The staff at Sun Siyam Resorts found out I love sharks, and created this artwork on my bed covers one night. Pam LeBlanc photo

Forget bath towels folded into animal shapes. The Sun Siyam Resorts where I stayed in the Maldives Islands went a step farther. They used palm fronds to create works of art on top of my bed at night.

Read more: Ten things to know before you book a trip to the Maldives Islands

I spent nearly two weeks in the Maldives in January, visiting three different resorts. When I arrived at each new hotel, someone had used fresh green fronds to spell out the words “Welcome Home” on my duvet.

Staff artists use palm fronds to create artwork on the bed covers. Pam LeBlanc photo

The hotels – Siyam World, Sun Siyam Olhuveli and Sun Siyam Iru Veli – were all part of the same group of properties, operated by Sun Siyam Resorts.

But at Iru Veli, things got even more impressive. One night, I discovered a snaggle-toothed shark and a “good night” message on my bed. “We knew you liked sharks,” the head housekeeper told me.

A manta ray and sea turtle glided across my bed covers the final night of my stay at Sun Siyam Iru Veli. Pam LeBlanc photo

And on my last night, I found a manta ray and a sea turtle gliding across my bed covers, along with the message “See you soon.”

The designs were delicate and beautiful, perfectly formed. Someone put a lot of effort into making them.

Now I want to try it at home. Somehow, though, I don’t think bits of cedar bark and handfuls of Texas leaves won’t look quite as good as tropical foliage.

In the Maldives Islands, float planes deliver passengers to resorts – and serve up spectacular views along the way. Pam LeBlanc photo

I felt like a character in a James Bond movie last week when I flew in a float plane to reach Sun Siyam’s Iru Veli resort in the Maldives Islands.

After a 45-minute flight in the small plane, which soared over a string of tiny islands set against a turquoise backdrop, the pilot made a steep descent toward a platform bobbing in a lagoon. I found it disconcerting at first –no runway beneath us, just open ocean and rippling waves.

But we plopped onto the water with a gentle sploosh, and when I climbed out of the plane onto the platform the size of a single-car garage, a sign proclaimed the spot “Iru Veli International Airport.” I could have swum to shore, but a boat zipped out to pick me up and deliver me and my suitcase to a dock a few hundred yards away.

Read more: Ten things to know when planning a trip to the Maldives Islands

If you’re planning to visit a resort in the Maldives Islands, chances are you’ll be making a similar trip. Boats carry passengers to destinations nearest to Velana International Airport in Malé, but float planes transport them to farther flung islands where many of the resorts are located.

The Maldives are made up of nearly 1,200 islands in all, scattered along an underwater ridge near the equator in the Indian Ocean. They’re like tiny jewels ringed with white sand and flying over them is a memorable experience. Getting there is part of the fun.

Some of the resorts have their own planes, but Trans Maldivian Airways operates commercial service that delivers passengers where they need to go. It operates out of Noonvilu Seaplane Terminal, which is adjacent to the main airport where commercial flights disgorge thousands of tourists every day. Shuttle buses transport passengers between the two facilities.

The sun sets behind a row of over-the-water bungalows in the Maldives Islands. Pam LeBlanc photo

Ten things to know about the Maldives Islands before you book a trip…

1. About 1,200 islands scattered across an underwater ridge in the Indian Ocean make up the Maldives Islands.
2. It takes a long time to get to there from Texas. I flew Austin to New York City to Doha, Qatar (which has a fabulous airport) and on to Malé, the capital. From there I took float planes and boats to the three islands I visited. In all, it took me about 34 hours door to door.
3. Over-the-water rooms are over-rated. Some “water villas” are crowded together like tract homes and offer little privacy. Most have small pools; some have water slides, which adds a contrived, Disneyland feel. Opt for a beach bungalow tucked in the greenery along shore.

4. The outdoor bathrooms at the Sun Siyam resorts I visited were amazing. I’m a sucker for an outdoor shower, and when I discovered my bungalow had an entire outdoor bathroom, complete with shower, daybed, toilet, sink and bathtub, I swooned.

5. The Maldives are part of the seventh largest reef system in the world, and a great place for scuba diving. The islands are famous for manta rays and whale sharks, but you’ll also find plenty of other sea life and coral. The reefs are generally healthy, but they’re threatened by climate change, over tourism and coastal development.

A honeycomb moray peers out from beneath a coral head in the Maldives Islands. Chris LeBlanc photo

6. Beware of day excursions, like one I took to swim with nurse sharks. Hordes of boats congregate in some areas, and not everyone respects the wildlife. I saw people chasing sharks and turtles just to snap photographs. I watched tourists take turns posing in the water while guides tossed chunks of fish around them and a drone flew overhead, snapping pictures. Nurse sharks generally are non-aggressive, but I’m opposed to feeding and harassing wildlife.

7.Look up! Huge reddish-brown, football-shaped fruit bats, sometimes called flying foxes, are everywhere in the islands. While fruit bats are considered nocturnal, we saw them out during the day, too, soaring from tree to tree and hanging upside down from branches. They eat nectar, pollen, leaves, and sap.

8. You’ll probably take a float plane to get to your resort. Trans Maldivian Airways operates one of the largest fleets of float planes in the world, and flying to the islands is an experience all its own.

9. Traditional Maldivian food is based on fish, coconut, and starches. Expect to find fish curry and rice dishes on the menu.

10. The Republic of the Maldives is Muslim. You can buy alcohol on resort islands, but not on the local ones. And while bikinis are allowed at resorts, women should dress modestly (no bikinis, covered shoulders) when visiting local islands.

Pam LeBlanc shares her 2024 New Year’s resolutions.

I try to look beyond the old “go to the gym” when I set my New Year’s resolutions.

They can’t be vague. They have to be attainable and at least some of them measurable. I like variety, so I usually include stuff that keeps me healthy and fit, personal goals and something wacky or unusual.

I had mixed results with last year’s list. I let Vincent VanGo, my campervan, out of the stable fairly frequently, and just this week I knocked off a 200-meter butterfly at the end of swim practice. But I didn’t do so good at others, like “don’t sweat the BS” or “dial back the travel,” unless you count getting grounded after ACL surgery.

I’ve got work to do this year, and writing’s back at the top of the list.

Read more: Pam LeBlanc’s top 10 adventures of the year

Pam’s New Year’s resolutions

Without further ado, here are my 2024 New Year’s resolutions….

1. Write hand-written letters to people that matter and tell them how I feel about them.
2. Dance at least a teensy bit every single day.
3. Write honestly, authentically and with humility. Never let a source steer the direction of a story. Ever.
4. Master that new Sony camera system.
5. Pick up trash left on trails, beaches, and open spaces.
6. Bike to swim practice at least twice a week during good weather.
7. Update the Pam LeBlanc webpage and send newsletter at least four times a year.
8. Finish each swim practice by swimming butterfly, and swim a 200 fly (fins OK) at least once.
9. Get serious about Colorado.
10. Be more selective with story and travel assignments. I don’t have to accept low-paid gigs or take so many trips I get whiplash.

Guide Mike Currid blasts through powder during a day of cat skiing at Keystone Resort. The Bergman Express lift that opens this weekend now provides easy access to the terrain. Pam LeBlanc photo

Two years ago, I strapped an avalanche beacon and a shovel to my back and headed into the backcountry at Keystone Resort in Colorado.

At the time, the only way to reach Bergman Bowl – or neighboring Independence and Erickson bowls – was to hike for 45 minutes to get there, or book a ride on a snowcat, one of those tractor-like machines that hauls grooming equipment (and, sometimes, eager skiers with shovels on their backs) up mountain slopes.

I hitched the snowcat ride, and loved the challenging, wide-open terrain and gnarly tree runs it allowed me to access. At the end of each snowy run, I climbed back into the snowcat, which crept up the mountain to a new section of untracked snow. It was both exhausting and exhilarating. It was also expensive.

Starting Saturday, it gets a lot easier to get there.

Bergman Express provides new access

A new high-speed six-passenger chairlift called Bergman Express will now carry skiers and boarders to 555 acres of high alpine terrain once reserved for those willing to haul themselves up the mountain or pay for a day of snowcat skiing. Selfishly, I’m a little sad those secret stashes are now open to the masses, meaning it’ll be tougher to get fresh tracks, but I also understand the need to make better use of underutilized terrain. And I’m happy more people can experience it.

The lift was originally scheduled to open last season, but construction was temporarily stopped after a third-party construction crew mistakenly built a road through high-alpine tundra. The U.S. Forest Service had to approve a restoration plan before construction could continue, which it finally did.

Read more: My top 10 adventures of 2023

This weekend, the rope drops.

And if, like me, you’re feeling a little sentimental about it, consider this: Adrenaline junkies can still blow their quads out hiking to more than 1,300 acres of expert terrain in The Windows, North Bowl, South Bowl, and Independence Bowl. No free rides there.

Deep Eddy Pool will close Jan. 8 for repairs. Photo courtesy city of Austin

Heads up, swimmers.

Deep Eddy Pool will close for repairs starting Monday, Jan. 8.

Crews will replace a damaged bulkhead and upgrade older deck lighting.

The project is expected to last eight weeks, according to city officials. The repairs were scheduled during the winter to minimize the impact on public use.

To increase access before the closure, the Jan. 2 maintenance day has been cancelled. The pool will open for normal business hours that day.
Construction updates will be posted at austintexas.gov/parkclosures.