UniBreakers sink their feet into Maldives' golden sand

COUNTRY: Maldives
PROGRAM: UniBreak
PROJECT: Teaching & Sports Coaching
WRITTEN BY: Emily Edwards and Katie Brown

After months of anticipation, our adventure finally began. We were warned of delays, but little did we expect it would be days before we would arrived at Kolamaafushi. Instead, we had our own little adventures at Male and Thinadhoo, meeting the locals, riding motorcycles, searching for coconuts and buying a not-touristy-at-all ‘I-Heart-Maldives’ tee.

The team assembled on the Blue Shark (a ferry) to Thinadhoo. Boarding the vessel proved to be an interesting experience, as it was connected to the land with a single plank. Our fear quickly dispersed with the sight of the gorgeous local kids grinning and staring intensely. This sensation continued when we arrived on the island, surrounded by local smiles and curiosity. Everyone on Thinadhoo was incredibly welcoming, providing us with canoes and hours of karaoke. Definitely a team bonding experience.

We were sad to depart from Thinadhoo, but extremely excited to see Kolamaafushi – an island we fell in love with almost instantly. It was definitely a red carpet experience, greeted by the teaching staff and families. We had an accommodating welcome at the local school where we were given fresh coconuts while we discussed our plans and intentions for the next month.

Our first day was full of adventures – Assad, our guide, showed us around the island. Kolamaafushi has two main roads, going vertically across and horizontally across the little island. On our second day we were taken out to an uninhabited island to go snorkelling. The huge underwater coral formations were breathtaking and we were lucky enough to see a shark. On the beach of the island we barbequed a dolphin fish, with a potato for Sonia and Emily.

We were renowned on the island for our enthusiastic singing, constantly chanting the lyrics to Katy Perry, Shakira, ABBA and Avril Lavigne. We became known as Phil and the Girls. We've loved our short time here so far and are very excited for the days ahead; we'll keep you posted.