Maalhoss
We just got back from our favorite island… Maalhoss. There are so many things that make Maalhoss our favorite islands. The island is small with only 500 people living there. Most of the men on the island are fishermen… well at least the older men are fishermen. It seems the younger generation of men are working at nearby resorts. Our travel company offers several cultural tours that are hosted on this island. The island is pretty much untouched. Life is so simple and so attractive. I can’t talk about this island without mentioning the beach. Oh, it is a multi-millon dollar view. I love to sit under the huge palms on the white sandy beach and let the wind cool me off. I just love it. I really love it. Who wouldn’t? However, I guess the thing that continues to draw us to the island are the people. We have so many friends on the island. 
The photo here is of Ashraf. Ashraf is the son of the fishing boat captain that hosts all of our fishing tours. Ashraf and I can communicate pretty well in English. His father and I can manage with a mixture of Dhivehi and English. He has done much better at learning English than I have Dhivehi. We had a small communication issue, but had we not, I would not have this photo. We (Braden and I) were supposed to be fishing, but something got lost in translation and we missed the departure time. Instead, we (Angie, the kids and I) walked around Maalhoss collecting shells and visiting homes. This spider was under a tree. It was really cool. You can see the web on Ashraf’s face. See all the photos from the Maalhoss trip. We took a sea plane to get to the island. See the aerial shots here.
We didn’t go to the island to fish, we went to see Ashraf’s new baby. She is so tiny. Angie loved holding all the babies. Angie said, “I could live on this island… they have so many babies that need holding.” I wish we could live there, but I’m not sure that would be possible with our business. Who knows? Maybe someday.
We hopped from house to house having tea with all of our friends. Due to multiple trips to this particular island, most of the people know me by name. I wish I was as good at names as they are. As I was walking through the village, I snapped a shot of some ladies preparing some food outdoors. They called for me to comeback. I thought I had messed up. I thought they were angry with me for taking a photo. I went back to the house and peeked over the wall like a dog with its tail between its legs. The older lady from the home ran to the wall and passed some of the fresh baked goods over the wall to us. She wanted us to have a gift. Did I mention I love this island? Did I mention I love these people?
All of the pictures are beautiful!!! Jamie and I really hope to come back one day!