MAGNIFICENT MALDIVES

We boarded the flight from Colombo and landed in Male, the capital of Maldives after an hour.

Immigration was quick. We came out of the airport and walked towards the two speed boats booked to take us to Eriyadu Resort.

We wore our life jackets and seated ourselves, about twenty of us in each boat.

We happened to get the last two seats - we could see the rear of the boat, as there was an opening right in front of our seats.

As we started moving, we could see the buildings of Male receding from our sight. The boat picked up speed, raising the waves and splashing water. It started getting scary. We held on to our seat handles tightly - I started imagining that one terrible jerk would take us tumbling into the gushing waves.

Soon we could see a resort coming up and then ..... slowly receding..... then yet another .... and another. No chance of taking photos as the ride was terribly jerky.

Then there was nothing in sight except the blue waters, the azure sky, and of course our speeding boat cutting through the ocean. Not a single boat in sight, not even the second boat with our tour group. Come to think of it, we were holding on to dear life, without the least clue of what was in store for us if there was to be a small mishap. We were continuously sending up prayers, thinking of our loved ones, even for a moment regretting the moment when we had paid for this tour, unaware of such a stressful boat ride. I'm sure my face reflected my stress, more due to our positioning in the boat. Also because we just knew the resort was some 45 minutes ride. Every time, we approached an island resort, our hopes would rise with the thought that, that was it. But the boat continued with its unabated speed.... we kept consulting the watch ... 50 minutes ride, 55, 60..... we finally reached our resort after 75 minutes. We heaved a sigh of relief .... and forgot about the boat ride ...

as we walked towards the inviting Eriyadu Resort.

We enjoyed our welcome drink at the reception, then collected the key to our cottage and started walking towards it, admiring the scenic surroundings.

Our group was allotted cottages in a line facing the shore. We could not only hear but also see the waves from the front yard. Walking a few steps, we'd be at the beach. It was so exciting.

We explored our cottage - it had all basic amenities.

The bathroom needs special mention. It had a nice bath tub. It also had a shower area, which was located bang next to a door which was the second exit for the cottage. Whenever we'd return after an outing to the beach / restaurant / reception, we did not have to get the cottage sandy by entering from the front door. 

We could wash our feet at the tap located outside the bathroom, then use the key to unlock the bathroom door and enter the cottage, after cleaning our feet again.

We wanted a quick exploration of the island before sunset - we couldn't wait till next morning. 

The front yard of our cottage had young coconut trees. 

We felt like excited kids as we climbed up the low branches of other trees.

The reception area had great seats close to the railing. We did not realize it then, but seeing the photos later, we realized, it looked like a ship on the sea.

We could see herons perched here or there.

There was a swimming pool, we decided to get back there the next day.

 That was our resort island - small and cute!

There were a few activities that could be undertaken for a fee - cruise ride, snorkeling, where we would be provided with the gear etc.

There was a well-stocked bar too.

The restaurant was earthy, modest. The multi-cuisine fare  - from 'sambar' to pizzas, from 'bhajias' to souffles, croissants to waffles - was delicious. Most of the staff were from Kerala, and we enjoyed indulging in small talk with them in Malayalam.

That night there was a 'Karaoke Nite' at the reception area, where guests participated enthusiastically.

We retired for the night, but only after our stint at the social media. Though we were in a remote little island in the middle of nowhere, we had WiFi connectivity in our cottages. How cool!

We were up early the next morning. After our morning cuppa, we were ready for our beach walk.

We have always enjoyed our early morning walks whenever we were at beach resorts - be it Hawaii, North carolina beaches, Havelock (Andamans), Cape Town ....... and now Maldives.....

We got to see the sun painting the dark grey sky with strokes of pinkish orange.

Soon we were joined by our friends. 

We behaved like kids as we enjoyed ourselves going knee deep in the waters, some even swimming. Many could not have enough of the waves ....

We were excited to pick up exotic shells and admire them.

We had been warned to put back the shells as it was illegal to take them home.

Interestingly we found that someone had hung a string of shells from a tree in front of their cottage.

We would have continued on and on at the beach, but hunger pangs directed us to our cottages. We showered and went to the restaurant for a hearty breakfast.

After breakfast, we took a leisurely stroll around the resort. A simple place, but enough to revive the child in us. We enjoyed the swing. We climbed the small branches of trees. We stretched ourselves on the beach chairs or under canopies ... Life seemed so calm, peaceful, stress-free, easy .... with nothing much to do.

We wanted to waddle in the swimming pool too. As there was no strict enforcement of swimsuit at the pool, I entered a swimming pool for the first time .... and probably the last! Just loved to 'swim' at the shallow end; ventured to the mid pool with a tube .... Oh wasn't it fun!

My better half had a blast swimming a few laps and his face radiated his joy.  

That evening we were ready for our 'outing' ... thunderclouds darkened the sky but did not dampen our enthusiasm ....

We started on a Sunset Cruise - once again in two boats, loaded with snacks. The speed was modest and we enjoyed it.

But the weather forecast cut short our two hour cruise to one hour.

After we returned, we had the third shower for the day before going for dinner, followed by DJ night, where everyone was ready to shake a leg.

Next morning we continued the same routine of loitering along the beach and wading in the waves .....

Somebody even managed a catnap before lunch.... and where? Outside our cottage, lulled by the gentle breeze, with the accompanying lullaby of the waves ....

Two days of bliss, as we lazed about, enjoying the picturesque place. Guess we would not have lasted more than two days there - specially the ones with an adrenaline rush in them!

We vacated our rooms and gathered at the lounge, and enjoyed high tea. Our luggage was boarded in the two speed boats. Then we boarded the boats and put on our life jackets and geared ourselves up for the one hour boat ride on the chopping waters, looking at the island resorts showing up one after another. 

This time, we managed to click a few pictures too.

Finally we reached Male, docked opposite to the airport, 

disembarked, collected our luggage and walked to the airport. Once again, we completed all formalities.

We shopped for curios / souvenirs at the airport, which is the best place for shopping, as island resorts do not provide much and are high priced too. Currency used everywhere in Maldives is USD.

As we were waiting at the lounge, we noticed that some visitors - mostly Chinese, were wearing masks. This was on 25th of January 2020. We did not know then that this was the beginning of the world-changing COVID 19!

We flew to Colombo and from there to Mumbai. It was the  end of a fantastic tour, ending with a rejuvenating and heavenly short vacation in picturesque and peaceful Maldives.