I’m typing in real time while still in the Maldives. I’m sitting on my deck listening to the sound of the ocean crashing against the legs of my over water villa. It’s mesmerizing. Breathtaking. And I’m thinking, I don’t think it’s possible to become accustomed to this in a way that makes one too familiar as forget to recognize the magnitude of the beauty of this place. It’s so beautiful that it almost doesn’t seem real, in technicolor even. Lord knows, I’ve been perpetually pinching myself since my arrival.
The Maldives is made up of a collection of 26 atolls that constitute over 1,100 coral islands. What’s an atoll? I’m glad you asked, I sure did. An atoll is a ring shaped coral reef that encircles, whether completely or partially, what would be classified as a lagoon. How did they come to be? They are the remains of extinct under water volcanos. The coral of the atoll sits on top of the rim of the volcano and the lagoon is the extinct crater. So, yes, at one time, there were 26 active volcanos in this location. What a sight that must have been.
Of the 1,100 islands, 200 are occupied with the largest being Male, which is the capital and home to 100,000 people and the international airport. The Maldives more broadly, is home to 400,000 “island people”, as they call themselves. Today I find myself of the island of Vommuli which is home to the St Regis Maldives and IT IS spectacular!
My journey to the Maldives begins with frequent trips in and out of India for work over the past 10 years. I started hearing about the Maldives from my Indian colleagues who raved about it for their honeymoons and holidays. “You must go Ms Kimberly”! They planted a seed that took a few years to act on but I finally did and I’m wondering what took me so long.
Here in is the set up post to my Maldavian adventure. Up next I’ll write about where I stayed, what I ate and what I did, but one thing is for sure…while I’m not a resident of this gorgeous collection of islands, in my heart, I’ve become an “island person”!