Velavaru, Maldives

In October/November 2002 Cedric, Thomas and I stayed for two weeks at Velavaru Island Resort, also called the Turtle Island. This island is located at the South Nilandhe Atoll at the Maldives. The excellent dive base is run by Ocean-Pro Dive Team. First we had booked the dive trip at Bali but on 13 October 2002 some dumb Al Quaida fanatics confused Australians with Americans and bombed a night club at Kuta. Although after this attack Bali would have been the most Al Quaida safest place on earth we booked another dive destination.

Beach Crab — Fig. 1: One of the many quick white beach crabs. (Velavaru Island, South Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, October 2002, 2.5/90mm macro lens, Fujichrome Velvia)

Ships on the Sea — Fig. 2: Two ships and a pump house on the sea. (Velavaru Island, South Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, October 2002, 2.5/90mm macro lens, Fujichrome Velvia)

Palms — Fig. 3: The sun is hiding behind these palm trees. (Velavaru Island, South Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, October 2002, 2.5/90mm macro lens, Fujichrome Velvia)

Hermit Crab — Fig. 4: One of the many cute hermit crab on a dune of soand. (Velavaru Island, South Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, October 2002, 2.5/90mm macro lens, Fujichrome Velvia)

Beach Crab — Fig. 5: A white beach crab digging a hole. (Velavaru Island, South Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, October 2002, 2.5/90mm macro lens, Fujichrome Astia)

Hermit Crab — Fig. 6: A hermit crab (Velavaru Island, South Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, October 2002, 2.5/90mm macro lens, Fujichrome Astia)

Palm Beach — Fig. 7: Yes, it looks indeed as kitschy as a travel brochure. (Velavaru Island, South Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, October 2002, Fujichrome Astia)

Palm Beach — Fig. 8: The same palms as from the previous picture but from the other side with the setting Sun. (Velavaru Island, South Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, October 2002, Fujichrome Astia)

Pump House — Fig. 9: The little pump house where they sucked the sand to recreate the beach in front of the restaurant. (Velavaru Island, South Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, October 2002, Fujichrome Astia)

Waterplane — Fig. 10: A waterplane in the light of the setting sun. (Velavaru Island, South Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, October 2002, Fujichrome Astia)

Reception Hall — Fig. 11: The beautiful reception hall in the evening. (Velavaru Island, South Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, October 2002)

Cocos Palm — Fig. 12: A coconut palm (Velavaru Island, South Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, October 2002)

Footprints in Sand — Fig. 13: My footprints on the beach. (Velavaru Island, South Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 17mm wideangle lens, October 2002)

Saltwater Bubbles — Fig. 14: Saltwater bubbles on the beach. (Velavaru Island, South Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 90mm macro lens, October 2002)

Fruits — Fig. 15: Some fruits on the sand. (Velavaru Island, South Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 90mm macro lens, October 2002)

Reception Pier — Fig. 16: The footbridge to the reception hall. (Velavaru Island, South Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, October 2002)

Water Airplaine — Fig. 17: The floatplane from Trans Maldivian Airways. The island is 45 minutes away from the international airport. (Velavaru Island, South Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, October 2002)

Crabs — Fig. 18: Two crabs on the rocks taking a sun bath. (Velavaru Island, South Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 90mm macro lens, October 2002)

Crow — Fig. 19: A black crow sipping from a freshwater puddle. (Velavaru Island, South Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 300mm telephoto lens, October 2002)

Sunset — Fig. 20: Another kitschy sunset with one of the dive boats. (Velavaru Island, South Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 300mm telephoto lens, October 2002)

Blacktip Reef Shark — Fig. 21: One of the baby blacktip reef sharks that swam along the beach hunting for fishes. (Velavaru Island, South Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 300mm telephoto lens, October 2002)

Beach — Fig. 22: You probably will see that if you are looking from the beach at the horizon. (Velavaru Island, South Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, October 2002)

Palms with Umbrella — Fig. 23: Another kitschy picture of a sunshade and palms on the beach. Hey, it really looked like this! (Velavaru Island, South Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, October 2002)

Sunset — Fig. 24: One of the breathtaking sunsets. (Velavaru Island, South Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 300mm telephoto lens, October 2002)

Sunset — Fig. 25: Yet another sunset. (Velavaru Island, South Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, October 2002)

Windless Surfing — Fig. 26: Practising your balance. Surfing without wind. (Velavaru Island, South Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, October 2002)

Crow — Fig. 27: A black crow on the beach. (Velavaru Island, South Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, 300mm telephoto lens, October 2002)

Sunset — Fig. 28: Sorry for just another kitschy sunset picture. (Velavaru Island, South Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, October 2002)

Cloud — Fig. 29: A cloud above the Maldives. To be honest, they look the same as in Switzerland ... (Velavaru Island, South Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, October 2002)

Cedric with Kite — Fig. 30: Cedric playing with his kite. (Velavaru Island, South Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, October 2002)

Rainy Day — Fig. 31: In the last week we had some rainy days. (Velavaru Island, South Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, October 2002)

Palm — Fig. 32: Yes, the same palm as on an earlier picture but another background. (Velavaru Island, South Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, October 2002)

Sunset — Fig. 33: Do you like pretty sunsets every day? Then go to the Maldives. (Velavaru Island, South Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, October 2002)

Freight Ship — Fig. 34: A freight ship in the dusk. Note the little fata morgana on the left side. (Velavaru Island, South Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, October 2002)

Harbour — Fig. 35: The little harbor of Velavaru in the dusk. (Velavaru Island, South Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, October 2002)

Freight Ship — Fig. 36: At the morning of our departure the first beams of the rising sun hit the freight ship. (Velavaru Island, South Nilandhe Atoll, Maldives, October 2002)

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