Monday 18 May 2009
Male – Male Atoll
So we are still in Male!
Two days ago the generator decided to pack up having flooded with sea water due to incorrect installation back in Dubai. After numerous phone calls to Dubai and the prospect of paying for a mechanic to fly in from Dubai we found a very knowledgeable guy here who knew exactly what had gone wrong and left us seriously wondering yet again at the level of incompetency of mechanics in Dubai! We borrowed the ‘Black Pearls’ men and dhonni dive boat to take the generator out and then motored it over to the main island where it was then taken by pickup to the workshop and is now being fixed and serviced hopefully for the last time. Unfortunately the ‘Black Pearl’ is leaving on safari this afternoon so will have to find another dhonni from elsewhere and some men to return and reinstall and hopefully have sorted ready to leave tomorrow. This has held us up a good few days which we haven’t really been able to afford as our visa expires on the 26th May. The boys and Rob did not do their dive course here in Male as the logistics of leaving the boat were not ideal. The weather has been very stormy since our arrival and we are at anchor in a very unprotected area with very choppy seas and a lot of big safari boats, anchors and movement. We have now organised for them to do their course in Gan in the south if we manage to get an extension on our visa.
We have really enjoyed Male and visited the museum, Friday Mosque and old areas plus found a great coffee shop with excellent coffee and pizza! Hassan has been fantastic and we were very spoilt to have his sister do all our linen and clothes washing for us and enjoyed a delicious meal at his home with all the family. Chon, the skipper of the ‘Black Pearl’ has also been a great help to ensure the safety of Muneera when we have gone to shore and he and his crew have been great next door neighbours with the boys loving using the back of their boat for ‘bomby’ competitions! We had another unexpected visitor today bearing birthday gifts from my sister Jo and nieces in Denmark (Western Australia) – Andrew has been here for the past 10 days with his son on a ‘boys’ surf safari and has had a great time by all accounts. They had us a little jealous watching the cooks preparing their dinner at a nice long dining room table in full air-conditioning plus cold beer in the fridge........ahhhhh! Alcohol is a no go in the Maldives with no ability to bring it into the country and no hotels licensed to sell or serve. However all resort islands have special licenses which allow them to purchase alcohol for their non-muslim clients and this then leaves the rest of the population scrounging around if they want a drink.
Male – Male Atoll
So we are still in Male!
Two days ago the generator decided to pack up having flooded with sea water due to incorrect installation back in Dubai. After numerous phone calls to Dubai and the prospect of paying for a mechanic to fly in from Dubai we found a very knowledgeable guy here who knew exactly what had gone wrong and left us seriously wondering yet again at the level of incompetency of mechanics in Dubai! We borrowed the ‘Black Pearls’ men and dhonni dive boat to take the generator out and then motored it over to the main island where it was then taken by pickup to the workshop and is now being fixed and serviced hopefully for the last time. Unfortunately the ‘Black Pearl’ is leaving on safari this afternoon so will have to find another dhonni from elsewhere and some men to return and reinstall and hopefully have sorted ready to leave tomorrow. This has held us up a good few days which we haven’t really been able to afford as our visa expires on the 26th May. The boys and Rob did not do their dive course here in Male as the logistics of leaving the boat were not ideal. The weather has been very stormy since our arrival and we are at anchor in a very unprotected area with very choppy seas and a lot of big safari boats, anchors and movement. We have now organised for them to do their course in Gan in the south if we manage to get an extension on our visa.
We have really enjoyed Male and visited the museum, Friday Mosque and old areas plus found a great coffee shop with excellent coffee and pizza! Hassan has been fantastic and we were very spoilt to have his sister do all our linen and clothes washing for us and enjoyed a delicious meal at his home with all the family. Chon, the skipper of the ‘Black Pearl’ has also been a great help to ensure the safety of Muneera when we have gone to shore and he and his crew have been great next door neighbours with the boys loving using the back of their boat for ‘bomby’ competitions! We had another unexpected visitor today bearing birthday gifts from my sister Jo and nieces in Denmark (Western Australia) – Andrew has been here for the past 10 days with his son on a ‘boys’ surf safari and has had a great time by all accounts. They had us a little jealous watching the cooks preparing their dinner at a nice long dining room table in full air-conditioning plus cold beer in the fridge........ahhhhh! Alcohol is a no go in the Maldives with no ability to bring it into the country and no hotels licensed to sell or serve. However all resort islands have special licenses which allow them to purchase alcohol for their non-muslim clients and this then leaves the rest of the population scrounging around if they want a drink.
Hopefully there will be no more posts from Male!! - the generator is now not being delivered tomorrow morning Wednesday 20th and then we run for Gan hopefully with a few days visa extension.
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