Equator Village

Bar featuring rattan

     Every Wednesday afternoon we drive down the Link Road from Hithadoo to Gan, 8.6 miles on the longest paved road in the Maldives.  We  head to Equator Village, a resort that was formerly a British  air base.  The Sergeant's Mess has been converted into a large, semi-open bar and restaurant area, where Maxine and I linger over dinner while Courtney has her weekly meeting with the other scientists from the Dynamo project.

Bungalow room

     Equator Village is a budget resort, slightly shabby with a colonial feel.  The barracks have been converted into  bungalow -style rooms connected by paths planted with mature, groomed gardens.    The old chapel has become a mosque.  The guests are mostly German and Russian.  There is one British woman, a nutritionist,  who lives there 5 months of the year.  Her husband was stationed at Gan when it was an RAF base in the 70s.  Now a widow, she continues her nutrition education work on Adu Atoll and enjoys the Maldivian family who have adopted her.
      The pools where we swim before dinner are new.  It is fantastic to be in the water, looking up at the pink sky in the brief twilight, watching the fruit bats fly among the coconut trees.  All of the Dynamo people except for us live at Equator Village.  There is always somebody who will lend us the key to his room so that we can change after swimming.      

Fruit bat

    

Pool

     Some weeks we snorkel instead of swimming in the pool.  I am not a strong swimmer, so I stay close to the sandy beach as I practice with the mask. Even so,  I see a world of wonders under water, with striped fish swimming among small blooms of coral.  The coral reef off  Gan is  favorite of divers from all over the world.  Maxine and I watch for Courtney's big green flippers as she swims further out; then Maxine puts on her snorkel vest and swims with Courtney.  "One, two, three!" calls out Maxine, and they both put their faces in the water.
     After we eat, Maxine and I walk through the gardens, out the gate to the truly tacky tourist treasure shops.  Not many toys there, but the shopkeepers always have a piece of candy for  a little girl.  When Courtney's meeting lets out, we linger with the Dynamo scientists for a while, and then head home.  Wednesday is the highlight of my week.