The island where the airport is only has the airport! These big airliners land, slow down just in time for the end of the runway and then turn around . There is no taxiway for maneuvering about. So if you've ever landed in Salerno, or Kunduz you'd understand - except this is a huge plane! It was a short flight from Dubai (about 4 hours) and was direct on Emirates Airlines, which is just a wonderful carrier.
This is the sign for the airport. The writing toward the right of this sign is their native language, Divehi.
To give you an idea of the layout of the country, click on the link below and then click on the photo to make it larger. The lightest blue color indicates shallow water and designates the boundary of an atoll. Then the green shapes are actual land masses.
http://www.bestholidaysmaldives.com/images/mapb.gif
So, since the only thing on the "airport island" is the airport, all the "taxis" are boats. this was our chariot to Gasfinolhu.
And this is the "parking lot." The color of the water was breathtaking! I promise I didn't photo shop the colors.
As you leave the airport, you can see Male, the smallest country capital in the world (or so they told us), its own island.
This is a float plane leaving the domestic terminal. Since all domestic flights involve landing at an island, they are all float planes! It was neat.
As you approach Gasfinolhu, this is a neighboring island that has "water bungalows."
This is the dock for the island, Gasfinolhu. The lighter colored water is referred to as the "lagoon." You can walk to the end of the pier and the water will only be chest deep! The island is 350m long by 70m wide, at it's widest point. There were 40 beach bungalows with wonderful views of the lagoon. If you're ever on this side of the world, we highly recommend this holiday!
http://www.gasfinolhuisland.com/
And this is the island we could see from the beach all week!
Once we arrived, the hospitality was wonderful. We filled out the arrival information while sipping on a fruit cocktail drink.
This is the garden bungalow we stayed in. This is of course before "Hurricane Danielle" unpacked.
The room was very basic, but when you plan to be snorkeling, diving, wind surfing and sunbathing most of the time - who cares about the extra s in the room. . .
This is the view from our room. The glass is basically one-way. Whichever side has more light cannot see in - so during the day you can have the window wide open the people walking by can't see in. But at night that's a different story. The 2 lounge chairs you can see were on our little piece of the beach - just for Billy and I.
This was our daily meal visitor. Breakfast was served from 0730 to 0930; lunch from 1230-1430; and dinner from 1930-2130. Almost all the seats in the dining area had an ocean view and we were assigned the same waiter all week - which was really nice.
The path between the bar/restaurant and our bungalow had beautiful plantings that were in bloom.
This is a view from the main beach. The catamaran was primarily used by the staff. The "hut" in the distance is the end of the pier for the island. You could walk there and not get your shoulders wet.
This is the main beach - there were kayaks to use, a volleyball court, and the starting point for the windsurfing lessons.
Here's Billy testing out the water - it was nice and warm! We didn't even need a wetsuit for scuba diving.
From the midpoint of the pier looking at the bar and main beach.
Looking out along the pier from the bar.
This is what we fondly called "main street." There were no streets, but this path to our bungalow was the closest thing you would find.
A view of our little slice of paradise. The way the trees were situated made it very private.
Each night when there was turn down service the bed was made up differently. It reminded me of a cruise ship where they would fold the towels into various shapes. The pride taken was wonderful.
One morning during low tide we walked out to the end of the lagoon where the waves were breaking. This is a view looking back at the island.
And yes, not the best self-photography, but it was an attempt.
And the full view of the island - you can see the "path" we walked on to get to the end during the low tide. It was neat to see the mantas swimming right along side you in the shallow water!
This was another one of the bed arrangements.
Here I am learning to windsurf - at least I'm actually on the board and standing, which I think I spent more time in the water than anywhere else. It was great to learn in the shallow water. When you fell off you could just stand up and step back on the board - there was no concern with needing to float. :-)
And here is where I spent more of my time during the windier part of the day.
The afternoons were a bit stormy, but nothing we didn't expect. It's technically monsoon season for this part of the world, so we were pleasantly surprised how good the weather was. The cloudy skies made for some wonderful sunset photos.
Suz and Dani are doing there "Eastern European Porn Star" pose. There were a few groups of eastern Europeans who would take their little cameras, set them on a tripod and then take numerous photos of the women. It was funny to watch. So one night, Suz and Dani decided it was something they needed to try out - of course minus the tripod. It was just too funny.
Billy and Dani - such a beautiful place.
The "storm" had just passed so the blinds were still down on the bar, but this is the bar and beach.
Dani and Billy enjoying a little sunshine before football started - Did we mention we saw more football (Soccer for us Americans) in the week we were in the Maldives than in my entire life!?
Other bed arrangment.
Billy finally deciding he'd give windsurfing a go. He did great!
Until moments like this - in mid fall! :-)
One afternoon the wind was too strong for the novice windsurfer, so the staff pulled out a trainer kite! They did great until they crashed the kite and then it was very difficult to launch again since there was no inflated edge. Once they practiced some with just the kite, one of them would come get a windsurfing board. They would fumble around with the kite and then get on the board! It was classic.
We did one dive trip with Suz and Tom; Dani did another dive on her own. This is the instructor getting a read on the currents, tides, etc. It was his favorite place on the boat.
Another beautiful sunset.
Dani and Billy - just before the sun left for the evening.
Right at the bar, the lights reflected beautifully for this photo.
This is how we spent many of the evenings - beers and mixed drinks in hand, at the bar, watching football. This is Tom and Billy, just relaxing.
During the games we would watch on a large projector-type TV. The dinner staff would crowd around a smaller TV area. . . It's so interesting how popular football is in the rest of the world.
I snuck into the dining area early one night to get some photos of the set-up. This is where the soup, salad, and condiments were displayed.
Here are more of the salad dishes.
For every meal there was some sort of grill option where it was cooked right before you.
And, of course, my favorite - desserts! There were always amazing options, but the best was the hot custard of varying flavors.
A view of my favorite table from further away so you can see the wonderful breads on the left! There was always a fresh cheese bread, like asiago bagels. MMMMMMM!
Across the room (circular) from the salads were all the hot dishes.
And this is the seating. From this photo you might think there were a lot of people on tihe island. There were actually about 60 guests and 80 staff. So, at any given time since meals were 2 hours long, there may have been 20 other people there with you.
Each meal had the full array of utensils. Enough for a 5 course meal if you want to eat that way - most people just piled their plate high! And Billy usually managed 5 courses, even with his plate piled high! :-)
This is a wood carving of a local fisherman. Not sure why they didnt' have the rod attached, but it was still neat.
The staff - so friendly. . . Our waiter for the week is in the center.
Dani partaking in the nightly photo of the bed designs.
Looking out from the walking path.
Billy enjoying a little sun and beach walking.
The lighting was just perfect - here's Billy getting out of the water. I think it would be a wonderful calendar photo - Mr. July or something like that :-)
The catamaran coming in for the evening.
The view from the lounge chair.
On a clear night, the moon had a beautiful reflection off the water.
And, another bed arrangment. We never could figure out where the flowers came from each night as there weren't that many trees or plants with flowers.
Lloyd, Justine and Dani on our way to the local island, Thulusdhoo, which is one of the included excursions.
Looking back at Gasfinholhu.
Since we went snorkeling and diving frequently enough, Dani learned that one of the best seats in the house is where the staff sits. . . So she decided to join them.
And, looking ahead at Thulusdhoo. At low tide, you can apparently walk between this island and Gasfinohlu.
A ship wreck right off the shore that has not been moved - makes for some good pictures at least.
This was the first female Dani saw in the Maldives - all the staff on the island is male. Remember, the Maldives is a Muslim country.
They used net and tubing to make benches and swinging chairs - it was great!
One of the main industries on Thulusdhoo island is a Coca-Cola bottling plant.
A late dinner after football - Lloyd, Billy, Tom, Suz, Dani and Justine.
Our bungalow.
I thought this was the cutest idea! Only needed if you didn't make it up for breakfast, or if you weren't watching football in the evening when turndown service occured.
This is how you washed your feet before entering the bungalow. Since we didn't wear shoes the entire time we were there (not even sandals) it was a necessity.
This little crab was too cute! Perhaps not the nicest thing to do, but I kept picking him up and placing him upside down so we could watch him come out of the shell and turn his "home " back over.
The gang - Lloyd, Dani, Tom, Justine, Suz and Billy.
Leaving the island, our parting shot . . . .
The water bungalows on a neighboring island we looked at all week.
This is a shipwreck on the jetty protecting the "taxi waiting area" at the airport. I'm just not sure why the Maldivians don't feel the need to remove wrecks.
After storing our luggage at the airport, we took a ferry to Male, the capital. This is a typical street.
You always hear about the Boy Scouts being an international organization, but it's amazing to see it in action.
We took a little tourist map and tried to hit the highlights before sunset. This is an old mosque minuret.
Another public building.
This is a grave at a mosque. We were permitted to enter the grounds of the mosque, but not the mosque itself. The mausoleum was made of carved coral blocks.
And the graveyard next to the tomb.
There is a public park that we decided to stroll around - although small, it was pleasant.
Billy at the park.
This fountain is the center of a round about.
This is the largest mosque on the island. If we had arrived earlier in the day we could have entered the mosque even as a non-muslim. I was pretty bummed to have missed that opportunity.
The fruit market was one of the main attractions as well. Many people were out and about shopping for the evening meal.
This was one of our final destinations in Male - the fish market. It was tricky to ensure we didn't end up smelling like fish for our flight and the next 12 hours to Kabul.
The flight attendents on Emirates greet you wearing the following. They are always so beautiful.
The decorations in the airport in Dubia are just as extravagent as everything else in Dubai.
