Trapped in Paradise: This is the other side (real and affordable) of the Maldives
Update
Tuesday,
20
April
2021
–
08:01
Ana Hernndez Sarri’s latest novel, ‘Entre azules’, is a reflection of her months confined to the island of Maafushi during the pandemic. And the excuse to know the authentic side of this dream archipelago where it is possible to sleep for less than 20 euros or dive in one of the most beautiful waters in the world for just 30 euros.
The writer Ana Hernndez Sarria pas months trapped on the island of Maafushi.
When we talk about the Maldivian islands, our brain immediately moves us to an exotic parasum surrounded by wooden cabaas, palm trees and colorful cctels everywhere. However, there is another parallel reality: the local islands. Muslim territories very different from the dream resorts that are shown in magazines and that weave the teln of background of my novel Entre azules (Ed. The sphere of books). A much more economical and less luxurious way to travel to this indescribable nirvana.
Maldives it has two faces. The first, the one we know from the networks: prohibitive for many and chosen, almost always, for honeymoons. The second is the EDN of Blues within everyone’s reach. A much more economical way to travel, moving by ferry between the local islands. The archipelago consists of 1,200 islands, of which 203 are inhabited. Of Muslim religion, it has recently begun to adapt to tourism. For some years now, the local islands closest to the capital have started to open their first hotels. They offer snorkeling activities and the best diving dives.
The most well-known island for this type of tourism is Maafushi, 40 minutes by ferry from the capital. All is possible to find hotels for less than 20 euros per night, make diving dives in the best points of the world for about 30 euros, and above all, enjoy those paradisiacal beaches full of fascinating creatures. A unique experience that the locals manage to make even more unforgettable.
The waters of the Maldives are known all over the world. They are home to diverse ecosystems and stand out for their variety of colorful coral reefs. In addition, they are populated by millions of marine species. Swimming with them is one of the most impressive attractions of the country. In Maafushi, they offer whole days by boat where you can dive with mantas, Dolphins and Sharks. The experience includes lunch: all for 45 euros per day.
Almost all backpackers come to Maafushi with the intention of swim with the whale shark. After several excursions, they start the ferry trip to other well-known islands, such as Gulhi, 15 minutes from Maafushi, or Fulidhoo, with a baha full of sharks and rays that curiously approach the shore.
However, despite the spectacular nature of this landscape and the richness of the fauna that inhabits it, this place is not always cared for by the locals as it should, because a recurring picture is the one that shows them throwing each day kilos and kilos of garbage into the ocean. And it is that not everything is idlico in this paraso, where the inequality between men and women it triggers injustices like those that nourish the novel, a story about the healing power of the past and the importance of valuing the present whatever it may be.
To know more
The novel Entre azules tells The Story of Federica, a young writer in the midst of a creative crisis who decides to escape to the Maldives in search of inspiration. Before leaving, her grandmother gives her a diary of which Federica has no record, with the idea that she can turn it into her next work of fiction.
However, Maafushi, the one-kilometre-long island on which it is located, and circumstances will change everything. Federica was not aware before leaving the new world she was going to face and how much she was going to learn trapped in a parasum to which soon ships with water and food would stop arriving.
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