The Maldives Personal Photo Diary

A more intimate look into my Maldives trip…

Journal Entry 8/11/16 3:04 pm  

How can I even begin to describe a place like this? It took over a day of travelling time to even get here- to this tiny speck of islands in the Indian Ocean. This is the furthest I’ve ever been from home, and I truly believe that these islands are heaven on earth. The colors here are on a whole other spectrum. The vibrant and bright hues of the tropics are seen everywhere; from the sunrises and sunsets to the fish and the ocean that sparkles in the sun.

This morning, I woke up to the sunrise in my luxury over water villa at Club Med Kani and the first thing I see is the ocean. I’m constantly in the water, whether it’s the ocean, outdoor shower, or bath that overlooks the water. It’s my kind of heaven. I especially love the rain storms that roll through almost every evening. The rain comes down in heavy, fat droplets that refresh everything.

I surfed empty waves that were so clear I could see all the way to the bottom. The water was so warm, it got too hot surfing sometimes (not a bad problem to have). I took a boat to different surf spots, jumping off with my board wherever I wanted to surf.

I got to ride in a seaplane for the first time and was awestruck by the colors of the little islands that make up the Maldives, and the quantity of them. They looked like turquoise bulls-eyes from up above- spread out as far as my eyes could see.

Easily, my favorite experience of this trip was the last dive spot we visited on the speedboat charter next to a tuna fish factory. The bottom of the ocean there was a little spooky; there were fish skeletons everywhere, probably the dead fish tossed over from the factory, but that’s what made this spot so special.

 As soon as I jumped off the boat with my snorkel mask and looked around, I could’t believe what my eyes were seeing. What looked like thousands of bright fish in schools swam around me and all the way to depths of the ocean… and hundreds of giant sting rays, easily three times my size- majestically flying through the depths. I had never seen so much  marine life in one place, and I was thrilled. Another special moment was swimming with hundreds of dolphins and hearing them sing to each other 50 ft below me.

And then, to experience a perfect and quiet afternoon like this.. my last day here in the Maldives. I’ve been going back and forth from my personal dock into the ocean, just letting the ocean current carry me to new places. I studied all the clusters of fish that I crossed paths with, picking up shells from the sandy bottom as I went along. I’ve spent hours on this dock now, listening to music, feeling the breeze and sun on my skin… watching fish swim around my dock, and even some rays and sharks. This has been one of my most favorite alone time afternoons I’ve spent. It’s just so beautiful here; I can’t help being inspired by nature. It’s heavenly just being able to enjoy my own company and to breathe in deeply.

This is a special place and moment in time for me. Right here on this dock of my villa in the Maldives. This place was everything I expected and much, much more.