Embudu Village is the entire island. Dave estimated that it was 2 city blocks long and 1 wide. The entire island was sand covered so you take off your shoes when you arrive and put them back on when you get to the airport when you leave.
We had an all inclusive package which included three meals a day and some drinks at the café’. The meals were buffet style and the food was fantastic. There was a small shop, mostly souvenirs, a jewellery shop, a small library, computer room and wifi area located in the building between reception and the huge dinning hall. This was located mid island and was surrounded by the houses or rooms for the guests.
Most buildings are one story with the exception of the staff quarters and the dive center which were two stories. The island was planted in such a way that the buildings seem to fade into the background. The grounds were kept spick and span by a very industrious staff. The staff was mostly Bangladeshi. I believe that this entire island was swept everyday.
Our fellow guests were mostly German, with the occasional French and British being spoken. There is no swimming pool but there was a small spa. This is a more rustic type of resort. There were about 6 "Over Water" villas on the sunrise side.
The water is, as Dave puts it "gin clear" and was about 80 deg. F or warmer. It is this temperature all year long. We have a fish guide to the Indian Ocean that is 290 pages of ID photos of fish and I'm guessing that we saw about one third of that on our first afternoon alone. This is an extremely healthy reef and is a protected habitat, so there is no fishing.
In total we spent 40 plus hours snorkelling. We snorkelled at once each day and twice one day and we tried a night snorkel once as well. Snorkelling was the main reason we chose to come here and it did not disappoint. We swam with reef sharks, turtles, eels and a manta ray. All this on the "house reef", that is the reef that surrounds our island and is an easy swim away, about 50 yards at the furtherest point of entry. Google earth has a great view of Embudu Village where you can see all this very clearly. You will notice that there are no underwater photos here. We didn't have an underwater camera to capture the amazing sights. We are hoping to add some images, but in the mean time just think "Jacques Custeau." [see the photos below]
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All images and text copyright Marsha Bailey 2005-2011. All rights reserved.
