Keeping with our countries in danger as a result of global warming, we're moving to the Indian Ocean. The closest county to the Maldives is Sri Lanka , just under 650 miles away. Being that far away from any other landmass means clear, sparkling water for the 1200 islands. 200 of those islands are inhabited by locals, another 100 are basically tourist resorts. But, we'll get to that in a minute.
Now, be careful when googling recipes for this one. It's real easy to end up with Moldovan recipes. But that's over in Europe, squeezing between Ukraine and Romania, basically landlocked. The two are very different places, but just a few typos will result in some misinformation if you aren't careful.
Our landmark made it obvious why this country is in danger: Maldives has the lowest high point in all of the world. It's the opposite of Lesotho who has the highest low point. The highest point here is on the Addu Atoll and sits just 8 feet above sea level. (Books and websites refuse to divulge the exact location, but I hear you can find it with a GPS, and altimeter and a few clues form the locals.) The country as a whole is the world's flattest and lowest-laying country in elevation, with an average of 4 to 5 feet above sea level. Scientists expect the oceans to rise between 2.5 and 6.5 feet by the year 2100, which could wipe the Maldives completely off the map. The Maldivian government is preparing for the country to be submerged, and they have purchased some islands from Australia. Should their land become completely uninhabitable, they will have a place to 'relocate' the nation. It's not the first time the Maldives will have their land swallowed up by the ocean. In 2004, a tsunami swallowed 2/3 of the country, and over 20 islands were permanently erased from the map.
To raise awareness of just what the country is facing, in 2009, the president of the Maldives put on his scuba gear, along with 13 other government officials, so they could hold a meeting at the bottom of the ocean. They even had desks to work at. There's totally a youtube video about it.
The Maldives isn't as obscure as some of the other places that could disappear (like Tuvalu), because it's a popular vacation spot, more specifically it's a big honeymoon destination. Those awesome bungalows over the water that you always see- but know you'll never be able to afford- those pictures come from Maldives. That's those 100 islands that are tourist destinations.
Funnily enough, the Maldives also has the distinction of having the highest divorce rate in the whole world. Asa claims this is because the residents see happy honeymooners all the time, and marriage isn't a honeymoon. (Well, I mean, most marriages, of course my husband thinks being married to me is a happy honeymoon like experience 100% of the time! Except maybe when I'm reminding him he is putting off crap he has to do.)
Anyway, as an island country, Maldives has a lot of what you would expect. The primary activity is scuba diving. The waters are full of beautiful coral reefs, manta rays, hammerhead sharks, and even a few shipwrecks. It's also home to Nemo, aka clown fish, and their sea anemone homes.
At night the sea near the beaches of Vaadhoo Island may appear as if there are an infinite number of stars floating in the water. But it is actually caused by tiny phytoplankton in the water.
The boys made their postcards for the Maldives.
Calib's featured a couple getting engaged over the water, and a couple getting divorced on land. (I love his stick lady's surprised look)
If you look closely you can see that Peyton's featured the underwater meeting.
While Hayden showed the lowest high point.
Maldives closest land is India, and as such it influences their food. An easy side dish for this one is the Samosas that are in the Publix frozen food section.
For dinner we had the Samosas, along with canned peas. Like Tuvalu yesterday, it is hard to grow things in the Maldives. So they get a lot of help from coconut and canned goods. We went with canned peas this go around, and some coconut from the dried fruit aisle at Trader Joes.
Our main dish was tough to find. You see, google Maldivian recipes and you'll get tuna after tuna, after tuna. I mean they eat the stuff for breakfast lunch and dinner. Yes, I know, work with what you have. But, thanks to Chad, we know my family doesn't do fish. And when the Tuna recipes came up over and over and over again, all I could think about was the sandwiches from Monaco day and how Calib held his nose the entire day, including at the table, because the whole house smelled like tuna. I dug deep and went through so many recipes, but I finally came up with Maldivian Chicken Curry. For dessert we had Maldivian Sliced Custard. We through in some bananas and pears for good measure.
The dinner earned a few spoons up.
Asa and Peyton were fans.
The dish overall was mostly a 'well, this isn't too bad', but it was chicken and rice. Which, well, we've had a lot of lately. The custard would also benefit from some whipped cream, but I would have that again. It was a decent desert.
Also, side note: that recipe for the chicken curry requires coconut milk. Now, I had been buying the stuff at Target, as it was cheaper than Publix and Sprouts. But, I have since discovered Trader Joes sells it for $1 a can. That's less than half of what I had been paying, so I was excited with that find. I stocked up on a couple cans while we were there because I knew it would pop up again sooner or later- because I am now apparently the type of person who just has a few cans of coconut milk in my pantry.
We probably could have made Maldives a tiny bit closer to India, but these island countries are a bit tricky. We locate them on our globe and then do the best we can.
That my friends, is 94 countries down... and wait for it.... 99 more to go! (SINGLE DIGITS WHOOOOO!)
Next Up: Nauru, the country with a story I've been most excited to tell. It's full of good lessons.
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