As I say goodbye to Landaa Giraavaru tomorrow, and the Maldives on Sunday, I can’t help but reflect on the past seven weeks. I was at first stunned by the sheer beauty of these islands. But as I traveled to the various islands in the Baa Atoll and spent time with the islanders, I discovered that it was not the landscape (or seascape) that enchanted me the most – it was the people themselves.  The local people showed up day after day for mosquito  survey,  invited us into their homes for lunch, came out to haul trash in the pouring rain, asked questions and thanked us for our hard work!

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