Best of 2014

Dear family and friends,

It was wonderful to see many of you this year. We hope to see many more in 2015. In an attempt to make sense of 2014, we've compiled a list of memorable events, in no particular order.

Best niece or nephew visit: Xavier - We are hoping the others accept our invitation soon.

Xavier in front of the Sultan Mosque, Arab Street

Weirdest (and most memorable) family moment: Chris meeting his half-brother (also named Chris) for the first time in November. Sadly, it was due to the passing of Grandpa Glen. He will be missed.

Best coordinated jump shot (and newest country): Maldives

Most cleanly-devoured fish (and best trip with Hisako's parents): Amakusa (Japan)

Best fish and chips: salmon! (Oregon)

Best open-faced sandwich: curried herring and potato salad on rye (Copenhagen)

Best-looking drying fish (sorry - the sign says they are already reserved): Atami Onsen

Best bicycle ride (Hisako): Paris

Best bicycle ride (Chris): Copenhagen

Freshest salad: made by our friend Mika from Nakabaru

Best double rainbow: CDG airport, Paris

Best desserts: Germain Cafe, Paris

Highest trail: Sanitas in Boulder, CO with our friend Bob (great hike, but too hot to summit)

Highest peak: Mt. Takadake (Kumamoto), with our friends Kei and Maki

Most Midwestern meal: Iowa

Favorite rock: Oregon

Favorite installation art with thousands of rocks: Riverbed by Olafur Eliasson, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art (Denmark)

Longest shadow: Oshidoishi with our friend Shusaku (Kumamoto)

Best autumn foliage (daytime): Atami Onsen

Best autumn foliage (evening): Atami Onsen

Best panda siting: red panda at Singapore River Safari

Runner-up, best panda siting: "normal" panda at Singapore River Safari

Most memorable elephant shower: Singapore Zoo

Best-sounding surf (and newest state for Chris): Oregon

Runner-up, best-sounding surf: Maldives

Third place, best-sounding surf: Atami Onsen, Japan

Where to next year? (sign in downtown Portland)
We hope to meet you somewhere!

Maldives

Our first big trip of 2014 was five days in the Maldives. This collection of over 1000 islands fits many folks' definition of "paradise." The common narrative is that tourism in the Maldives began in 1972. Since that time, over a hundred resorts have been built throughout the atolls. Tourism makes a huge financial impact in the islands, and a recent documentary argues that global climate change may threaten all of that, with most of the islands susceptible to rising sea levels.

We stayed at Kuredu, located about 150km north of the capital city, Male. It is one of the larger islands, with hundreds of bungalows either facing the beach or perched above the crystal clear water. On our seaplane flight from the capital we saw other tiny islands with space for only a dozen or so guests.

Checking in to Trans Maldivian Airways.

One of dozens of island resorts. Note bungalows on one side of the island (built over water) and jetties on the other.

Water bungalows fan out like a palm tree.

Gorgeous blues found in the shallow waters throughout the country.

Stepping off the seaplane at Kuredu

Official Kuredu postcard

The island offers scuba diving, snorkeling, and other activities provide plenty of opportunity to enjoy the ocean, but just walking on the beach we saw tiny black-tipped reef sharks (1-2 ft), rays of all sort, and so many other colorful fish. And on our first afternoon we went snorkeling and within a few minutes saw a huge turtle. We hovered near him for about 10 minutes as he chomped on sea grass. We were so close we could hear him chewing (check out this image from the Kuredu blog)!

During our four days we spent a lot of time sitting in the shade, staring at the ocean, eating, swimming, and walking on the beach. I had fun playing my ukulele in such an appropriate location.

Morning

Ukulele session

Artsy shot

Afternoon

Poolside/beachside drinks

Oceanside lounge

Rooms

Room #1 - first two nights

View from room #1

Room #2 - final two nights

View from room #2

Snorkeling

In addition to generally being lazy, we did some active things, like two half-day snorkeling trips. We saw octopus, trigger fish, angelfish, damselfish, sea anemones and clown fish, moray eels, jackfish, banner fish, and dozens of others whose names I don't know. Without an underwater camera, we were able to focus on the life all around us. But we are left with no images of what we saw. A quick Google image search of "maldives diving" gives some idea, although we did not see any of the huge manta (or eagle) rays or whale sharks that make the Maldives a real diving treasure. 

Diving

I also did a tune-up dive, my first in over 16 years. I first reviewed some basic skills, including filling my mask with water and clearing it. It took me a few times, but I finally did it. Then I went on a fantastic dive on the house reef. Highlights included a Napoleon fish, nurse shark, a 2-meter black-tipped reef shark, a baby octopus being attacked by a group of fish, plus my first wreck. It's amazing how much life colonizes a sunken ship (great photos courtesy of Prodivers, located on Kuredu). 

Later, H took her first dive - just at 2 meters and without taking the official PADI course, but she stayed under and enjoyed breathing underwater for about an hour. Maybe I can convince her to go for the license next.

Holding hands underwater. Thanks to Prodivers for the photo and the video below. So many fish!

Meals

We had great food, comfortable rooms, a disco night next to the beach, a sunset cruise, and all the other perks and activities associated with an island paradise. After reading so much tourism scholarship over the years about the underlying inequalities associated with race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, core-periphery relations, etc. recreated in resorts like this, it is often difficult to enjoy myself on holiday without feeling like I'm part of the problem. I guess that is the burden for all who study tourism.