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Live the adventures of Dan Walker's travels through reading his travel journal. The travel journals are listed below in descending order of date. To search the travel journals, use the keyword search at the bottom of the page.

Journal Entry:

Monday, November 22, 2010 15:15:49

BIOT & Maldive Islands 2010: 4 - Retreat but not totally beat

Thursday, November 11, 2010

It was tough to give up - this is not a group easily deterred, but we learned a great deal and made contacts that will help ensure the next assault on the Chagos will succeed.

Kevin and I had a couple of early morning beer at the hotel in anticipation of the drought to come in Male - there is no alcohol available in the capital city. The hotel bus took us to the airport 5 minutes away, where we waited in the heat outside for an hour before boarding our delayed flight. Once in Male we split up to different hotels. Kevin booked into the Kam Hotel were I'm staying, where they kindly allowed those with flights tonight to store their luggage.

We walked a good distance through the city to meet at a nice restaurant Jorge found for our farewell dinner. Terry was first flight out, so couldn't eat, but I had a great plate of lamb chops, mashed potatoes and salad. Male is loaded with motorbikes. Looking down from the second floor restaurant balcony in the dark it appeared as if a swarm of fireflies were weaving down the street.

It seems Internet was down in most of the city, as attempts at Internet cafes were unsuccessful and the complementary hotel wifi wouldn't connect. Kevin and I walked Pam to the airport boat on the way back to the hotel, and then sat with JoAnn until it was time for her catch the boat for her 1:30 AM flight.

Friday, November 12, 2010

Internet was back on in the morning, so I sent out urgent emails before Kevin and I walked to a nearby bistro for breakfast. We both worked the Internet until noon, then took the airport ferry for Kevin's 4 PM flight. He found he couldn't check his bags yet, so a kind Maldivian bus driver took us to a nearby hotel that had a bar, where we drank real beer and ate surprisingly good nachos until Kevin's flight time.

The hotel shuttle dropped us at the airport terminal where we said our farewells before I returned to the hotel to spend the rest of the day catching up on business emails.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

After breakfast I checked out and ferried to the airport. The BA counter didn't open until 2 hours before the flight, so it was necessary to wait. Once checked in and through immigration and security I was sitting near the entrance to the gates, which was also closed, when an airline employee tracked me down to ask if I'd give up my window seat for a couple who wanted to sit together. I reluctantly agreed, and he took me to the lounge where he suggested I wait for the flight to board.

The flight was smooth and comfortable. One flight attendant, JoAnna, was very nice and attentive; however the others seemed more concerned with their coming strike. One blond was clearly in the wrong occupation - I take it she is the union militant in the group. She did the minimum possible with a surly attitude.

Immigration was easy at London Gatwick airport but the line was long. Once processed I walked right onto the National Express Bus for the 1½ hour trip to Heathrow, then to Terminal 1 to catch a taxi to the Sheraton Heathrow were I had a nice room for only £45. After a shower it was straight to bed.

Sunday, November 14, 2010

I left the hotel at 5 AM and walked right onto the National Express Bus shuttle service to Terminal 3. The taxi took 15 minutes and cost £10 last night, the bus took 20 minutes and cost £4 - and I could have caught it next to the one from Gatwick had I known. It runs every 20 minutes.

After checking in and going through security where there was no line I went to the upscale BA lounge, where there were all the ingredients for a good breakfast. A number of bottles of champagne were in separate ice buckets, so I added orange juice for a mimosa. There was also a large selection of wines and 3 self serve bars with various liquors and beers plus an area with about a dozen computers as well as wifi.

The flight to Madrid was late again, but my seatmate was an interesting expat Englishman who has lived in Venezuela for 37 years. His stories of how President Hugo Chaves is gradually wiping out private business were scary.

When we arrived at Madrid we were taken by bus directly to the gate where I boarded the flight for Costa Rica with only 7 minutes to spare. This time the flight was full. I got some sleep on the flight, and arrived home feeling not too bad.

SUMMARY

I think most of us who went to Gan didn't regret the experience. It was a new location for all of us, and we had a chance to get to know fellow "extreme" travelers, people we had heard of but didn't necessarily know. It was fun to listen to tales of trips to impossible places, many of which are avoided by most sane people.

Gan it a pretty atoll, and one I'll return to the next time I'm in India or Sri Lanka. I'd like Marilynn to experience the snorkeling and see some of the sights. Its 7 populated islands have around 36,000 inhabitants, making it second in size only to Male in the Maldive Islands. It was a British naval and air force base from 1908 until 1976 - the Equator hotel is the former officers area.

Throughout the Maldives most people did not seem overly religious - the call to prayer didn't make much difference to those in restaurants or on the street. There are a lot of foreign workers throughout the islands, mainly from Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka. Everyone seemed very friendly, and most went out of their way to be helpful, whether hotel and restaurant staff or just people on the street. The weather was as good as it gets, with the evenings about the temperature at which you would set your thermostat and the days warm. For someone looking for a nice, tropical place to relax it would be a good choice.