Far From The Norm

If you’re thinking of sun-drenched beaches, remote islands, captivating coral reefs and turquoise waters, you’re probably summoning up an image of the Maldives. It can also be a little odd to be on a Crusoe-esque island with no monkeys; but in the Maldives your island mates will be white-headed geckos, grey herons, and flying fox bats. An archipelago of 1,190 islands, and there’s abundance of sun-kissed lagoons, palm-fringed beaches, coconut groves and beautiful, lively reefs, but there the similarities end.

Overview

A short 20-minute domestic flight from Malé over countless spits of sand, reef and sea, was the beginning of our far-flung tropical getaway. Our plane touched down in the midst of the dark at Maamigili airport around 1145 p.m. We were greeted by the lovely guesthouse staff who were super courteous and friendly, yet laid-back. A 5-minute drive in a mini-van transported us from the airport to La Cabana Maldives, our home for two nights. Upon arrival, we were offered soft-drinks and briefed about the activities available for the next day. Murray, the manager at the guesthouse informed us that we could have a motorbike the next morning to explore the island  — these small, chic touches really impressed us very much.

But, what makes this island so unique and why anyone should come here instead of other places in Maldives? It comes down to the seamless privacy factor, with no sense of time, spanning 17 acres of powder-fine sand and tropical greenery flanked by a large natural lagoon. Maamigili is the largest and the most populated island in Alif Dhaal Atoll, bordering the South Ari Marine Protected Area (MPA). When compared with its neighboring islands in the atoll, Maamigili is much more circular in its shape, and well-positioned on the edge of one of the widest channels in the Marine Protection Area.

The residential area of the island is located in the eastern region and the main street runs straight from east to west, a number of shops sit side by side, while the tourist souvenir shops dominate the eastern end. The island’s main mosque is housed at the western end, along with a medical center, school, and the office of the local island council.

Accommodation

Surrounded by tropical foliage, the three-storey guesthouse has 7 air-conditioned rooms with en-suite bathrooms furnished with rain showers including hot water with sufficient water pressure, hairdryer, a dressing mirror, writing desk with ample electrical sockets. Each floor is surrounded by a terrace, providing beautiful views over the surrounding plots of agricultural land. The standard room features a mini fridge stocked with soft drinks, and large windows providing lots of light into the room. The queen-size bed was clean and comfortable, complimentary bottled water, instant coffee, tea and hot water kettle were equipped. The outdoor area of the guesthouse is the dining area and serves daily breakfast, a nice place to hangout, relax, read a magazine or meet other guests, in a space with a modern ambiance.

Food and drink

Overall there are 7 eateries throughout the island, ranging from restaurants and cafés to roadside tea-shops. Our guesthouse did not have a fully equipped kitchen, they take food orders from their guests and collect it from their partners at Whale Shark Inn Maldives guesthouse. Our two-day stay included breakfast that consisted of tea, coffee and fresh juice, accompanied by a Maldivian-breakfast – mas huni (tuna with coconut, onion and chilli), roshi, baked beans, toast, omelette, sausages, and watermelon and apple for dessert. We only had one dinner during our stay since we arrived late on our first night. We drove a motorbike to the nearby Whale Shark Inn Maldives guesthouse to satisfy our cravings for the barracuda we caught during sunset cruise fishing trip, we actually caught many more, in fact, we thought we would be able to eat the whole fish, all too soon, our tummies felt like they would burst.

What to do

The rest of the Friday afternoon was much better. Shortly, after lunch, we were transported in a mini-van to the jetty where we boarded a tiny boat that took us to a nearby private sandbank. The guesthouse provided us towels, drinking water and an umbrella for shade. I didn’t wait a single minute and immediately dived into the bubblegum blue waters, allowing my heart to skip a few beats, only for a few seconds. I was soon snorkeling in a coral reef, my face firmly glued to the dazzling multi-colored homes for a myriad of marine species. A quick glance, and I sensed an oncoming creature, a reef shark, and its pointy nose leading the way. It was little out of the way, but I tried to hang on the surface as inconspicuous as I could. Jaws, the classic shark movie, come to my mind. Soon, my logic kicks in, reminding me that reef sharks are generally harmless. An hour before the sunset, we got back to Maamigili from the sandbank to embark on our next adventure.

From the guest beach area, we boarded onto another small boat that took us somewhere around Dhiffushi island. Half an hour without any catch, yet surrounded by nothing but the vast expanse views of the Indian Ocean. Soon our luck changed, I caught the first fish, a barracuda, it was very aggressive and moved around fast. Two hours of fishing by hand line and we caught more than six, more than our expectations. By 8p.m., we returned to the island for dinner and to enjoy a restful night’s sleep.

Our weekend getaway at Maamigili came to an end, we enjoyed the company of good people that were lucky enough to live here. We reluctantly began our journey back to Malé the next morning, reaffirming Maamigili as a naturalist’s promised land, and one of my absolute favorite local islands in the Maldives. Water activities and thrills, romance and unwinding, there’s absolutely no place for boredom at Maamigili. However, I didn’t get to experience everything the island has to offer, especially whale shark watching, because our stay was short. But that’s alright, I’ll be back for more soon.