April 1, 2024

Welcome to Male, Maldives.

If you have heard of Maldives, it is probably because of the Adaaran Prestige, Vadoo, one of the resort islands for which the Maldives is best known. This is the 5-star resort on the nearby Maldives island of Vadoo which was the first here with over water bungalows stretching along an elevated pathway. This resort is a short boat ride from Male, the capital city.

If your idea of paradise is a comfy lounge chair under the shade of a palm tree, listening to the soft sounds of the surf on the beach while drinking a fruity beverage, then this is the place for you. It actually doesn’t sound bad but with rooms starting at over $1,000 per night, Chongae and I thought we would definitely take a pass. And besides we wanted to discover the real Maldives.

Maldives is actually a country of 1,192 islands spread over an area of the Indian Ocean measuring 541 by 81 miles. Obviously, most of these islands are uninhabited, except for the few that have been turned into high end resorts like the Aadaaran prestige. Male is the capital of the Maldives where most of the people live. In fact, with a population of 211,908 people cramped into an area of 3.20 square miles, Male is one of the most densely populated cities in the world. You can walk around the entire island in a brisk 1-hour pace. Yet, there is no cruise port. To visit Male, you tender ashore living your ship behind.

The main commerce in addition to tourism in Male are the two “F’s”…Fruit and Fish. Because of near perfect weather conditions fruit can be grown in cycles of three to four times each year. The locals salvage the islands for all types of fruit that are than brought by boat to Male to be sold at the fruit market. Some of the fruit never make it to the market as prices are negotiated right on the street.

But more important than fruit are fish. 100,000 tons of tuna are caught each year in the Maldives! This accounts for 40% of all jobs. Most are caught by generational families who have fished these waters for years. Their entire livelihood is dependent on their successful negotiations at the fish market.

But besides exporting, the Maldives are dependent on fish for their protein. Seventy percent of their daily protein intake come from fish. Most of the fish is smoked and cured so that it readily available to eat.

Throughout our travels we continue to witness the great financial inequality the world faces. Not far off the coast from the fish market was a massive yacht.

I goggled Superyacht Times and discovered that it is worth 450 million dollars. It was built in Bremen, Germany for the son of the founder of the United Arab Emirates.

When we were sailing out, I saw the same yacht as the sun began to set over Male.

It made me think of the fish market.

Thanks for traveling with us.