We have recently returned to Rutea after what we hope is our final provisioning trip; it’s late in the afternoon; it’s very hot and I’m sipping a very
refreshing margarita that’s jammed with big chunks of ice. Earlier in the afternoon, we were given a
large plastic bag of fish by some local fishermen who were prompted into their
generous mood by our offer to give them the old batteries we were
replacing. To look at their faces, you
might have thought they had just won the lottery instead of eight badly worn
out golf cart batteries. I’m sure the
fish didn’t represent an extravagant gift on their part but it was a polite
effort and the size of fish immediately made me think of fish tacos. Hence the margaritas to go with them. Several well-calculated stops at various
duty-free shops in airports around the world have secured the necessary
ingredients.
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| Presidential Residence |
The national capitol of the Maldives is Malé and we’ve been
anchored just outside of the city for the last 10 days. While I wouldn’t call the city cosmopolitan, it does have a definite
flair and cache – from time to time you’ll see a big, black Mercedes-Benz sedan
with consular flags on the front fenders, something ironic in this city of
mostly motor scooters and very narrow streets.
The city’s population is busting at the seams of this small island, in
which you can walk from one end of the island to the other in less than an
hour. Many, if not most, of the people
who work in the city live on another island called Hulhumalé, a man-made island
that is also home to the international airport.
There are plans to build a bridge to connect the two islands but for now
a fleet of ferries haul passengers, motor scooters, freight and the occasional
cruiser back and forth. The cost is 5.5
Maldivian rufia, or about US$0.33
each way and takes about 15 minutes. The
ferries hold about 100 passengers and about 20 motor scooters; there are wooden benches where white plastic
resin chairs have been screwed down, their legs cut off. The ferries are always crowded.
Malé does not have any trendy shopping centers, upscale
coffee shops or liquor stores but it does have very interesting markets where
produce from all over the world is on display.
Being a nation of coral atolls, the Maldives cannot grow even the
simplest crop with perhaps the exception being coconuts. Everything is imported. Fish is a big crop though and the wharfs are
lined with 60’-70’ wooden fishing boats, low in freeboard and free of bulwarks
from the midship aft.
The Maldives are a very devout Islamic nation and many
stores close several times a day for prayers.
All stores close for the lunch hour and Friday is their day off. Women who don’t wear a burqa or even a hajib are
in the minority. No one has said
anything to Ruthie about not having her head covered but this country depends
heavily on tourism so it’s unlikely anyone would actually say something.
Alas, our time in Malé draws nigh and we will miss this
unique city. We have enjoyed the
restaurants, the amenities, the hustle/bustle that is often so contradictory to
our cruising way of life. There is much
left to explore in the Maldives but the clock on our visas is ticking so we’ll
soon weigh anchor and continue sailing the Indian Ocean.
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