Maldives, the paradise of Bathala

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March, the 20th, 2004 my dream has been finally realized: a vacation in one of Maldive islands. Not any island: for my first trip in Maldives I wanted a small island, which could be crossed safely on foot, not crowded, quiet, and with a beautiful sea...... that should invite not to stay on the beach.
The choice is fallen on Bathala: it is very small island on Ari North atoll, about 600 meters of perimeter in a perfectly circular shape. Located at 20 minutes of seaplane from Malè; in alternative it can be reached by 2 hours of boat, even if the seaplane is much more spectacular (and healthy for those suffering from seasickness).
Already from the sky this island is wonderful: a ring of white sand with, inside, a thick vegetation that hides, in the shade, 35 bungalows, all with a wide veranda and placed directly onto the beach. Each bungalow, then, has a stretch of very broadly beach, for those who want to remain in peace sleeping a bit or reading a good book. But is under the water that Bathala offers the best of itself: the island is, infact, completely surrounded by coral reefs, only about twenty meters, filled with colorful fishes, turtles, sea eagles, little sharks.
According to those who seen the other islands, Bathala is one of the richest. Also corals, burned by the passage of Niño 8 years ago, are a major upswing.
Even for those not used to diving, Bathala reserves meetings with white fin sharks, stingrays, jack fishes.......
The bungalows are very spacious, all with air conditioning, fan and refrigerator bar included; also to mention the typical outdoor bath with open air shower on every bungalow.
Regarding the food, we ate well, even if the variety was not so wide: fish (excellent) is always of the same type, and cooked to the plate. Rabbit is also available, with potatoes, white rice, beef and some kind of sweet. The quantity is always abundant, the only risk is to desire something else, given the fact that always the same things are prepared.
The treatment agreed with Azemar tour operator is all-inclusive, with the exception of alcoholics.
However the value for money is good: considering the beauty of the island, comparined to other islands equally beautiful but more exclusive, as Thudufushi (Francorosso) or Vabbinfaru (Hotelplan), a total amount of 2000 euros each has been definitely well spent.
Regarding our on-site assistants (Christian, Michele and Monia), we judged them a little "absent", even agreeing that the peculiarity of the island is a sort of non-intrusive animation. But staying the whole day on the beach to sunbathe (Monia) or sleep (Christian) "seemed" us a little too soft. Even in the evening, apart from two hours of non organised cabaret, nothing...
Regarding daily trips, we did only snorkeling safari to a nearby reef, as we judged the excursion to a sandbank in the middle of the sea too "hot" to be organised on the second day, and the one on fishermen island much tiring (5 hours of moving over 8 of total excursion time).
Finally, some final advices: Do not bring repellent for mosquitoes, which are completely absent, to be replaced instead with a good ant insecticide; Ayurvedic massage, highly reccomended for the first day to recover from the fatigue of travel, carried out by two Indian masseurs; buy in Italy a disposable underwater camera, because in the island it costs 30 dollars; dinner of lobster (extra) is not so exceptional; possibly book at least a 10 days rest, because a week passes too quickly.
A goodbye from Bathala to all of you!

For more photos and informations, you can also visit my personal site www.miavacanza.it