14.051 Blackened Roast Chicken

Cycle 14 – Item 51

25 (Sat) February 2023

Roast Chicken

2.0

on MV Adora

-Kaafu Atoll, Maldives-

w DV and friends

Living Aboard the MV Adora (Day 1/13)

- Day -1 (14.050 Sea Bass Fillet)
- Day 1 (14.051 Blackened Roast Chicken)
- Day 2 (14.052 Mas Huni)
- Day 3 (14.053 Grilled Tuna)
- Day 4 (14.054 Chicken Rice)
- Day 5 (14.055 Tuna Sashimi)
- Day 6 (14.056 Buldak Hot Chicken Flavor Ramen)
- Day 7 (14.057 Beach BBQ)
- Day 8 (14.058 Roti with Smoked Tuna & Dal Curry)
- Day 9 (14.059 Ceviche Wahoo!)
- Day 10 (14.060 Fruit Sundae)
- Day +1 (14.061 Garudhiya Meal)
- Day +2 (14.062 Sautéed Sword Lettuce (Three Times))

In the Maldives. Here for my 2nd liveaboard. For 10 days, I’ll be on the MV Adora – same boat as my 1st experience (see previously 9.191 Grilled Beef Tenderloin) – sailing through the Deep South Atolls, diving from the boat, while I eat, drink (mostly drink), sleep, i.e., “live aboard” the boat.

From the bow, looking astern – my room is behind the tinted windows on the bottom left (see anchor crank shaft).

Arriving in Malé at 06:00, I waited at the airport until I was picked up at 10:00 and escorted to the boat.

ACCOMMODATIONS

As before (see generally 9.185 Chili Spaghetti), I paid extra to have my own quarters. This time, I was assigned the “honeymoon suite” (not an actual suite). Convenient to be located on level 2, same deck as the common area, dining hall, and bar, with easy access to the outer deck. But not enough space to keep my stuff neatly organized, the bathroom was kinda cramped, and the sound of the anchor being pulled every morning was excruciating – major 1st World problems.

If I hadn’t seen the bathroom from before (see generally 9.185 Chili Spaghetti), I would’ve been satisfied.

LUNCH

The rest of the group – mostly from the Philippines, friends of DV (my dive teacher) – arrived closer to noon.

Grilled reef fish + penne in cream sauce + salad (2.5)

We had lunch before our first dive.

DIVING

Dive 1 (this trip) / 156 (lifetime)

Highlight: “Fish Tank” – Kaafu Atoll

As usual, the 1st dive was a “check dive,” an easy dive to get loose, ensure that gear is operating properly, get acclimated to the water temperature and adjust weights, to give the dive masters a look at everyone’s skill levels (in case any weak links need to be identified and managed).

Fish Tank, named for the super varied and super concentrated sea life that is always found there, is a famous diving spot in the Maldives. The island hosts a fish processing plant, which discards leftover fish bones into the surrounding reefs, attracting all manner of fish, eels, octopuses, sharks, and of course my favorite: stingrays, so abundant here that they barely merit notice after a while. Because of its proximity to Malé, many liveaboards begin and/or end at Fish Tank.

DID YOU KNOW: a group of stingrays is called a “fever.”

On the prior trip, when we’d circled around the central atolls, Fish Tank was one of the final dives (see 9.189 Mas Huni). Alas, as the videos show, the visibility was much much better before.

DINNER

The chicken seemed rather burnt, at least on the outside (the inside remained juicy). But, before service, as I was sitting at the bar watching the staff prepare dinner through the windows into the kitchen, I’d noticed the chef remove the tray of chicken from the oven, at which point it was already quite dark, and put it back to cook even more. When I asked the bartender, he shrugged and said that they prefer it that way.

Although I am uncertain which dishes served to us through the course of the trip are authentically Maldivian, I will assume for purposes of categorizing them on GMTD that they are, unless obviously not.