Sand and Sunsets
As I started negotiating deals for travel and stay, I happened upon a resort called Centara Ras Fushi. The beauty of the place somehow matched up to my imagination about how an ocean-island resort would be like. So I decided to book the best cottage they had without any further delay. Maldives is a beautiful country with a lot of extravagant resorts and if you are a water-loving homo sapien like me, you will love this country. With each island having its own private resort, you would rarely go wrong in booking an ideal place for your stay. Leaving a few pictures here from the resort and also the beautiful sunset I got to watch from the patio from my room.
Sandy beaches
Part of the resort
Sunset colours from my cottage
What interests me the most about a place aside from its beauty is the rich history it holds. I tend to look out for such places. This resort that I stayed in or rather the island where its built on also has an interesting story to tell. The island is known as the Giraavaru island named after the people that inhabited this island before it got commercialised - The Giraavarah people. Now this set of people were one of the oldest groups to occupy this island nation. Many believe that they originated in the mainland of India and in their journey towards an island, presently the country of Sri Lanka, drifted much further away to this particular island which explains the similarity between their language and Tamil, the oldest language that's spoken in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu. What previously set them apart from the rest of the Maldivian people is their culture, language and their dressing style.
As with all communities these days, the indigenous Giraavarah people were also forced to shift to another island. This time because of massive erosion of the island. It is said that more than 70% of the island is underwater today. This mass natural destruction rendered the island unsustainable on its own. When they moved, it is said that the natural sources of underground water such as wells had turned saline and other than a few coconut trees which were also dying, the soil could not support any kind of food crops. Thus another tribe saw its downfall once they started mixing with the rest of the people. The tribe head, always a women in their custom, is one of the last known remaining occupant of this island and there are a few stories from her on the internet for anyone who is interested to know more about the events that followed.
Coming back to the beauty this island provides, the coral reefs surrounding the island are breathtaking. I have a few videos from my scuba and snorkelling sessions which I don't know how to share but leaving a couple of pictures I took from the island when I sighted something.
Baby shark and a shoal of fishes
Eagle spotted sting Ray - The venomous kind
All in all, I must say it was a lovely vacation. Can't wait to experience more.
Wow.. so beautiful!
So for how many days did you stay there?
I stayed for 4.5 days. Spent all the lockdown savings there :D So couldn't extend for longer duration.
Such outings are so refreshing to the mind.
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I will definitely take a look. Thanks for sharing the details.