Honeymoon in the Maldives - Sun, sea, sand and ... tummy trouble

We knew we'd made the right choice when the plane first cruised over the Northern Maldivian atolls at 32,000ft.
Minature sunken islands appeared to bob beneath the surface of translucent seas causing half the passengers to lurch across the plane to get their first glimpse. Each spectral shape looked like a giant jellyfish or amorphous ghost.
All 11 hours of travel evaporated in a buzz of excitment as we touched down in Male just yards from the turquoise waters.
The sense of expectation dimmed a bit in the following three-and-a-half-hour wait for a seaplane to Kuredu, part of the Lhaviyani Atoll 80 miles north of the capital.
But once on board the somehow slightly Bondesque air taxi, holiday fever gripped all on board.

The island lived up to its billing. Kuredu is one of the larger resorts in the Maldives but the accommodation nestles among coconut groves on white sand shores making sure the island doesn't look over developed.
Our water villa was stunning and overlooked a narrow coral reef.
Thanks to the blue wristband that comes with the water villas, we were entitled to eat in any of the standard restaurants. A series of Al A Carte restaurants were also on offer but were expensive.
Our main restaurant featured candle-lit tables on the beach making for really romantic meals under a sky so starry it was hard to concentrate on the food.
What was on the plate was worth savouring though. All meals were buffet style but unlike other all includive deals I've been on before, the variety and quality of the fayre was outstanding.
We got a personal waiter called Hamza who stuck with us throughout the two week honeymoon. He had a ricktus grin and a habit of lingering at the table after serving. We didn't know if this was for a tip or to make conversation and so plied him with money (which he seemed awkward in accepting) and engaged him in stilted chat about the weather - a topic he has probably never embarked on with guests before, I would imagine.
All in all the first three days were sensational.
We wrote postcards home boasting of the perfect start to married life.
But disaster struck.
And it struck us in the ass.
A plague of gut rot swept the island. Other people have already complained on Tripadvisor.
Honeymooning couples clutched their tummies and raced to the nearest loo, ignoring the thatched roofing and tasteful traditional exteriors as they dived for the nearest cubicle.
At temperatures of close to 50degC in the sun, the evil intestinal bug kept couples indoors - and not for the usual, generally welcome, reasons associated with a successful honeymoon.
For us, it wiped out about five days and made another three or four quite uncomfortable.
Instead of snorkling on The Wall, or in Caves - areas of superb marine life and turtle heaven - we stuck to places that had a public convience within a short sprint.
After forking out several thousand pound with Thomson and First Choice for the honeymoon of our dreams, it looked a bit like it was literally all going down the toilet.
What was more annoying was the fact that a doctor's consultation cost US$35 each and, according to those who visited him, consisted of him confirming you had a tummy bug and should take Immodium. The shop promptly ran out.
We were angry and massively disappointed. We began to try and work out what the source of the outbreak was. We spotted our housekeeping fella barely used disinfectant. We witnessed barstaff forget to wash their hands properly after using the public loos. We worried about whether the sewage was being pumped out to sea in an area snorkle tours were being conducted. We thought that having buffet food left uncovered might be a bit of an invite to the island's flies. We also heard stories about the said flies gathering around guests as they went about their business in their al fresco villa bathrooms.
But in the end, we have no idea how the bug got such a grip of the island.
And, having splashed the cash, and that of many of our friends and family, we set our jaws, and girded our loins, with true resolve to enjoy the holiday whether we liked it or not.
As a result, the half day trip to the Dream Island, was magical. We were cast adrift on a bleach white sand bank a couple of miles from Kuredu's shore with a picnik hamper and tiny hut for company.
We got into the sorkeling, seeing a plethora of fish of every shape and size. I even had my own moment with a turtle that swam up to see who the klutz was with the inept doggypaddle technique.

Now we're back, the bad bits are already fading while the sunsets and long beach walks are burned into our memories (and in blotchy areas of our skin).