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The sand was as crystal white as the clouds and you could see the bottom of the turquoise sea very clearly. If you were looking for exotic tropical beauty, the atolls in the Maldives would be the perfect place to be.

When the boat arrived at the Chaaya Island of North Male Atoll, I zipped off the boat and shot to Dhonveli Beach. Its unique, authentic Maldivian bungalow architecture blended seamlessly with nature.

When you walked into the ocean back home, you would be avoiding shells. But in the Maldives, you should be looking out for fish. Tiny fish darted around your feet, making it almost impossible to move around freely without squishing a mullet or kicking a sea bass.

As I kept going, the other kids, Alex and Nick on the cruise met up with me. We decided to swim to the nearby uninhabited island that couldn't be more than a mile or two away. Later on, I would say how stupid I was to go on this journey.

Just when we began to swim, problems sprouted like weeds in the summer. Immediately, I noticed that all corals were dead and there was not even a trace of a fish. After a while, a huge problem also sprang up. The water was gradually getting shallower and the dead coral still covered the seafloor. Soon enough, I couldn't even kick my feet and the shore wasn't getting any closer. Walking wasn't an option either unless you wanted to have holes in your feet. When we finally arrived at the destination, the first question was how we got back. After trying to find an answer other than swimming back, I saw no other choice.

So we set out again. By the time we reached the shore where we came from, my feet were cut, bruised, and scraped. Even so, I was in good shape. Sometimes you can't expect too many things like how I expected better of this beach. No shoes, no news.

【红霞译文】

沙滩宛若白云水晶般透亮，大海犹如宝石绿清澈见底，如果你热衷异国情调热带风光，马尔代夫环礁宝地当之无愧。

乘船来到位于北马累(意指“宫殿”)环礁的梦幻岛，我迫不及待奔向沙滩海滨，这里独特地道极具马尔代夫民族建筑风格的草棚木屋与大自然融为一体，浑然天成。

每当在家门口淌洋度步时，你也许担心破碎贝壳扎破脚底，但马尔代夫不同，你应该警惕小鱼，它们围着你的脚丫窜来跳去，稍未留意不是踩上梭鱼就是踢到鲈鱼。

我昂首阔步，迎面碰上同伴亚历克斯和尼克俩兄弟，哥仨合计要一起游到一、二海里开外的孤岛上瞧瞧，事后我才意识到这真是轻举妄动。

刚开始游泳，问题接踵而至，犹如夏季杂草雨后春笋般地暴露出来，我察觉出脚下死掉的珊瑚，连鱼都不屑到此光顾。又过了一会儿，情况变得更加严重，海水越来越浅，死珊瑚全部沉积海底。很快地，我甚至不敢轻易屈张腿脚，岸边遥不可及，走路并不是明智的选择，除非你不在乎脚底穿洞；等好不容易到达孤岛时，新的问题油然而起，我们怎么回去？除了重蹈覆辙，我们别无出路。

几经周折，我们终于凯旋而归，脚被蹭破皮并划出血道，红一块紫一块的，尽管如此，我精神尚好。看来凡事不能期待过高，即使对眼前这片倍受热捧的印度洋上人间最后乐园，同样如此。

Today in History(历史上的今天):

2012: Santiago—City of the Island, Chile(智利圣地亚哥—岛山之城)

2010: 节日期待(Holiday Anxiety)

2009: 新西兰陶波湖区(Lake Taupo, NZ)