Mishaps in the Maldives

2007-02-04T22:06:00.000-08:00

We didn't expect to stay 3 nights in Dehli but the way it worked out with train tickets it was neccessary. The train ride out of the capital city was welcomed. Staying in the so called seedy area of town Paharaganj we were subject to relentless calls from local vendors to "lookings free", "pajmina's very cheap", "where you from?" "FREE!" " anything to get your attention and into the shop. We were fresh meat to the vendors who I am sure recognize everyone's face and country after a day. By the end of the day we were no longer friendly Canadians but hardened travellers who wouldn't respond to even the most insessant sales pitch.
We toured the city visiting the local attractions, The Red Fort, Spice Market, Central Park, and Palika Bazaar. We shopped but were reserved with our purchases as I am sure we will find better things in our travels.

An afternoon train ride took us to Agra, the home of the Taj Mahal, advice from the all knowing Paul Fraleigh led us to book our train tickets onwards before even arrving. To quote Paul (International Tour Guide) Fraleigh, "The Taj Mahal is a fucking nice building, the nicest i've seen, but thats it." We will have spent 26 hours in Agra by the time our train leaves tonight, for us that is more than enough time to visit the Taj and the few sites in Agra. At 8 PM we travel on to Varanasi to see the Ganges and the Holy city of Siva.

2007-01-30T22:48:00.000-08:00

"Om Namah Shivaya, Om Namah Shivaya...........Om Namo Narayanya, Om Namo Narayanaya............Om Shanti Om.......Hare Krishna, Hare Hare, Krishna, Krishna.........AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!! The chanting was still resonating in the back of my head as I paddled into stormy surf with Stevo, Steve poking fun that he was glad Jess and I made it back from the Yoga cult seemingly unbrainwashed. Secretly I am sure he still locks his door at night to be sure. Jess and I arrived back in Male yesterday at noon and were happy to be back on the familiar streets with everyone ignoring us instead of hassling, haggaling, and begging.

Living in the Sivinanda Yoga Ashram in Kerela, India was an experience not to be forgotten in the near future. We arrived to a full house, about 200-250 students from around the world were there to learn and/or practice yoga. It was a mix of people interested in teaching yoga in there home countries and individuals travelling India who had dropped in for a few days to a few weeks of yoga. Our first day we missed yoga so were introduced to the other happenings at the Ashram before ever getting to practice the physical side of yoga. Supper was served in a huge open air hall that also hosted lectures and asana classes during the day. The dishes were laid out and we were served food from large stainless steel buckets, vegetarian curries, rice, salads, and chapatties were the staple. The food was amazing and as we ate with our right hand (no untensils) I turned to Jess to comment on the food. "SILENCE PLEASE" A deep voice echoed from the front of the hall, our first lesson at yoga camp, no talking during meal time as it is a time of meditation. We waved over the servers for more food and they hunched over to serve up more curry as we all sat crosslegged on the floor to eat. After washing our dishes, setting up our tent the bell started clanging, it was off to Satsang. What we were about to experience was a half hour of misguided meditation followed by daily chanting. It was amusing the first day, bearable the next morning at 5:30 and ridiculous from then on. The next morning we arose for an early Satsang, followed by Chai Tea time and then 5 hours of Asana classes (The physical act of yoga) with a break in between. Really the only thing that we were interested in. After realizing the beginner class was a little to slow for us we switched to the advanced classes and found them more our speed. The yoga was amazing and by the end of the 12 days we spent there Jess and I both felt we made huge advances in our yoga practice.

Half way through the 12 days we had a day off and we joined a trip down to the southern most tip of India, Kanya Kumari. This is also where Ghandi walked on water, or wait was it made salt from the sea to protest the British taxation on salt. We visited the Ghandi memorial where his ashes were kept until they were scattered into the three bodies of water that meet there, The Arabian Sea, The Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean. We were meant to swim there but the dirty water filled with bathing pilgrims didn't seem too inviting. The day turned out to be a nice break from Ashram life.

The Ashram was great in the fact that it brought travellers from around the world together, we had the privilege of meeting some great people and interestingly enough found ourselves teamed up with a crew of other Canadians. We ended up ditching out early with two sisters Jess and Lily from Vancouver and hit Kovalam beach for 4 days of retoxification. All in it ended up being an amazing trip.

We are packing again for a trip with Derek and Leticia up to Dehli and onwards so will definitely have more adventures to come.

Om

Scott and Jess

2007-01-15T01:09:00.000-08:00

Three and half months, wow, for Jess the days have flown by. Although it doesn't seem like we have been here long we both are looking foward to getting off the island and exploring some new terrain. Jess was supposed to get 2 weeks off for her holidays but has somehow talked them into 4 weeks. For the first two weeks Jess and I are going to study yoga in its birthplace, India. A friend of ours had reccommended this Ashram (yoga institute) in southern India.
http://www.sivananda.org/neyyardam/index.html
It is going to be a pretty intense two weeks with nearly 5 hours of yoga a day! Vegetarian diet, Meditation, and early morning wake up calls. This can hardly be called a vacation but we are considering it our Honeymoon. We are both really looking foward to it the flight leaves tommorrow the 16th. Returning on the 30th or 31st we rendevous with Derek and Leticia who are coming for a visit lasting over a month. They arrive at 10 in the evening on the 31st and we have them flying out of Male Feb 1st at noon. Not much rest but there were no flights going out for a few days after that. We then travel to Delhi where we will give Derek and Leticia a day or so to rest. Jess and I will round up some plane tickets and the next day we will be on our way to the Taj Mahal and onwards to Varanasi to visit our friends sister who runs a Hostel/School for underpriviledge children.
http://www.basichumanneeds.net/
Jess will be travelling with us for another 2 weeks but will then have to go back to work. The three of us will travel India for another 2 weeks and then we will head back to the Maldives.
So thats the plan and hopefully we can keep the blog updated from the road. Also I think the adventures will be a little bit more interesting.

The weather has made a shift for the better and we have been enjoying windy sunny days. Wind enough to ruin the surf but not enough to kiteboard. Mornings and evenings are a little calmer and we usually manage a sunset surf. Our house is quickly turning into the Surf Shack as anyone with a board wants to store it at our place. I usually send at least a few text a day giving a brief surf report for those pilots who aren't lucky enough to have a beachside residence. Steve our new flatmate has returned from Aus. He is a laid back surfer who has turned out to be an awesome guy to have around the house. Between the two of us and all our friends we have about 10 boards scattered throughout the house. That's life in the Maldives for now, in total I will be away for the next 6 weeks so I am sure it will be a new place when I return.

2006-12-26T00:59:00.000-08:00

Happy Boxing Day!! The second anniversary of the Boxing Day Tsunami is opon us and Jess and I awoke at one of the best resorts in the Maldives. "The One and Only" Kanahura, the one and only thing is some sort of chain of hotels around the world similar to the Hilton in class and outrageous in price. Rich Euro's throw down $2000 a night to be at the "One and Only", after the visit I don't know what all the fuss is about although it is a pretty sweet place to spend Christmas Day. We arrived there around 5 and lost an hour due to "The One and Only" being in another time zone. This is so the guests get up an hour earlier and get an extra hour in the sun that they would usually sleep through. Jess and I quickly checked into our room and according to Jess we got stuck with what looked to be a staff accommodation compared to the 2000 dollar a night rooms which Jesse and the other pilots usually get set up with. I was happy with our room, Jess wasn't, her tastes are getting more refined with all these overnights. We hit the pool and swam through the maze of a pool as its fingers reached to all ends of the resort village. We floated by the four piece acoustic band playing recognizeable cover tunes, with the odd carol thrown in. We gazed passed our toes into the endless Indian Ocean the infinty pool living up to its name. We took it all in, relaxed and then on to the next thing to to at the island, the Spa. We have to try fit all you can do on the island in less than 12 hours and fit a bit of sleep in so Jess can make it through the next day of work. A quick steam, hot and cold pool session and then onto supper. This could easily be the highlight of many to the resort. An endless buffet of exoctic foods, sushi, tuna sambal, Indonesian chicken, Mutton Rogan Josh, Lemongrass seafood soup, back to the sushi, tempura prawns, filet mignon, reef fish, and on and on and all Jess and I wanted was a little turkey dinner. Ah well I guess that was a pretty good replacement. To finish the night off we sat on an oversized couch with oversized cushions and sat back with our feet in the sand, looking West to Africa but all we could see were stars. A few Coronas, a couple of Baileys along with Cherry flavored tobacco smoked in Shesha pipe finished the night.

An early morning before the sun, breakfast to match the supper the night before and Jess and her Captain were off to work. I stayed behind to catch a later flight in order to spend more time on the island. I swam in the Ocean and then got nervous of the fish I saw in the spotlights cast on the ocean the night before, the sun was just coming up and they could still be around feeding, they were big, I had enough of swimming anyway. After walking around the island and enjoying the sunrise I went straight to the spa, my flight was at 830 so I had to hurry, a series of hot and cold pools and of course the steam room woke me up, I got dressed and rushed out to catch the plane. The plane was 2 hours late, back to the spa for an hour more of the steam room. Later, I walked down to the watersports centre and tried to talk the guys into taking me wakeboarding, they weren't biting, they didn't want to be upstaged, I didn't want to pay to show off. I hung out and made a pest of myself to no avail. The plane landed at the other end of the island and taxied into the dock quicker then I expected, I ran down the beach hoping not to miss my flight for if I did who knows what they would have charged me for another night at "The One and Only" I had overstayed my welcome. Dave Reid, my kiting buddy picked us up and he chatted me up about his new watersports centre he is starting on Medhufushi, he may need help getting it started, I told him I could spare some time.

Boxing Day Stories (All for the most part are true but aren't verified)

When the tsunami hit Hulumale (airport island) It was one of the busiest days of the year at Air Taxi.

The water (not much of a wave they say) surged across the island, across the runway, and into the outdoor waiting lounge.

Chairs, tables, plane parts, planes, dockhands, sandbar coffee bar girls, pilots were pushed into the water.

Maldivians for the most part can't swim,pilots swam out to save their friends. People relocated to the roof, until the water subsided.

The water raised about 2 m above normal sea level, the maldives is on average 1m above normal sea level.

The planes getting worked on in the floating hanger were loose and floating out into the lagoon.

Pilots in planes at the time could not taxi in to the dock as they were underwater.

Water surged into resorts destroying water bungalows, dispersing garbage everywhere, many local islands have never been cleaned up, some resorts are just opening.

The street of Male were flooded, The Jetty and many boats were damaged.

Everyone was waiting on another wave which was suppossed to be larger, people feared for their lives, this wave never came.

The death toll in the Maldives was suprisingly very low, the y recieved loads of money from Red Cross, UN etc. the government is said to have extorted quite a bit of that money, but who knows.

After the tsunami Air taxi went back to work as usual, with tsunami relief flights, A certain pilot refused to do any other flights besides relief effort flights, her recieved a nickname Mike Habel = Hero Habel. I think everyone wanted to do relief flights.

Sri Lankan Airlines were the first company to fly back into the airport, they landed a 737 on the runway with a foot of water!

Just a few tidbits about the Boxing Day Tsunami for everyone, happy Holidays.

2006-12-24T18:58:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas everyone from Jess and I, wish we could be back home in Canada to celebrate. Jess was up at 5 to head off to work this morning and must have disturbed Santa because when I woke up at 730 there was nothing to be found. It is either that or Old St. Nick doesn't visit the Maldives on account that no one believes in Christmas. Muslim controlled airspace, very tight security and Santa couldn't get in to deliver presents to the Expat population. The locals are getting ready for something called Eid, which I thought already happened at the end of Ramazan in October but Dec. 29 and 30 shops are shut down for Eid. Jess works all day today and then has an overnight and Kanahuri, a high end resort with the reputation for the best food in the Maldives. I will try my luck again and see if I can jump a plane and make it out there for Christmas dinner. I did get Jess a present though and to my knowledge I think she liked it, its a boogie board with fins and all accessories, Now she will have to venture out into the surf, no excuses.

Lately I have been keeping busy by hitting the gym, swimming, running and playing basketball with the local kids. Shivji (pilot) and I went down to the local court to shoot some baskets and before we knew it we were in a full court B-ball game. Witin minutes we were gasping for air but we couldn't show it as we were elected captians and choose the teams, they thought we were going to be ringers, man were they wrong. After the half hour game I took off my tank top and actually rang out the sweat from my t-shirt it was as if I had stood in the shower one of the kids informed me. Any type of exercise that involves running here is wild as you start to sweat the moment you take a step. The gym guys must hate me as they have to mop up all the puddles after I leave.

Thought we'd pass on a Christmas blog, not to exciting but just wanted everyone to know we miss them and wish we we were home for Christmas for Johnny Cake Breakfasts, Turkey Suppper and Leftovers. I guess i'll head out into the heat to find a fish curry Christmas Breakfast!

Love You Guys, Merry Christmas, Miss you tons.

Scott and Jesse

2006-12-13T01:11:00.000-08:00

I stuff the meat into the freezer, triple bagged but still leaking, strip down, throw the clothes in the washing machine and scrub myself down in the shower. Moments earlier I was biking by the local fish market and was drawn in by the amount of fish that were laid out and overflowing on a floor large enough for a basketball game. Swordfish streched out 2 metres long with their sides being disected as locals choose which section they desire. Smaller blue fin tuna the length of your arm, hundreds of them are being bought up for the local short eats shops so they can make masuni roshi a breakfast dish with shredded tuna, coconut, chilli and lime, served up with crepe style bread called roshi. Masuni Roshi has been compared to the truck stop brekfast by a french canadian pilot Jean Michel, who claims it leaves you feeling full but not greasy inside and on your way to a complete hangover recovery. That's if you can keep it down, I tend to steer clear of any fish for breakfast if i've been drinking the night before. Standing waist high in a bucket of ice are the yellow fin tuna, tails sticking out like a handle and their fins showing the distinct yellow. Before I knew it I was pointing, grunting and using all the Dehvehi i've learned, zero, to get my point across that I wanted to take one of those bad boys home with me. 40 Rufiyaa (3.50 CND) for the the fish. I grabbed on to the tail and heaved it out of the ice and dragged it on its nose to the cleaning area. I paid another 8 R. and was pointed to a line up of men holding their selections, at the front of the line a blood soaked Maldivian man fileting these fish like a master. After watching a few people I knew the drill, walk up to the counter, man handle the monster onto the cutting block, take reciept, obtained earlier, and as the man leans foward place it in is chest pocket. The head comes off first, he gestures if you want to keep it our not, I shake my head and he slides it to the side to take home, I guess some of the best meat is in the head, but what am I going to do with it! Splitting the fish in two, peeling the skin off, pulling out the inards and serving me up no less than 20 tuna steaks takes less than a minute. I fumble with my two plastic bags and he dumps the goods and I scurry off. The cutting block is perpetually washed with a hose sticking out at each cleaning station, of which there are about twenty. The water then channels down to the tiled floor and fills the whole fish market. As I walk out my sandles slip and slide and I feel like I am on skates for the first time. The ceiling drips water on my back, as I keep walking the dripping doesn't stop. My sandles are actually spraying me with two stripes up the back, a mixture of fish blood and water. Bag under arm, leaking, I pedal home extaticed and disturbed. Now what to do with all this choice tuna? I know i'll call my French friend, he'll have recipes.

2006-12-10T04:32:00.000-08:00

Ok, Ok, I know that everyone thinks that this is Scott's blog now since hes the only one who has been writing the thing. But this Is Jesse now, with my first entry, please bare with me, I am not as elequent as my better half. But I have to say, maybe I have not been posting because I enjoy reading his thoughts so much, he has a way with words. Anyways things are great here in Male. I am writing from our bedroom balcony overlooking the surf (I see scott out there right now as a matter of fact), got home early from work today, 130, the weather turned yesterday, so all is better in my world now. My life has been intense this last month, the monsoon was (maybe is) still going full force, which means rain, strong winds and big swell at alot of the places we go. For a pilot still trying to master take offs and landings on the good days, it makes my job more intense. but I was never one to learn anything the easy way. That would be boring. For those of you that dont really know what my life is like these days I will go through a sample day in the life. Wake up in the morning to go to work, ride my bike to the dhonni, the earliest dhonni (ferry to the airport) is 5am, thats a tough one, ussually get 2 or 3 of those a week. The other mornings I am at a resort, that commute is a little easier, just walk down the beach to the plane. Once at work I do a walk around on the airplane, pump the floats, put some gas in, then go have a coffee (thats the most important part). All the pilots sit around drinking coffee till our flights are released, then we slowly dissapear from the coffee bar to our airplanes to start the day. All day we are flying tourists, staff, and locals to Islands all over the maldives. For the most part, The captain flies 1 leg, then I fly the next and we alternate all day (so i get tons of practice) sometimes we fly 10-18 legs a day. When you are the pilot not flying you are filling out the logbook, and talking on the radio to air traffic control and traffic advisory, (the radio was deffinetly one of the most challenging things to learn when I got here, it is very busy and the controllers have very thick accents). At the end of the day I either end up back in Male or at 1 of the various resorts we service. I have only taken Scott on 1 overnight so far, but will get him out there with me more often, he is so busy surfing and kiting I cant ever get him away. Anyways thats all ive got for now, Hope all is well and I will get Scott to post again soon. Love Jes

2006-11-26T20:34:00.000-08:00

In the last couple of days we had a change of address. We left our very happenning, very busy, very loud apartment in the centre of town, we have relocated to a beachside address. On arrival Jess was not super pumped as the room we moved into had not been cleaned at least since the place had been built. After a thorough cleaning and some sprucing up though I think the place is going to prove a better location. We are, all kidding aside, overlooking the surfbreak! If you check out the island on google earth we are the last building before a park right on the surf beach.

This spot will be way better for running, biking, going to work, and of course surfing. No more will I have to navigate the traffic down Mageedee Magu with a board under my arm. Now I just throw on the board short and stumble out the door cross the stret and paddle out.

The last couple days have been great, I got in my first kite boarding session, on the north tip of airport island (Hulumale) just a 0.50 CDN ferry ride away. The wind was straight out of the north so it was directly onshore, not the best conditions for a scouting mission. I had a couple good reaches but kept coming in too close to the beach so I dropped the kite and decided that an easterly would be ideal conditions. Lucky for us a wind out of the east is predominent in the coming months, this wind will kill the surf waves but be great for kiting.

Another Dhoni day to sultans. Had a friend with an under water shell for his digital camera, attached are some of the pics he shot.

2006-11-21T07:28:00.000-08:00

So as it were no riots, no protests, no tear gas, the current government is still in power and Black Friday turned into a mellow day spent at the Hotel pool swimming laps and drinking Tiger beer on tap. As events were unfolding the previous week, political dissent seemed imminent. Although it’s surprising how quickly rumors of violent force on behalf of the government, the overall complacency of Maldivian people and a little rain can dispel an uprising. My perfect spot for filming the happenings: our balcony looking over the centre of town 3 floors up, went unused. Well at least all the pilots are still employed and we can stay down here for a while longer.

Another dhoni day has come and gone and it turned out to be yet another great surf day, surfing the other side of the island, which we had been to before. A right breaking wave named Sultans. The waves again were about chest high but not to consistent. Sometimes twenty minutes went by before a decent set came through. While out there a big storm came rolling over the island and for about a half an hour the heaviest rains I had ever been subjected to pounded down on us. It was amazing to be out there in this storm, as every so often you would have to slide off you board into the Ocean to warm up.

This past weekend Jess and I both got hit hard by health issues. Jess has been dealing with extreme tooth pain made worse by the constant change in altitudes she is subjected to on an hourly basis. We were both concerned with what this meant as a visit to the dentist in a country such as the Maldives did not seem to be an option. Jess had pictures of “The Little Shop of Horrors” running through her head. We inquired with a few of the veteran pilots as to what dentist was the best. Dr. (hacksaw) Didi was the resounding answer. As Jess couldn’t deal with the pain any longer she took the plunge and made the call. It ended up being a Root Canal! OUCH! (Both to Jess and our bank account) Within three hours she was out of there having the procedure completed during the same appointment as the consultation. We dreaded the bill. 600 Rufiyaa….50 CDN for a Root Canal! Not too bad and Jess’ tooth pain has subsided. After talking with other pilots we found out that at least 5 have braces from Dr. Didi as it is so cheap and the job seems to be done quite proficiently. My sickness wasn’t bad comparatively as I was just laid up due to vomiting and stomach pain for two days, food poisoning most likely. Were both well now and hopefully are in the clear for a while at least. Unfortunately our health issues caused us to miss dhoni day this week.

I started this morning with Yoga at 10 am, just enough time to read, have coffee, shower and walk to Silver Leaf, an air taxi apartment building with enough room to accommodate 10 members of the Wives Club. According to local legend I am the second Husband to accompany their partner to the Maldives. Interestingly enough I am a little more popular with the homophobic pilots than the last who actually was here with his Husband. Not a common occurrence in the pilot community.

Karen our instructor is another female pilot who has studied Yoga in Australia, on her days off she runs the class and puts us all through a vigorous yoga lesson which makes me sweat profusely a trait that makes me suspect I am not the most adored individual in the class by the other participants. It’s really great that there is someone here that can put the class on though as there are no Yoga studios in Male. An hour and half of Yoga and then time for tea and biscuits. Most of the members of the WC then head out to the airport hotel to lounge around the pool and I head out to the beach to check the waves.

Jess finally got her liquor permit and we put our November order in. Personal allowance is 3 bottles of Wine or Liquor and 60 cans of beer. Sounds like a lot but between two people it goes quick. Beers are ridiculously cheap a case of 24 costs 12 bucks 17 if its Heineken. I just got my Spousal Permit so now I won’t get kicked out of the country and more importantly I can apply for my very own liquor permit. As pilots come and go permits get passed around and just the other day I was picking up an order for Rhonda Atkinson a spouse who has not been in the Maldives for over six months!!

Perry one of the local CDN surfing pilots is leaving, sad to see him go but it means that his apartment overlooking the local surfbreak is up for grabs. Jess went and talked to DK the chief pilot and told him we were interested. DK an AUS and I are already surf buddies and thinks it would be a good idea especially because he would have someone to pull out of bed for Dawn Patrol (morning surf session. Here’s hoping we get the new apartment, it would definitely beat the hectic bike surf scenario that I’ve been managing lately.

2006-11-09T03:40:00.000-08:00

November 9, 2006.

“Just got out of the surf……” I have been surfing nearly everyday give or take one or two due to lack of waves or exhaustion, today the waves were mediocre but a good chance to get out and try some new stuff like cutbacks and airs, ha ha, fat chance but fun to try and helps make the waves more fun.

Last Saturday I experienced my first Dhoni day. 10 am we met at the Jetty and about 10 of us charted a slow boat to surf some of the island breaks. We ended up at a break called Honkey's with Sultans another break on the opposite side of the island. I spent about 5 hours surfing with the rest of the crew smallish lefts, which gave us great rides. Good practice considering I can’t drop into a wave backside to save my life. Periodically someone would head to the boat to have a go at the guitar or partake in a beer or two. It was an amazing day and I am looking forward to more Dhoni days to come.

Oh just quickly I was offered the Red Cross job but turned it down because I would have had to dedicate 40 hours a week plus to the cause and I would only be making a great Maldivian wage of 5000- 10000 Rufiyaa a month. Roughly 4-8 hundred CND. It severely cut into my surfing, kiting and hanging out with Jesse time so I decided. I’ll stick with the “Employment Prohibited” plan.

Jess hasn’t talked to me since Monday, the reason being, I made it into the Left Seat of a twin otter before she did. Haha. I went on my first overnight with Jess to an island called Ranveli. Pretty fancy I thought but agreeable among the pilots one of the worst overnights so I have much to look forward to. While flying out Jess’ captain jumped out of the Left Seat and let me climb into the captains chair. It was amazing what a view coral atolls stretched across the horizon, thunderheads threading in the distance. Jess took the plane down to 1500 ft. for a scenic flight. The plane was empty, we were just flying bags out to the resort. Although we did have one Turkish tour guide who was petrified of flying in the twin otters because they were so small, I think all of the blood left his face when I switched spots with the Captain!!

Tomorrow, Jess, Dave Reid (kiteboarding pilot) and I are going to an island called Reheveli. It’s on the southern Male atoll and offers Kiting opportunities. This will hopefully be our first kiting adventure down here. This trip depends on availability of boats on Friday, which is up in the air due to the protest that is planned.

The MDP is staging a protest to call for the current president to step down and relinquish power. The majority of the people in Male are unhappy with the current government and the president since 1978 (Gayoom) is fighting to stay in power. Some say that this is the year that it will all go down! The protest coincides with the death of a high profile MDP leader in a detention centre on one of the local islands in 2001.

Tuesday I was sitting on the balcony reading when all of a sudden on the street below the traffic was at a stand still and horns were blaring. Initially I thought there was an accident but leaning off the balcony I could see police dressed in riot gear. Never actually seeing cops dressed in riot gear first hand I grabbed the video camera and headed out on the bike trying to get a closer look. The main street Magee Dee on which we live was blocked off at every intersection and people were starting to get aggravated. Ditching the bike I ventured closer and talked to a few people thinking I was with a newspaper or news channel as I had video camera. The cops or military, not too sure which, had a video camera and were filming the instigators of the protest most likely arresting them later as to damper the spirit of the protesters come Friday. Tensions have been rising all week and tomorrow will most likely prove very exciting.

Check out www.minivannews.com for more info on the revolution!!

2006-11-02T00:23:00.000-08:00

Almost two weeks in now and everyday is still an adventure, everyday I set out with a few missions to complete and a couple corners of the island to uncover. Friday Jess joined me on one of our most important and successful missions to date in the Maldives. Buy, Borrow or Steal bicycles. After 10 days of unsuccessfully trying to round up a pair of bikes we were getting desperate. Used bike stores are scarce on the island and whatever is available is quite decrepit and being sold at a resale price not fit for even Canada. I guess the holding value on a bike is a lot better here than back home.

We put the word out into the pilot community that we were interested in obtaining a set of his and hers, but to no avail. Everyone was in the same boat and whoever had one was holding on to it. There was rumor of an abandoned bike floating around though, an orphaned bike that was locked up in the garage of one of the pilot buildings. “Oh yeah its in Faduu but is locked up and the garage attendant won’t let you get away with it, besides you’ll have to find someone to cut the lock, they’ll think you’re stealing it.”

Well that’s exactly what we were doing but the story goes that it belonged to a westerner female pilot, so we sent Jess in there pretending it was hers, it had been six months the Maldivian guard wasn't going to know the difference. The garage attendant was very receptive and was glad that someone had finally come back for the bike. After boosting it from lock-up we conspicuously carried it from repair shop to repair shop asking if anyone could cut the lock off. It wasn’t long until we were pedaling the adopted bicycle to its new home, promising it that when we did leave we will pass it on and never leave it unused locked up in a garage again.

The second bike we acquired shortly thereafter was from a new bike shop. Her name is Hercules. The most coveted bike on the island. White walled tires, that went well with the rest of the bike straight out of the 50’s but in amazing shape. I had been eyeing these bikes up all over town and was determined to make one my own. After asking the shop owner for info on tracking one down he said he had one in his possession that was being repaired, but the guy had not come back to pay for it. I was promised that if I came back in two days time and the bike was still not claimed that it would be mine for small fee. Returning I was in luck the bike was still there and the transaction was made.

Navigating the bikes home in the incessant scooter traffic is a feat in itself. No need for mountain biking when a ride to the local coffee shop is as adrenaline full as any Rocky Mountain Downhill.

I don’t know what I am thinking but I had an interview for work already. Yesterday I met with the Red Cross delegate for waste management, a faction of the Tsunami Relief effort in the Maldives. A friend who also works with the Red Cross said they were looking for a project manager to oversee the clean up waste from the tsunami and construction of waste management stations on local islands. After informing her of my construction background she was excited to have me come in and meet with her associates. After meeting with them I was informed that if chosen I would get to visit islands that few other foreigners get to explore. At that, I was sold. Fly and boat to local islands eat and sleep as they do and oversee a large relief effort that is headed up by the Red Cross, what experience that would be. So now I sit and wait to hear back hoping I will be chosen for the position that would last until March.

Finally I have ventured into the local surf, it’s actually not as intimidating as originally suspected. Even though there are giant tetra pods littering the shoreline the access is quite easy and the coral is flat without any large coral heads sticking up. Spending 3 hours a day for the last few in the water I have caught quite a few waves and the new board purchase is definitely worth it. Today I think I need to take a day off to let my rash under my arms recover, caused by wearing a T-shirt out the first day. I am also nursing swollen ribs from paddling, both bottom ribs are swollen up with fluid and are quite sore. Haven’t been kiting yet but may try to get out to Kuredu a resort island with Jess this weekend and throw the kite in the air.

Jess has been flying everyday short hops, long hauls, photo flights, and tourist picnics. So many take offs and landings must be very skill building taking into account ocean winds, ocean swell, and overloaded planes. I’ll get her to sit down long enough to submit to the blog, I am sure she will be able to throw down some more exciting stories than buying bikes!

Hope everyone is keeping warm, I heard it snowed! Have fun.

Scott

2006-10-26T01:35:00.000-07:00

Rainy day, we spent the morning inside. Jess had a late start at MATaxi so we lounged around the apartment drinking instant coffee and smoking American cigarettes. Just a little guilty pleasure I allowed myself as I settle into the island. You can’t beat sitting on our third floor balcony, hot and humid, overlooking the street watching life unfold while puffing on a smoke and drinking a coffee. The pack is now gone and I am back to being smoke free.
Jess packed up, dawned her uniform and ventured out to catch the Dhoni over to Hulumale (airport island). Everyday Jess walks down to the Jetty and catches the dhoni that takes about 10 mins. Not a bad commute. Jess’ daily routine varies but does consist of many short hops from island to island delivering tourists to their final destinations. Reminds us both of her job as a busdriver for whitewater, maybe a tad more glamorous.

After Jess left I fell into routine, read my book, (Slaugterhouse Five), and then did a quick daily workout consisting of push-ups, sit-ups and stretching. For the past three days I have been going out to Hulumale to the hotel and swimming in the pool it’s a fair sized pool and not too busy so I have been doing laps and seeing how far I can swim underwater on one breath. Today its raining so I’ve stuck around Male and see if I can find a bike. Bike are plentiful here on the island but hard to purchase. We are looking for old ‘townie’ so as not to get them stolen the first day. Everybody either rides a bike here or a scooter, few people own cars and the rest of the vehicles are either for work or taxis. After getting bikes its going to be interesting navigating around town as the streets are full with people.

I wandered out to the local surfbreak ‘towns’ as I do most days waiting to see some surfable waves and people out there so I can figure out where the best place to line up would be. There’s something spooky about being the only one in the surf. A few waves rolled in that were rideable but I think I will wait until I see others out there besides the dolphins that frequent the surf. I haven’t kited yet either but have hooked up with some fellow kiters who have been here for a while and have the launch spots sussed out. Hopefully we will go out soon. If I don’t surf this week I will definitely be able to get out Saturday. The pilots who surf, mostly aussies, charter a dhoni for the day and head out to other breaks such as Jails, Full moon, and Cokes.

Ramazan has now ended, for the past month the locals, all of them, have fasted from sun up to sundown, no food or water. This can be quite a feat considering the average temperature is 30 degrees, No Water! Come on. Maldives boosts to be 100 % muslim, personal choice or government required I don’t know. Anyway everything operates odd hours opening at 8:00 PM and staying open until 11:00. This has actually been very nice because if you wake up early enough the streets are empty and its quite peaceful, even in a city of 100, 000 packed into 1 square mile. Our building is actually right next to a mosque and the pray times, five daily, are announced over the loud speaker. The other inhabitants hate living hear as the first one starts at 5 AM, I have yet to be woken up.

2006-10-20T20:48:00.000-07:00

Scott Day 2 // Jesse Day 15

After 39 hours of travelling and 4 plane rides later, I arrived in Maldives October 19th at 10:00 pm. Fearing the worst with the customs officials suprisely I had no problems. While waiting for my bags I flipped through the passport to read the arrival stamp, "Employment Prohibited" as so my adventure in the Maldives began. Jess was waiting outside the customs door already honey bronzed and desirable. It appears she had been fitting in to island life quite well. We quickly loaded up the bags, which suprisely made it unscathed, and hurried to the Dhoni's. Jess new eaxctly which one to jump on and within minutes we were under full steam in the Indian Ocean. Humid and hot even late in the evening the cool breeze caused by the foward motion of the boat was welcomed.

Minutes later we pulled into the jetty on the East side of the island of Male. Unloading the bags we now had to figure how to ge the bags and surfboard to Jess' apartment. All the cabs on the island are no bigger than a toyota tercel and none of them have surf racks. After passing us a few times one cabbie pulled over and volunteered his services and we placed the board on top of the car securing it with our arms hanging out the window. It was a short ride through the maze which is Male and we were at the building "G faith"........

2006-09-21T09:36:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone Jess and I are looking foward to seeing you all at the wedding. Thought we would start a blog to document our newlywed adventures in the Indian Ocean. For those of you who haven't heard yet Jess is taking off days after the wedding to the Maldives to fly twin otters with Kenn Borek Air ( Maldivian Air Taxi) www.mataxi.com. I will be joining her soon after, October 17th, for a six month contract. We don't have any idea what I will be up to there except for surfing, kiteboarding and fishing, but I think I can live with that. An open offer stands for anyone travelling in the area to come and stay with us in Male.

For those of you concerned about Haida's well being she will be going to a dog retreat just outside the small town of Spruce Grove, at her request. Unfortunately the country of Maldives does not have one dog, so to try and sneek her in would be next to impossible. We thought of training her as a seeing eye dog to get her in the country, but to keep the gig up for six months may not be worth the effort. Anyway she wants to work on her skijouring skills with Derek this winter (Derek, be sure to set the track early this year to get a good base of snow for the track).

Stay tuned everyone,

Love Scott and Jess