* * * * * * * ISLAND Vilamendhoo island is on the south-east edge of the South Ari Atoll. This area has some of the best dive sites in the Maldives. The island is a uniform oval shape and as a result quite samey all the way round. It is not the prettiest island we have ever been to, but it does have everything you ever need on a Maldives holiday, and that counts for a lot.....hence this is our third visit here. DIVING/SNORKELLING Vilamendhoo has the best dive centre, the best diving and some of the best snorkelling in the Maldives.....no contest! That is the big selling point of this island, there is a huge amount of diving going on here! When we were there the dive centre was being run by Sonja, she is married to Illy a Maldivian divemaster, an amazing couple. Sonja doesn't dive too much now but Illy is a great guy to dive with. They have two or three dive boats going out every day and the dive sites are spectacular, there is even a manta point on the other side of the atoll. I only did ten dives this time but unfortunately managed to format the SD Card that had most of my dive photo's on so not many dive pic's to put in the album for this holiday! MEALS The Maldive islands have no agriculture or industry, they have to import everything so it constantly amazes us how they manage to provide us with such a huge variety of great meals. When we are in the Maldives breakfast is always the best meal of the day and on Vilamendhoo it is no exception. We like to get up around 5:00am for coffee then go out for a run around the island while the sun comes up.....a stunning time of the day! Generally we have the beach to ourselves so it's like having your own private island. After the run we will cool off with a bit of snorkelling in the lagoon or out to the drop off. Cooling off is a relative term considering the water here is around 30 degrees all year round! All that gives you a fantastic appetite, hence our love of breakfast. We stayed at the adults on