We found where God lives...

There are few places in the world that can stimulate ooohs and ahhhs and make you ponder life like the Maldives does. I don't think there could be anywhere more beautiful. I don't know if its the giant chain of small islands dotting the Indian Ocean or the huge smiles of the Maldivian people or the water than is so clear you can see fish 10 feet below you...Whatever it is the Maldives is heaven on earth. We came here because of the diving. In fact, this is one of the best places to see the amazing manta rays and the huge whale shark. This is also the home of the "overwater resorts" like this one that we passed by:

I snapped this pic as the "water taxi" took off past one of the many resorts.

So we came to do a 7 day dive trip all over the northern atolls of the Maldives.  We were met by our dive boat at the airport last week. The divemasters were awesome and they immediately took us all to our new home for the next week, a 110 ft boat named "Carpe Diem". 

For those of you who don't know about scuba diving "liveaboards" its like a floating, all inclusive hotel. The whole purpose to to allow divers access to reefs and dive spots that are too far out to get to from the shore. The schedule is pretty hectic. Normally the schedule is like this:

6 am-wake up

Dive

Eat

Dive

Eat

Dive

Eat

?maybe dive again

Sleep!!!

We had the greatest time! We even got the opportunity to dive with Manta Rays!!! OMG, these creatures are beautful. Imagine a VW bug, gracefully floating around underwater!!! Mantas are know to be very intelligent and they will come close to divers to play in the scuba bubbles and look you in the eye!!! If they take a liking to you, BE STILL!!!! They will continue to swoop in closer and closer to satisfy their curiosity.  For whatever reason, a couple of BIG rays took a liking to me and Bruce and decided to hover over us for 10 minutes. They swooped around and came eye to eye with us several times. It was so amazing to be that close to an animal that big and graceful. The biggest one was almost 12 feet across!!!

That's me and Bruce!!!

The liveaboard was excellent, mostly because of our wonderful dive staff. They even took us to a deserted island where we had a Maldivian style BBQ (pretty much anything in the ocean that can swim goes on the grill). Our crew even serenaded us with tradtional Maldivian drum songs and chants!!!

There is so much to tell about the Maldives but I think that the pictures will speak volumes. This has to be one of the most beautiful places in the entire world. I am so blessed that I got the opportunity to step foot on their land.  Hope you enjoy the pictures!!!

Click here to check out all of the picutres from the Maldives