The Indian Ocean

We departed Marmagao, India for Male in the Maledive Islands. Though Male is due south, we tracked southeast úntil we reached the apex of the subcontinent, practically to Sri Lanka.. At this point we headed south for a day and then headed due west toward Male. What explains this indirect route? Pirates. The international naval task force has established protected corridors for shipping in this part of the world. The captain warned us about evasive maneuvers the ship would make in the unlikely event of an attack. We arrived safely in the Maldives . These are a group of reclaimed sandbars that have become high-end beach destinations for the jet set. The main island Male is the capital of this exclusively Moslem nation. There are hundreds of small islands. The international airport is on a piece of land reclaimed from the sea just across from the main town. I suspect international money helped build the runway. This airport is much closer to the sub-continent than the base at Diego Garcia. You must take a water taxi to get there, or a sea plane. We visited the main town and I’ve included some pictures. There are 2 pix of the presidential palace and one of the cemetery across the street. The male headstones are pointed and the female, round. There is a lot of development here. The town is relatively clean and I felt safe on the streets(picture). It is as crowded as any spot in Venice, perhaps more so. The main island is no bigger than say, Di Lido Island in Biscayne Bay(picture). Eiko bought some fabric here at a good price. From here it is 2000 miles (4 days at sea)to reach Mauritius.