Yesterday, Saturday, Randal and I went to Male’ just to go for a walk. We can only stay on the boat for so long before we eat everything in sight or nap too much. We get up about 6 am, eat a small breakfast, check email, check the world and the Red Sox, listen to the morning network to see what’s up with all of the cruisers, and then we’re done. It’s then about 10 a.m. It’s too hot to be too motivated for boat projects and other than repairing the dinghy, again, there’s not so much that needs to be done until we get our loading date. Then we need to take down the “front sail” and all of the canvas for shipping. We’ll have to clean out the refrigerator and freezer and pack away any breakables. So far we still don’t know though the projected date is the first week in April.

So yesterday we took the slightly leaking dinghy to shore and then the ferry to Male’. Our first stop was lunch at a small café I’d discovered while waiting for Randal to get a shave during an earlier trip to town. The waiter had been very kind to me and their cake was pretty good. I had a salad and Randal had fish and chips. The fish was actually tuna which they sell by the ton here.

We sat right on the sidewalk but no one tried to sell us anything as had been the case in India and the Philippines.

Not much of a crowd, but we tend to get up early so eat lunch early.

I like it because the waiter is very kind, the bathroom is clean and I felt comfortable when I was here alone. Many cafes and restaurants are for men only so I always check to see if there are women eating too. The first time I came by myself I saw a woman sitting inside so I knew it was ok. Also, if the restaurant has the word Family in its name, women can go in. Sometimes the restaurant has two halves and one is for men only.

Then we started our walk keeping the water always to our left, the goal being to walk all around the island.

Usually we come to Male’ and spend our time up where all of the buildings are. This was the first time we walked away from the business center of Male’.

This is part of a Scout awareness campaign which seems to be a fairly big thing on Male’ with an office in town.

Gumby’s cousin and the far end of the island so we turned right.

Just before this was a beach where young men were surfing in the small waves. The beach was full of dead coral pieces that looked like skulls or bowling balls because of the holes.

Along the water there had been built some barriers for a swimming area.

The female swimmers were covered from head to toe but that doesn’t keep them out of the water. The concrete barrier looks like some kind of weird marine species.

They also had created a lap area with race platforms.

This “pool” was just down from a busy commercial boat area, but the water was quite clean and we saw small, colorful fish. I could smell the diesel from all of the commercial boats but I guess people who use this pool and swimming area are used to it.

Male’ power plant just across the road from the pool.

They have to generate all of their power and get rid of all of their trash. The trash dump is also just down the street from the pool. On Hulhumale’ there is a water desalinization plant where they make drinking water.

All along the way were commercial boats. Randal guesses that most are used in servicing the 192 inhabited island and 97 resorts of the Maldives. (There are 1,190 altogether.)

Assigned parking spots

The garbage dump.

Not sure if all of this trash is generated on Male’ or shipped in from the inhabited islands to be disposed of. It didn’t smell terrible but you were aware of a smell. Of course we contribute a small bag each day we go ashore. There are trash cans just across from where we tie the dinghy.

Male prison. Supposedly Male’ is holding 19 pirates, some whose skiffs drifted there with the men out of power, food, and water.

This boat must belong to the CocaCola bottling plant on Hulhumale’.

Thousands of bags of cement which you see by the hundreds on Hulhumale’. Lots of construction on Hulhumale’.

I had asked this man what was in the bags. He told me cement and then asked for his photo to be taken.

Beer isn’t sold on Male’, but it is available at the resorts which is where these empty barrels had come from. They said San Miguel which is a beer Randal bought in the Philippines. Actually he bought San Miguel Light.

Driving school students were driving around in this training area.

We were hot and tired and stopped at a waterside restaurant for a drink. Randal had a banana milkshake and I had a mixed fruit drink. Both were really good. I could taste pineapple and banana in mine.

The average temperature is in the high 70s and the mean humidity is usually about 80%. That obviously must factor in the rainy season. Our thermometer inside the pilot house, out of the sun says 86. April starts the beginning of rainy season. I hope it’s late this year. Riding in a dinghy in the rain isn’t so fun.

It was a really lovely spot and we’ll have to go back for lunch.

Then it was back out on the street as we walked along the front side of Male’ back to the ferry terminal.

It took us about 2 hours of picture-taking walking to circumambulate Male’. Randal guesses from the info we could find that the perimeter of Male’ is about 4 miles. We caught the ferry back to Hulhumale’ and then took our even leakier dinghy back to the boat. Male’ is small, but every time we go we see new streets. I still want to go to the art museum and the library. I just wish there was a marina on Male’ or Hulhumale so that we could just step on shore and skip the dinghy part.

http://www.indian-ocean-island.com/maldives-hotels-resorts/about-maldives.php is quite a good website to learn about the Maldives