This is what made the stay on Gan almost bearable.  Sitting on the sun drenched white coral beaches and swimming in the warm tropical seas at the temperature of a warm bath.  Here you got the tan of a lifetime without really trying and you could snorkel over some of the most spectacular coral reefs to be found anywhere in the world.

On the downside the shoreline was the boundary of your world and home since all other islands in the Addu Atoll, except for a small area on the island of Hithadhoo, were “Out of Bounds” to all RAF personnel.  There was also the not insignificant fact that this was an unaccompanied posting and there were no women on the island save a single resident WRVS worker.  In spite of this, most of us managed to survive the ordeal somehow.