The Maldives, Maafushi, Biyadhoo and fish curry Part 5
The whole of the day is spent snorkelling, laying in hammocks, drinking coffee and water, pinching myself, being in love, people watching and more snorkelling. Today I encounter my first swim with a turtle!!…She is graceful, elegant and silent and I am moved by her presence. I am in awe of the beauty that Mother Nature has created.
The late afternoon sun is sweltering and I head to my room for the relief of the air conditioning. I shower, I dance, I sing into a hairbrush (yes I know you wouldn’t believe it would you….) I am tempted to dip into the minibar but I restrain myself. I dress and head to the bar for a G&T before watching the sunset again.
I feel as though days have passed since I last watched the same sun set in the same spot at the same time and again I am happy with my ability to remain ‘in time’. Before heading to dinner I realise that I have not checked in with the offspring since arriving on Biyadhoo so I walk around the reception area with my phone stretched out above my head trying to tap into Wi-Fi, no luck…I feel no ‘Mum guilt’ at the thought that they may be worried, there is nothing that I an do about that (its getting easier).
I type a message and attach it to several social media accounts, Facebook, Twitter, WhattsApp and Instagram and I am confident at some point my phone will find a signal of some kind and a message will be sent… It does and they are happy 😊
Dinner is another feast of Maldivian curry and fresh salad along with a diet coke. The food here is fabulous and I have to try really hard not to overindulge. There are several singletons dotted around the restaurant who I don’t remember seeing throughout the day and wonder where they have been ? (There is nowhere to hide on this island, it is too small!)
After dinner, I am back at the island bar. Yes another G&T. I chat to a Portuguese couple who I spoke to earlier in the day, they are interested in the Shisha pipe that I had last night but not enough to try one. A band are playing over towards the beach, the atmosphere is relaxed and casual. As we chat my feet are tapping to the sound of the music and then I am dancing on the beach with strangers. I enjoy one last G & T followed by a Baileys and I drift off to sleep happy.
In between snorkelling, drinking coffee, and occasionally lying in the sun (albeit only for very short periods of time) I finally pick up the book that I have brought with me, it is now day 11 of my holiday and I have only just found time to pick up my book.
My body and mind are so relaxed that it has felt almost offensive to fill it with the words from a book, sounds stupid I know but that is exactly how I feel. I don’t ever remember feeling this relaxed….Ever!!….I wonder what it will be like on my ‘re-entry’ into my day to day routine back in the UK. I pull my train of thought back to the here and now and spend the whole day in a Zen like state. I shower and dine, wondering how on earth does a tiny island in the middle of the Indian Ocean manage to produce such wonderful food, when every ingredient that it uses is imported……….Tonight I drink only two gin cocktails and I sleep contentedly.
