In love with the passenger seated on 28A

“Welcome to Maldives, here the local time is 3:30 in the afternoon”…was the announcement which brought me back to reality, interrupting my beautiful day dream. It seemed like the time stoped in that moment, in that place. I didn’t want to be anywhere else other than the aircraft. I didn’t need any other person next to me other than my passenger seeting on 28 A.

I was landing for the fifth time on the beautiful airport Ibrahim Nasir, surrounded by the blue ocean and more than 1000 maldivian islands. Disembarking the aircraft, I could feel the warm sun touching my skin and the sweet smell of the holiday.

I reached the airport excited looking for the thief who stole my heart. Instead, my happiness was exchanged with a brief moment of panic, the same feeling that I have whenever I lose him in the crowd.

But there he was waiting for me with a big smile which could easily compete with the beauty of maldivian sun . In the next second I forgot about the tiredness and all the worries that I was carrying with me and everything that I wanted in that moment was to jump into his arms and kiss him for the first time in this exotic land.

Planning the trip for the next day

Unfortunately  I had to wait until we arrived in our hotel room where we shared few quick kisses before rushing back to the airport, decided not to lose any second from our short holiday.

The airport its located only 5 min walking distance by our hotel and even if I’ve been taking this road so many times before, I enjoyed seeing my baby excitement, discovering together things that I didn’t even noticed before.

Once we reached the airport we checked all the counters which were displaying pictures of dream islands and we decided that our best option would be to visit one of these the next day in morning and spend the rest of the current night in Male, the capital city of Maldives. We have chosen the Paradise island, name which describe perfect the beauty of the place: honey mooners, blue clear waters and white sand, relaxing atmosphere filled with love and…happiness.

Heading to Male we were surprised to notice the discrepancy between the luxurious resorts and the poor look of the capital. The crowd of motorcycles and the chaotic driving of the locals made me hold my bag close to my chest and squeeze my baby’s hand very tight.

If on any other island you can wear swimming suite and drink alcoholic beverages, in Male the rules of Islam are strict followed. There is no place which serves alcohol, the women are wearing abaya (long/ black dress) and the tourists are not allowed to uncover their body on the public beach.

Being a way too friendly, Abdulla find a new companion,  Majid, a local guy who offered himself to be our guide on these dangerous and unfamiliar streets. A little bit disorientated with the crowd and the agitation of the place, we followed him, asking questions about the city and the touristic  attractions of the capital. When we realized that we are loosing precious time, we jumped in the first taxi,  trying to run away from Majid and his useless stories.

A magical night

After a delicious dinner in one of the restaurants located in the port area which combine successfully the thai and Maldivian food, we returned to the hotel excited, making plans for the next day. The night was not over yet and we stopped for some “promotional drinks” at the hotel terrace followed by  room service and lot of fun. Tired, i put my head on my baby chest and while he was caressing my hair I was floating far away to the land of dreams.

The phone call which ruined my plans

Early in the morning, we were woken up by the phone call of my colleagues informing that they are no longer interested in joining us to the island, how we planed. My mood changed immediately even though my baby was trying to cheer me up.

Once we reached the airport, my worst fear became real. The boat trip was canceled and the next one was way too late for us. Our “Paradise” crashed in one second and I found myself desperate and disappointed, hoping for a miracle.

“I promise you that we will find a way” whispered my baby while holding my hand. I knew in that moment that as long as I have him by my side everything will be all right. Full of energy and motivated to bring the smile on my face, he checked all the counters available on the airport and the miracle that I was praying for it did happen. We found a new offer for another island and the pick up was just in few minutes time.

“Two dots in the ocean”

Boarding the speed boat all the tension and stress of that morning was gone. I could finally relax on my baby’s protective arms, being thankful and blessed to be there…with him. We were thinking how small we are in this giant world, feeling like 2 ants, 2 dots in the ocean, being nothing…but everything in the same time.

I found the boat trip scary like everytime and whenever we hit a big wave I was watching Abdulla with a helpless stare which amused him. Finally, after 20 minutes of sailing in the deep, agitated ocean, we were greeted by a sweet smell of Cinnamon, the signature of the island with the same name, impatient to discover the beauty of the place.

The color of the water is breath taking,revealing  different shades of blue and a variety of colorful fish. Everything is so peaceful and the nature is following it path being undisturbed by the presence of the humans. I can see, smell and breath happiness everywhere: the sound of the waves hitting the rocks, the song of the birds, the wind rubbing gently the palm trees, the man holding my hand.

Even though we have limited time to explore the island, we decide to have some refreshing mocktails and enjoy the tranquility of the place, filling our soul and body with a possitive vibe.

Equipped with my Go pro and a snorkeling device I was ready to confront the scary baby sharks while Abdulla was relaxing under a palm tree. Well known for my fearless and adventurer personality (just kidding), I freaked out when a cute golden fish approach me curious, making me swim fast, back to the beach.

I stopped my underwater mission quickly and I decided to enjoy the sun next to my baby. The weather in Maldives is whimsical, I was teach by my previous experiences, when the storm took over a beautiful sunny day. Today was no different and the dark clouds approaching made me fear that we will get stuck in the middle of the indian ocean, on this tiny island.

The famous bungalows, arranged in a perfect order on top of the sea made us stop our tanning session and have a closer look to it, dreaming that next time we will be woken up by the sunrise in our own bungalow.

Hungry and tired we are making our way to the restaurant, amazed once again by the beauty of the nature and the strange creatures which populate the island.

We end our short holiday with the same Cinammon flavor, in the Spa, relaxing after a long day which is not even close to finish.

Renting a personal boat, which cost us few hundred dollars, we head back to the hotel, just few minutes before the wake up call for the flight.

After a strong coffee and a quick shower we leave the paradise behind, rushing again to the airport. Tired but excited for our short adventure we are checking the 500 pictures wondering when we had time for all that.

Once on board, I m greeting my favorite guest, sharing a smile, new memories and even stronger feelings. There are so many beautiful things that I discover whenever we are traveling together and it makes me fall in love with him again and again each day.

The island of love had put a spell on us and we are trapped by its magic for forever. We are flying home after 26 hours but we know that we can be back anytime. Meanwhile we are planning our new travel destination and the sky has no limit for us as long as we are holding our hands together and we are sharing the same passion for travel.