Jewellery Island
We left Kolumafushi and the Huvadhoo atoll on Friday and sailed (well, motored) overnight to arrive in Laamu atoll yesterday mid-morning. Our experience in Huvadhoo had been largely positive and most islands we visited extend a warm welcome. A pair of brothers had befriended us as soon as we arrived in Kolumafushi and within an hour of us arriving had brought us some treats as ‘welcome’ gifts. These included fresh coconuts, a local crisp made of breadfruit, and some deep-fried crunchy fish balls (so crunchy you could lose teeth with them!). We enjoyed the coconuts and crisps, and the fish around the anchorage enjoyed the fish balls.
Arriving at the new Gan (many place names seem to be repeated), we found the welcome to be somewhat more muted. We found a spot in the local harbour without too many problems and attracted the usual level of interest. Stepping ashore, however, we were approached on a couple of occasions to ask if someone was looking after the boat. They advised that there were thieves around. We are not sure if this is a reality or if this was simply a means to get some money from us for ‘watching’ the boat. We felt a little unsettled as we set out to explore the four islands connected by a causeway on the scooters that we had hired.
We needn’t have worried about staying out too long as we soon discovered that the causeway linked islands (some 12 km long) has little of interest along the way. Long stretches of sand road and short patches of tarmac, with few buildings or signs of life along the way. We eventually found a small cafe where the menu at least extended to fried rice or noodles, before heading back the way we came as rain clouds threatened. We are preparing to leave Gan now and will set off in an hour on another overnight hop to the next atoll. The weather is overcast and the humidity is 73% with very little wind. The rains seem intent to continue on and off and the weather predicts more of the same over the next ten days.
17 Aug 2009
We left Laamu Atoll yesterday afternoon and arrived at South Nilandhe Atoll (also known as Dhallu) as the sun rose. We had no confirmed anchorages to aim for – just the desire to get as close as possible to one of the two islands within the atoll known for making gold and silver jewellery. No luck with the first one ‘Ribudhoo’ – it was surrounded with shallow coral reef and deep drop-offs (over 30m) all round. We headed instead for Hulhudheli. A narrow channel was marked by sticks leading into a lagoon at Hulhudheli so we decided to gently nudge in the seemingly shallow azure blue water. The depth meter measured a reasonably comfortable 3m and the tide was on our side. Our lowest recorded depth entering a harbour so far is 2.7meters and since we need 2m clearance for the keel we are getting fairly used to holding our breath- but this is definitely a spot that we are leaving on the high tide! Once through the coral channel, the lagoon before the harbour deepens to 10 meters, so for a change of scene from the harbours we have become accustomed to, we decided to anchor in the lagoon. It was absolutely beautiful as we came in – less than 7 knots of wind and fluffy white clouds in a blue sky.
Typical of the weather we have become used to now, in less than an hour rain clouds were pushing overhead. The wind picked up to 20 knots and before we knew it we were out on the deck soaked to the skin pumping water to top up the water tanks again! Thankfully we had taken full advantage of the sun when we arrived so had already snorkelled to the nearby reef and had a chance to freshen up and cool off. It has stayed overcast since then and is raining every other hour, so we have stayed on the boat so far and we will venture onto the island, just a few hundred meters away, tomorrow. We have a bit of a swell under us but at least we are not a spectator sport as is usually the case inside the local harbours.
The Lonely Planet research in advance of our visit notes that the two jewellery islands of Ribudhoo (the first island we sailed round) are known for its goldsmiths and Hulhudheli (where we are now) for its silversmiths, although apparently many of the craftspeople are now making jewellery, beads and carvings from black corals and mother of pearl. One story claims a royal jeweller was banished here by a sultan centuries ago. Another suggests that the locals developed their skills on gold taken from a shipwreck in the 1700s.
It has to be said that Lonely Planet does rather ‘upsell’ the local islands as we discovered searching high and low to find an example of the local mat weavers on a previous island. Our latest ‘disappointment’ was the archaeological site on Isdhoo island in Laamu atoll. Lonely Planet reads, “a giant, black dome rises above the palms. Who built the ancient artificial mound, known as a hawitta, and for what reason is not really known. Buddha images have been found on the island and it is believed such mounds to be the remains of Buddhist stupas….” We had exited Laamu through the narrowest of channels – less than 150 meters wide so had already had a bit of an adrenaline rush leaving the atoll. Bryan kept us reasonably close to shore with binoculars trained on land looking for the dome rising majestically above the palms…and finally, we saw it…what looked to be nothing more than a huge pile of dirt and somewhat reminiscent of many of the building sites in Dubai! In years to come, they could well be saying the same thing about The World islands and The Palm reclamation off Dubai- “who built these and for what reason is not known…” At least we got to see the ancient mound… just need to think of some reasons for it…? maybe in ancient times they just had very big moles?
Hopefully, Hulhudheli won’t be a disappointment and I will be sure to remind Bryan to take some cash just in case Erin and I see some nice trinkets. After doing yet another load of hand-washed laundry, I really reckon I deserve it!
20 Aug 2009
We finally managed to venture off the boat today for the first time since our arrival in Hulhudheli three days back. We were battered by high winds and heavy rains most of yesterday although it eased a little overnight. Today is more patchy but the sky is constantly overcast and there always seems to be a rain squall on the horizon waiting to drench us. The wind keeps dying back and then picking up again. We have read plenty of books, played plenty of Monopoly, finished a jigsaw and eaten most of the time while waiting for the weather to pass. The forecast does show some improvement over the next few days so we might well make a short hop up to the next atoll tomorrow with the intention of heading for a local harbour, which we have been told is of a reasonable size. At least then we can rest a bit easier about the security of the boat and be able to get on and off with more ease.
We are not sure what impact the start of Ramadan (or Ramazan as it is known here) will have. On Hulhudheli island today the locals told us that the one and only cafe on the island was already shut because Ramadan will start in a few days. Hopefully, the impact will not be too great, though we expected to have to wait until the evenings to sample the fare offered by local cafes.
Somewhat predictably, Lonely Planet had ‘upsold’ Hulhudheli and its local jewellery makers. The locals were friendly enough though and offered us a tour of the island. We were taken to the far side of the island where waves crash in over the reefs just a few hundred metres offshore. With such an overcast sky, the sound and sight of the waves looked quite dramatic. The locals explained that the tsunami had caused significant damage to the island and I spotted a building housing a Tsunami ‘Shelter Programme’. We have heard similar tales about the destruction caused by the tsunami in many of the places we have visited. One of the strangest impacts of the ‘great wave’ mentioned was when we were in Chagos. When we were attending the BIOT BBQ, I had mentioned to one of the army guys about the presence of hundreds of random flip flops and sandals on most of the islands we have visited in the Maldives and also on nearly all the beaches in Chagos. The Maldives ones, I assumed, were from the lack of discipline the Maldivians have around refuse disposal. It is one of the aspects of the Maldives that has frustrated me the most; to see such a beautiful country and wonderful beaches covered (and I mean covered!) with all kinds of rubbish. The Chagos ‘flip-flop phenomenon’ I couldn’t understand though. Surely there were not that many yacht owning visitors to the islands and surely they could not account for the sheer number of discarded shoes. Our BIOT host stated that their presence was explained because of the tsunami. Quite simply, they were washed there from all of the thousands of homes and islands that had suffered. Quite mind-blowing!
I digress… back to Hulhudheli. Our local tour guides took us back around to the harbour and offered us some coconuts. They carried a set of chairs from one of the nearby houses. These are the type we have seen all over the Maldives; metal frames with coarse twine nets creating the seat. Once seated ‘front row’ one of the locals then proceeded to climb a coconut tree with nothing more than his hands, feet and a strip of sacking that he put around his feet like a bracelet. Within minutes he had scaled the tree and sent numerous coconuts crashing down. Straws were provided for us to drink the sweet milk inside and then the shells cut open to eat the coconut flesh – delicious!
Just as every camel in the UAE desert apparently belongs to someone, so it appears to all the coconut trees in the Maldives, with fruit-harvesting rights assigned. Some islands have names or numbers carved in the trunks, some islands appear to work on a trust system. In Chagos, we got used to taking the lowest coconuts, but we’re reluctant to do so here. All the same, there’s plenty of fruit to go around and together with tuna, there never seems to be a shortage of gifts.
We were then taken to three or four houses where the local jewellery is made. Nearly all of it silver, with some examples of beaded necklaces made from black coral. We were also shown some decorative snakes which we were told were made of ‘big fish’ bone – whale shark bone to be precise. They did say the whale shark was washed up dead though, not killed by fisherman; I think the horrified look in my face precluded any other explanation. The silver work was quite intricate but didn’t really seem particularly different or unique, so instead, I opted for a black coral necklace and some unfinished black coral pendants that I will get turned into earrings when back in Dubai.
Back on board, the weather seems to be closing in again. Our excursion to the island was well-timed.
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