Discovering Maldives

Everything that has been said and written from Maldives is true. Sandy beaches, pristine waters, nice wheather, first class hotels…all real and true. I decided to go there and experienced it with my only eyes and filed in my skin. From Male airport, I took a seaplane to the resort and island, once both are the same: Medhufushi at Meemu Atoll also known as Mulako Atoll, in the south of Male. Meemu Atoll is situated in between 3° 11' N and 2° 45' N latitude. With a total of 33 islands, Meemu Atoll in Maldives has 9 inhabited islands. Located to the southern side of Vaavu Atoll, Meemu Atoll has attractive resorts offering bouquet of luxury accommodation, fine dining and excellent recreational activities. Muli is the atoll capital. We chose Medhufushi. This Atoll in Maldives has recently been opened for tourism. For a relaxed diving pleasure, Mulako atoll is an idyllic place. With the length of 47 km and width of 30 km, the atoll has the population around 5000 inhabitants. Medhufushi is a naturally quiet, serene, authentic Maldivian island. After a short seaplane journey, step onto the white sandy beaches, which are surrounded by a crystal clear lagoon. The staff are kind a pleased to attend to your needs. This place as all the ingridients keep the memories of a truly tropical paradise. Encircled with sparkling white beaches and with some excellent diving spots, the island is an exotic holiday destination with its sumptuous services and facilities. All Villas in traditional Maldivian architecture complements the tropical ambience of the island. Guests have vast choices of accommodation at Medhufushi Island Resort, which includes 46 Beach Villas and 16 Suites, 14 Family Villas, 34 Water Villas and 8 Suites, and 2 Honeymoon Water Villas. All Villas are designed in traditional Maldivian style with thatched roofs and a swing outside. All Villas are equipped with ceiling fan, air-conditioning, satellite television, CD player and mini bar. Honeymoon Water Villas on stilts ensures of complete privacy to guests. These are placed separately from rest of the island. Medhufushi Island resort ensures you of your pleasurable and adventurous with its hosts of recreational things to do in the island. We stayed in a Beach Villa. I found it perfect.

Day 6- Leaving to Maldives

We left the hotel by 3.30 am with enormous B/F take away. We were ready to restart our journey, with a new adventure, in another country, in another culture. We join Jude for the last time, always in a good mood and ready to help and make us comfortable, even if the destinations is only Colombo International Airport. We give him the “Ayubowan International Guest Book”, making sure that our testimony of the wonderful days was there.
Even with the normal joy of who are about to start a new adventure, I had that strange feeling in my stomach announcing that I was about to do something difficult for me. The check-in at Sri Lanka Air Lines was peaceful and the moment to leave Sri Lanka and Jude came in too reality. It was difficult to us; he was the perfect guide and the right company in this intense journey. I felt that I was leaving a hold friend in the other part of the world. We follow your destiny, without looking back once more for another goodbye to him, looking at us from the other side of the departures glass. I will never forget you and this wonderful trip. Thanks Jude.

Day 5 - NALLATHANNIYA - COLOMBO

This will be our last day in Sri Lanka. I look back and I congratulate myself for all the things I’ve saw and all the moments we lived. Our final destination today is Colombo, the big city, but not exactly the Capital as I discover later on. Before getting there, we still have a long journey to go, and some more emotions and nice things to see.
Even before that! I had my second breakfast at Slightly Chilled hotel, a shower; we took a photo to remember of the fabulous four; and we move forward. NALLATHANNIYA is the heart of the hill country and is emerged in the lively green of the tea plantations. Today yes, it a nice sunny morning and we can see it in all is plenitude.
The landscape is beautiful but the best was to see the tea pickers gathering leaves into their baskets. This adds some movement to the scenario, and a few more photos. Sri Lanka’s finest teas are produced mainly from bushes that grow above 4,000 feet. The bushes grow more slowly in the cooler, mistier climate, and are harder to harvest because of the steep angle of the slopes on which they are planted.
We droved for hours and we reach Colombo for a quick look before landing in the perfect Galle Face Regency Hotel. From a quit and serene country we moved in to a strident Colombo with lots of pollution and bottleneck traffic. Colombo is Sri Lanka’s largest city; home to around a million people is also one of the busiest ports in the South Asia.
Colombo’s tourist attractions include old churches, temples, the old parliament, Independence Building and the National Museum, The Galle Face Green is once a seaside race course, now an open-air ground where locals flock for strolls in the evenings.
Wile walking outside the Galle Face walk and celebrating the end to another perfect day, I realize that this where in fact my last moments in Sri Lanka, and soon I have to say goodbye to this beautiful country and to the persons I’ve meet. I tried to forget this sad anticipation and focus myself on the warm Asian wind coming from the sea. At the same time my camera follow in to a group of persons tasting the water, who knows, maybe for the first time in their lives. I couldn’t avoid in capturing the moment.
Marco Polo dubbed Sri Lanka the finest island in the world, the prove is that visitors continue to be seduced by the heavy warm air, the endless rich green foliage, the luxuriant swirls of he Sinhalese alphabet, the multicolor Buddhist flags, and the variety of saris, fruits and spices on sale in the markets.
But also great are the people. Sri Lankans are well known for hospitality in all over the world. They are always smiling and friendly, talkative and chairing. Since they are very tribe base hence they love their mother land and their language and they just make us feel good.
I love it all, but…honestly? …nothing can be compared with the first rays of the morning Sun with pilgrims at the summit of Adam’s Peak.
In a word “Ayubowan” (may you live long).

Between Day 4 and day 5 - ADAMS PEAK

The Slightly Chilled hotel was far below comparing with the other two but still an enchating place. We had an extraordinary meal that even - the chicken curry and salad where just great even super hot for me (with bombastic chilies). I tried to go to bed early but it was not an easy to sleep. I focus on the sounds of nature outside and I let myself go. I Wake up at 1.30 am to start climbing the Adams peak to be up there by 6 am to witness the sunrise. I joint Bandu, my guide to Adams Peak, and we start our hard way. Adam's Peak (also Adam's Mount; Sinhalese Samanalakanda "butterfly mountain”, is a 2,243 meters (7,359 ft) tall conical mountain located in central Sri Lanka. It is well-known for the Sri Pada "sacred footprint", a 1.8 m rock formation near the summit, in Buddhist tradition held to be the footprint of the Buddha, in Hindu tradition that of Shiva, in Christian tradition that of St. Thomas, and in Muslim tradition that of Adam. It was incredible humid when we start and after a few steps up I was totally sweated. The climbing is not difficult but long and with steps most of the way (5.200 of then). They say in Sri Lanka that we are a fool is we lived without climbing the Adams peak once but we are much more fool if we climbing it twice. During the way we found some other tourists but mainly we chare our way with the peregrines, walking with gifts and presents to the ceremony walking and singing Buddhist songs to alleviate the push of the path. The journey takes several hours at least. The peak pilgrimage season is in April, and the goal is to be on top of the mountain at sunrise, where he Pooja ceremony take place in temple. We were fast and we arrive a bit before sunrise. The humidity that we had in the beginning disappeared and a strong and cold wind took is place. I took all my cloths of my bag and I enjoyed the place walking around for a wile and interacting with locals. I was impressed with the amount of people sleeping there waiting for the Pooja. The moment of the sunrise was magic even with the mist. After the sun is up, a distinctive shape of the mountain casts a triangular shadow on the surrounding plain and can be seen if we move quickly downward as the sunrises. The climbing of Adam’s Peak was one of the highs moments of my trip to Sri Lanka, for all reasons: for the challenge of the climbing, for the atmosphere of the pilgrims, for the respect shown for all to this exotic and mysterious place.