Our First Maldives

"Let's start again-n-n..." shouts Adriano Pappalardo at the top of his lungs in one of his well-known songs, and we too, after almost two years since our last trip, thanks to the gift that heaven wanted to offer us, in the form of our wonderful second-born, Leonardo, can now shout... let's start again-n-n!... Indeed today, Easter day 2011, is a memorable date for us travel lovers, because we're back in the game, even if we're setting off for a holiday of just one week, to one of the most classic destinations that our stunning planet can offer: the Maldives, and more precisely the little island of Olhuveli, located in the South Malé atoll. At 17:15 on a quiet festive afternoon we leave home with a small wound in our hearts...

Leonardo, in fact, won't be with us, because we think the journey is too long, but also because, let's not hide it, we need a bit of blessed rest, and in this the venerable grandparents play a fundamental role, with their willingness to take care of the child entirely for a whole week... So, in short, here's our defence: "Forgive us little one, but one day you'll understand, as we believe your older brother, Federico, with us today, understood, who at the time underwent exactly the same treatment... " A quarter of an hour after leaving we get on the motorway at Faenza and a little later I realise I've left my driving licence at home... What to do?... Risk arriving late and going back to get it or hope for good luck?... I say nothing and opt for the second solution, after all we just have to get to Bologna...

and then in the Maldives I really don't think we'll need it! With my heart pounding I complete the whole journey successfully and at 18:15 we're at Park to Fly leaving the car in storage, so more relieved I can reveal to everyone the danger we escaped... we'll see on the way back, in the meantime let's go and enjoy our well-deserved holiday! Right on time we're at the Azemar desk (our tour operator for this trip) and there we collect all the documents needed to continue the boarding process... We check in our luggage, go through the metal detector and with plenty of time to spare we wait at gate number 3. At 20:00 sharp the actual boarding operations begin on flight Meridiana IG 3124 and right on time, at 20:57, the Airbus A330 lifts off with destination Rome Fiumicino, where we'll make a stop to let other passengers board.

Hardly has it gained altitude than we begin our descent towards the airport of the capital city, where we land at 21:29. The stop turns out to be longer than expected then, finally, after taking on the fuel needed to cover the 7340 kilometres that separate us from our destination, at 23:34, we resume our journey... We climb back above the clouds and midnight strikes while we're still over Italy.

After a very long night dawn breaks and we begin our descent towards the Maldivian capital, Malé. Outside the windows we can glimpse some scenic atolls and at 11:02 local time (three hours more than Italy, with daylight saving time in force in our country) we happily land at Hulhulé Island International Airport, an island, partly artificial, entirely occupied by the main airport of the Maldives, while the weather conditions, which we knew weren't exceptional, greet us with a timid sun and thirty degrees of air temperature. Here we are then in the Republic of the Maldives, born in 1968, after three years of sultanate, following the independence obtained at the expense of Great Britain, on 26 July 1965...

The state, which has about 350,000 inhabitants, is exclusively insular as it's made up of a series of atolls, located in the Indian Ocean, southwest of India and a little more than 700 kilometres from the coast of Sri Lanka. The vast archipelago, located near the equator, stretches from north to south for over 750 kilometres and longitudinally for 180, counting about 1190 coral islands, of which only 202 are inhabited (and of these about eighty occupied exclusively by tourist resorts)... It's a decidedly strange and appealing world that lies before our eyes, one that was still missing from our travel experiences and that we're about to visit, albeit to a minimal extent, in the coming days. We complete all the customs formalities and once out of the airport we meet our assistants who, a little later, have us board the speedboat with which we'll reach the island of Olhuveli.

After about an hour of sailing, in a rather rough sea, we disembark on our little eden, that is, the island that will host us for the next seven nights. As soon as we set foot on Olhuveli, still under a rather grey sky, interspersed with faint rays of sun, we're led to the restaurant for lunch and right afterwards they give us the keys to our room, 210, located on the western side of the island, where the sea, just a few metres away, is quite restless.

Among the first things we learn that on Olhuveli a sort of daylight saving time is in force, so we'll have to move the clock hands forward by another hour, with the result of having, apparently, longer days, so, once we've retrieved our luggage, we put on our swimwear and run to the east side of the island, where the calm lagoon, sheltered from the winds, is located, and there we settle down, under a parasol, to spend the last hours of the afternoon. At times a lovely sun comes out too, so we can enjoy a first very longed-for swim... then the long shadows of evening overtake us, making us run (shortly after 19:00) to the opposite side of the island to savour a beautiful sunset, even if characterised by too many clouds (we'll most likely see better ones).

Tired, at the end of the day we go to dinner, then, certainly not drawn in by the karaoke offered by the meagre entertainment of the resort, we walk the entire village on foot, all the way to the end of the pier, where manta rays are normally sighted... but the waters, rough this evening, of the Indian Ocean make us give up on our intentions and advise a bit of well-deserved rest to crown the long outward journey.

I struggle to get out of bed because of the time difference, certainly not yet adjusted to. I look out of the window and notice, with a touch of dismay, that the sky is grey and the sun is missing, as expected anyway... Very calmly we leave our room and go to have breakfast, while, as if by magic, the clouds open up and the sun comes out forcefully, flooding everything with light and wonderfully lighting up the colours of the sea around us. We run to grab a parasol and then I go, in the company of Federico, to have a quick briefing with the Azemar assistant and to book the excursion for the afternoon, then we rush to the beach to enjoy the magnificent views over the Olhuveli lagoon and a refreshing swim, because with the sun out it's insanely hot and humid.

On foot and wading through a very narrow arm of the sea we reach the completely uninhabited islet that closes the lagoon in front of us. We collect a few shells and a couple of coconuts, take a few photos and then go back to the parasol, but we don't stay there long because we immediately run into the water to enjoy another swim... It's just impossible to resist such crystal-clear reflections! In no time at all it's 13:00, so we pop back to the room for a quick shower, go to lunch and ten minutes before 14:00 we're at the reception ready to set off for the excursion that will take us to discover the capital, Malé. Malé is one of the most incredible cities on the face of the Earth... Just a few centimetres above sea level, in fact, an urban agglomeration of about 82,000 inhabitants develops, on an area of only 2.5 square kilometres...

which means it has a population density per square kilometre even higher than that of Manhattan! As soon as we set sail on the speedboat we notice big black clouds on the horizon and shortly afterwards we're under a violent downpour, with the sky completely overcast... and dismay immediately takes hold of us... but after half an hour of pouring rain we come out of the storm, and the weather conditions are decidedly better when we disembark on the pier of the capital, even if the sun isn't shining. Once off the boat we're immediately divided by nationality, and being the only three Italians, for the occasion, we'll have a guide entirely at our disposal, who immediately introduces himself: Mohammed, a likeable Maldivian, who will accompany us around the city, although I don't think it would have been a problem to do it on our own, but we adapt to the situation.

Mohammed starts us off from the square facing the port, where a large state flag flutters, then, in no time, we arrive in front of the Great Friday Mosque, the most important building in Malé, inaugurated in 1984, and the largest place of worship in the Maldives, which are, incredible but true, one hundred percent Muslim. Continuing our tour of the capital we pass through Sultan Park, which houses, set in a small public park, what remains of the ancient royal palace, as well as a museum of Maldivian tradition, which however we skip. We thus arrive at the oldest mosque in the country, the Hukuru Miskiy, flanked by a characteristic squat white-and-blue minaret and by a tiny cemetery with the tombs of ancient sultans.

In front of the Hukuru Minskiy is the Mulee-Aage, a little building all painted white and blue with a bright red roof, which was the first Presidential Palace of the Maldives, although, originally, it was built by Sultan Shamsudden III, for his son, in the period before the First World War. Beside the Mulee-Aage we finally notice, only from the outside, the Medhu Ziyaarath: the tomb of Al Barbari, a Moroccan considered responsible for the conversion of the archipelago to Islam, in 1153. At this point, after a walk through the oldest streets of the capital, with a view of the golden dome of the great mosque, we pass in front of the current Presidential Palace and arrive at the fish market... characteristic, but not as much as the fruit and vegetable market, located right nearby and much more colourful, with stalls overflowing with bananas and papaya.

There's still an hour to go before our boat departs and Mohammed takes us around the city, first among insignificant souvenir shops and then to the microscopic, sad and only (artificial) little beach of the capital. At 18:00 sharp (Olhuveli time) we set off again to return to our island and we leave Malé behind us, whose visit perhaps didn't enthuse us, but helped us understand how a good part of the Maldivian people live, confined in their wonderful piece of the Indian Ocean, and one of the things that will perhaps remain most impressed on us about the capital is the huge number of mopeds (about forty thousand!) that circulate on its few streets (the only paved ones in the country). Accompanied also by the very long leaps of some flying fish in the boat's wake, shortly before 19:00 we set foot on Olhuveli again, just in time to enjoy another sunset, albeit not exceptional.

In the evening, after dinner, we go up to the top of the pier... but no manta rays, so we have a chat with two lads from Ravenna and it's time to wrap up this first day of holiday in the Maldives.

We'll spend all our time on Olhuveli, so as soon as we're up and have confirmed what looks like a sunny day we go to occupy a parasol at Sunrise Beach, on the side of the island sheltered from the wind, which blows incessantly, and with a calm sea. We go to have breakfast and then straight to the beach... It's a splendid day, with very few clouds that look like cotton balls and lots of sun that brings out the colours of the Maldivian sea to an unbelievable degree... so all that's left is to enjoy this picture-postcard paradise from the inside as soon as possible, running into the water for a long swim. In the late morning we go to the opposite side of the island, where the pier is, from which you have access to the coral reef, this way we treat ourselves to the first, exciting, snorkelling of the holiday.

On previous trips we've explored (without diving) the reefs of the Red Sea and various places in the Caribbean and we can safely say that this one didn't disappoint us at all either, with myriads of colourful fish and beautiful corals, despite the suffering, in some cases evident, from the 2004 tsunami. We stay in the water for almost an hour and come out, delighted, only for lunchtime. In the afternoon we devote ourselves to the most complete relaxation (we had a physiological need for it that was nothing short of excessive!) and we wander about the whole time at Sunrise Beach, between sunbathing and the wonderful sea... When the shadows of evening lengthen we savour the inevitable sunset (beautiful this time) at Sunset Beach... then, after dinner, we run to the pier in search of the manta ray: we have to wait almost half an hour, but in the end we're rewarded!... Fantastic!...

Then we run to the room, with its elegant gliding through the water still in our eyes, because tomorrow morning we'll have to get up earlier than usual.

... What a struggle getting up early in the morning, especially when the jet lag, not yet shaken off, is working against us, but we have a boat waiting for us at 9:00 for the "snorkelling safari" and we absolutely cannot miss the appointment. We go to save a spot on the beach for when we come back, we head off, naturally, to have breakfast, go back to the room to get what we need for the excursion... and the generous hour we had given ourselves to do it all passes in a flash. We set sail from the village jetty aboard a dhoni (traditional Maldivian boat), motorised though, and after about half an hour of sailing we are invited to put on fins, mask and snorkel, then to get into the water to explore the surrounding reef... beautiful, very beautiful, rich in fish and wonderful coral formations.

It's an immense joy to be able to float carefree, as if inside a huge aquarium, but time flies and we have to climb back aboard our boat and then go down another two times, in different reefs, all extremely interesting, especially as regards the corals, much more colourful than those of Olhuveli... and then so many varieties of fish and the cherry on top of the cake, with the sighting of an unsettling moray eel. Truly satisfied with the success of the excursion, we head placidly back towards the village sunbathing on the roof of the dhoni, when it is just past midday. Once back on Olhuveli we run to the beach to take a dip in our blue lagoon and then go to lunch. The afternoon is also dedicated today to the most complete and carefree "dolce far niente", by the sea at Sunrise Beach, with a nap, long swims and fresh coconut (what a lovely life on Olhuveli!)...

then, in order, sunset, dinner, a quick stop to say hello to the manta and off to bed, while (alas!) well over half of the holiday has already slipped away.

As usual, as soon as we're up we run to grab a sun lounger in our corner of paradise, also because the sun is shining beautifully and we'll spend almost the whole day on the island. After breakfast we amuse ourselves with a walk towards the southernmost tip of Olhuveli, with lovely views over the blue of the lagoon and the classic Underwater Villas, to reach the so-called Infinity Pool: a pool built partly in the sea, whose edges seem to blend with the waves of the ocean. The strange effect is mostly felt when swimming in it, and it's an experience we grant ourselves, but soon we return to the beach, much more pleasant and, above all, more natural.

Once we've reclaimed our sun lounger we don't linger long under its shade, because we immediately head off to snorkel on the reef in front of the village, hunting for situations and colourful fish to capture with the help of countless photo snaps. At these latitudes and with this sea, time flies... we go to lunch and immediately return to the beach to relax following a sort of now well-tested ritual, but this time not until evening. At 18:00, in fact, we have the departure by dhoni from the jetty in front of the village, to go bottom fishing: a reel of line with a lead weight and a big hook at the end. As soon as we get out to sea we get the ball rolling... Usually I'm not very lucky in practising this primitive art and I'm really curious to see whether the very fish-rich Maldivian sea will confirm the trend too...

The first hour goes by without the line ever going taut, for me as for all the other participants in the excursion... then as darkness falls some vibrations begin to shake our wrists and the hooks come back to the surface often without the bait... then the luckiest ones start pulling some fish out of the water... finally, at last, it's our turn too! Federico, with a smile showing 32... or rather 28 teeth, catches a small barracuda, Sabrina a wonderful Red Snapper, the biggest fish of the trip, while yours truly gets the unluckiest one, caught not exactly properly, a bit by chance, on the outside of the mouth, but it doesn't matter... we had fun and with our catch we head back, later, to Olhuveli under a magnificent starry sky.

After dinner we learn with some dismay that tomorrow's excursion, called "Full Day", has been cancelled due to not reaching the minimum number of participants (only the three of us had signed up!)... so we console ourselves by staying up late ("till the small hours" - midnight!) chatting with friends at a table in the bar, cuddled by the breeze by the sea.

To make up for the cancellation of our excursion, after breakfast we go straight to the Watersports Center and there we book, for the afternoon, a catamaran outing that will take us first to discover a desert island, then in search of dolphins, then to go snorkelling, and finally to the sandbank at the edge of the reef, with the return to Olhuveli in the fiery light of sunset... This way we'll only skip the visit to the fishermen's island, which in this part of South Male Atoll would have been Guraidhoo Island, but I don't think we'll be missing anything earth-shattering. The relaxing part of the day thus becomes the morning, which we spend carefree under our usual sun lounger, but also in the water (naturally)... and lunchtime arrives in a flash!...

At 15:00 sharp we present ourselves at the Watersports Center and, in the company of a local guide, we set sail aboard a small catamaran (we are the only passengers!) and very soon we find ourselves at the mercy of the waves, so much so that after just a few hundred metres we are already completely soaked... but it seems fun and that gives us good hope. The excursion begins, however, with a small disappointment: the route leaves no doubt and we soon realise that the desert island we are heading towards is none other than the islet facing the Olhuveli lagoon, where we had already been, on foot, on the second day of the holiday!... Actually I was expecting the same desert island (Madhoo Island) that was planned in the cancelled excursion. At my protest we immediately turn back, with the promise of making two snorkelling stops instead of one...

and meanwhile we speedily get away from Olhuveli and its "little sisters". We begin sailing, northwards, within the South Male Atoll and shortly afterwards we spot a large pod of dolphins that, joyfully, appear and disappear, sometimes at the bow and sometimes at the stern of the boat... It's always extremely pleasant to have close encounters with this kind of animal... Once we reach a reef we put on what we need for snorkelling and get into the water... beautiful, very beautiful swimming in an environment rich in fish and colourful corals... Then we climb back aboard and shortly afterwards we arrive at another appointment with the underwater world... even more beautiful than the first, with wonderful formations, immense schools of fish, starfish, strange giant worms and also Nemo (the clownfish), hidden among the swaying tentacles of his inseparable anemone.

Back aboard once again we start sailing southwards, pushed by the wind. We pass in front of Olhuveli and carry on to the edges of the atoll, where there is a sandbank: a twisted tongue, a few hundred metres long, of very white and soft sand, the undisputed kingdom of a small tribe of crabs, emerging from the blue of the sea... a place that seems at the edge of reality, especially in the late afternoon, in an almost twilight and magical light... fantastic! We take an endless number of photos and then return to Olhuveli with the sky ablaze with the colours of sunset, bringing to an end an unforgettable day.

After a long and pleasant chat at the bar, by the sea... for yours truly and Federico the new day begins shortly after midnight, in front of a computer monitor, at the reception, to follow the events linked to our beloved basketball team, which is playing a fundamental match of the season, which ended, accompanied by immense joy, with a one-point victory! (91 to 90)... and almost certain survival! Still charged with adrenaline, the night is short... and soon the last full day of this Maldivian holiday begins... There are a few too many clouds in the sky, but we don't despair and go to occupy our usual sun lounger... A few hours later, in fact, the sun arrives right on time to flood with light the extraordinary environment around us, so, more willingly, we go once again to snorkel on the reef in front of the village.

Lunchtime arrives, replaced by the lazy follow-up, then in the afternoon we go to take the last swims of this unforgettable holiday, including a swim to the facing and phantasmagorical desert island. One more swim, one more... and although the sun is now close to the vegetation behind us, I run into the water to enjoy that divine fluid, so warm and pleasant, as well as transparent... One more sunset, one more... which fate willed to be the most beautiful of the series, with the sky fiery red and the few surrounding clouds playing the role of a golden lace!... Then we go, mournfully, to the room to pack our suitcases for tomorrow's departure. In the evening we go to dinner and then for a stroll around the village, in all those places now so familiar, which tomorrow will no longer be so...

The alarm clock rings as every morning for a week now... but today is a morning different from the others, because it marks the start of our journey home from the Maldivian holiday. The last scraps of life on the island are consumed so damned quickly and in no time at all we find ourselves at the reception, bags in hand, waiting (imminently) to leave the island. We take the last photos from the jetty, surrounded by a stunning sea, lit by another splendid day... and a few minutes later we set sail, with the speedboat, leaving Olhuveli behind us. We travel swiftly towards Male accompanied by the unmistakable leaps of a few flying fish and after less than an hour we pass by the paradoxical shape of the capital, then disembark at its incredible airport.

We find an Azemar assistant waiting for us who gives us all the necessary information for check-in, then I realise I've forgotten the room keys in my pocket (the desire to leave is truly very little!)... just in time, to hand them back in extremis! From the airport TVs we learn that during the night Bin Laden was killed... This is a day, this one, that will go down in world history, just as it will remain imprinted in our memory associated with the end of our first, beautiful trip to the Maldives... We deal without problems with all the customs formalities and baggage check-in, so there's even a bit of time left to explore the duty-free shops... then, from gate number 5, shortly after midday local time, we board flight Meridiana IG 3125, which, a handful of minutes late, at 13:03, lifts off the ground heading for Italy.

The big Airbus A330 passes over the extraordinary atolls that make this corner of the world so special and proceeds swiftly towards the north-west. We fly over the Arabian Sea, then, in succession, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, the Persian Gulf and Saudi Arabia, then Jordan, Syria and Lebanon to enter the Mediterranean basin... The flight is truly long, all in daylight!... But it's not over yet!... Below us pass the island of Cyprus and Turkey, then we skim Istanbul and cross over the Balkan Peninsula, finally we come out over the Adriatic and begin our descent towards Bologna, where we land, after a long circling due to heavy traffic, at 20:05 Italian time. We collect, safe and sound, all our luggage, leave the airport and find the Park to Fly shuttle waiting for us, which almost immediately takes us to pick up our car. At 20:55 we are already on our way (without a licence) home.

We take the A14 motorway and exit it, at 21:30, at Faenza to conclude, officially, the journey at 21:42 in front of the (for us) most famous gate in the universe... We unload the suitcases and run to pick up our little one, who welcomes us rather emotional... Thank you Leo... one day you'll understand. It really was a beautiful trip "our first Maldives"... ideal climate, stunning sea, wonderful seabeds, breathtaking sunsets... everything we needed to soothe our nerves after a demanding but important chapter of our lives... Of course, it's only "our first Maldives" because, we're certain, there will be a follow-up to all this... perhaps even more exciting!