Julie headed to Egypt earlier this morning.
Our accommodations:
Bedroom
Into the sea off our deck
Villa at night
Walkway to our villa 
Plunge pool and sun deck
Enjoying the plunge pool
Looking towards the sunrise villas 
