Maldivian Cooking School - Fish and Coconut!

In addition to everything else wonderful about our Maldives trip, the food was exceptional!  While breakfast and lunch were buffets with loads of tasty delights, dinner was a sit-down four course meal every night, complete with an amuse bouche and a sorbet palette cleanser.  Needless to say, we ate well!

One thing that was always a feature of every meal was fish and coconut because, as the Maldivian's say, they have plenty of both.  In addition, they had a variety of curry dishes and, lucky for Nick and I, the Maldivian's like this spicy.  When we saw a cooking class offered by the the chef's whose food we enjoyed everyday, we could not resist.

Nick was a tad bit delayed because he was finishing his certification dives, but I was there camera in hand and ready to document it all!  I walked up to the outdoor kitchen area that was set up with a lovely display of spices and prepped food for the demonstration.

Colorful Spices

Each of the participants was given a cookbook complete with a great curry recipe among others that we would try that day.

Day Trip to Male, the Capital of the Maldives

When you head to the Maldives you stay at your island resort, which is a usually single small island.  The Maldives is a country made up of almost 1,200 island of which 200 are inhabited and about 100 of those are actually resorts!  Male is the capitol of the Maldives and is the most populous island in the country.  However, it is actually the smallest capitol city in the world.  Not that we were suffering from island fever, but we decided in addition to our Night Fishing excursion that it would be fun to take an afternoon tour of the Capitol City and see the local sites.

Maldivian Flag

Tons of Bright Colored Buildings

Private Villa Dinner Oceanside in the Maldives

Views to Start the Evening

While enjoying the diving and night fishing in the Maldives, we still were able to spend plenty of downtime in the sunshine.  Just in case we were not having enough relaxation time, the Banyan Tree took the extra steps to ensure that we would on a evening where they set up a private dining experience on our deck overlooking the ocean.  Between the sunset and hearing the waves lightly crash against the beach, it is truly hard to imagine a more perfect night.  Add to that delicious food cooked sea-side and it really may have been the most perfect evening!

Full "White" Cloth Candle Lit Table Setting

Due to our long stay at the resort, they provided us with a couple of bottles of wine that we saved for this in-villa dining (there was plenty of other drinks at meals in the dining area).

Night Fishing in the Maldives

Between the beautiful beaches and the incredible diving, sometimes it was hard to to find the motivation to do any of the other fun activities that the Banyan Tree had to offer.  However, when Nick saw Night Fishing as one of the offerings he got really excited, and since it started in the early evening, I was not losing out on any sun time!

Shortly after arriving at the end of the dock, we were loaded onto one the smaller diving boats and headed out to sea with some great views of our little island.

Our Island

Ready for our fishing adventure!

The evening that happened to work best for us ended up being perfect for the Night Fishing excursion.  The weather was clear and the few clouds in the sky only enhanced the sunset - needless to say I took plenty of photos.  It was just too amazing!

Diving and Animal Life in the Maldives

Back in High School my family frequently went on vacation to Club Med, and prior to leaving one of the trips my dad "made" me get certified in diving.  He got his certification sometime in the 70's and thought it was something I would enjoy.  I had no desire, but figured I had nothing to lose.  In hindsight it is seriously one of the best things I have been "forced" to do.  Once certified (basic Open Water Diver) it is basically good for life as long as you have a refresher dive when some time has passed between dives.  One of the big draws of the Maldives was sea life they had to see.  Since the area flies so far under the radar, it has stayed relatively untouched by outside influences.  Please pardon the disposable camera images....

Trying to Smile :)

Nick, having had to sit out before on a previous vacation, did not want to miss out this time around and signed up for a PADI certification class with Boston Scuba in East Boston.  The key for us East Coasters is to do all the book and pool work here, but do the ocean certification dives while on vacation via a referral, which is very simple to do.  Then you never have to go diving in the freezing cold Atlantic!  Trust me - it's way easier and nicer!

Scenes from Banyan Tree Vabbinfaru

After a long trip to the Indian Ocean, we finally had arrived to the island we would be spending the next 11 days at.  To find our hotel, we enlisted the help of a travel agent recommended to us by our Greek Travel Agent.  With over 120 resorts in the Maldives, we definitely needed some help.  After a couple back and forths, our travel agent sent us the link to Banyan Tree Vabbinfaru and we immediately knew this was THE place.

Our Personal Palapa

For Nick and I, the island seemed like a mirage after the hours logged on our flights.  We were warmly welcomed by the hotel reception where they welcomed up with a chilled lemon scented towel and a refreshing mint lemonade.

Getting In and Around the Indian Ocean

One of the most fun parts of any wedding is that after an amazing day with those nearest and dearest, you head off into into the sunset on what could be the most amazing trip ever.  Nick and I decided to go a little crazy and planned a trip of the lifetime - to the Maldives and Dubai!

For Nick and I, we took off out of Boston for JFK where we spent the night at the Hampton Inn, ensuring we would not miss our flight for Dubai the next morning at 10:40am.  This plan seemed very smart during the bookings when we thought that New Years meant extreme cold with the possibility of ice and snow!  Little did we know that that would so NOT be an issue this year!  Nevertheless, after an anxious sleep we awoke and arrived at the Emirates Air terminal of JKF.  After waiting in line, negotiating for an upgrade (didn't happen), and some major suitcase shuffling (only 15 pounds for a carry-on!) we were checked in and ready to head through security.

Emirates Check-in Counter

While we did not get the upgrade, we did have a pretty good entertainment system that had plenty to keep us busy for the eleven and a half hour flight to Dubai.

Officially a Mrs.!

Its been quite some time since I have posted because I have been busy - you know, getting married and enjoying a lovely honeymoon in the Maldives and Dubai.  Needless to say, I have tons of posts on all sorts of wedding fun as well as the honeymoon.  Both flew by and I am so not ready to head back to work today.

Here are a few teaser photos.  More to come....

Almost ready to walk down the aisle

First photo as an officially married couple!

The view from our hotel villa in the Maldives (it was amazing!)

Neighboring Palapa

And one of many sunset photos...

Sunset

I can not wait to give full recaps on everything, but somehow I need to get back to life in the real world - right now that is VERY tough!