Club Rannalhi - April 2006

Paradise...this is the first emotion that takes hold of you when the plane begins to fly over the atolls that make up the Maldives, then you start to see the airport of Male approaching, a 2,600-metre-long strip and....paradise below you, the unique colours of the sea from a dark blue to a turquoise. A girl welcomes us at the airport, we set off with 2 speedboats and in less than 50 minutes we reach the island. The emotion is very strong when, after having dreamed of it, you finally set foot on the island, you walk along the jetty and it seems like a dream, that water that is of an unsurpassed transparency. The animation and Diving staff are there to welcome us. After the welcome and a "refresher" we go to our rooms; the room is big, has satellite TV, a telephone and air conditioning (a must in the Maldives!) and a ceiling fan.

In less than 10 minutes we take off our shoes, even if a little dazed, and we won't put them back on until 7 days later, on departure. With a sea like that, how can you not throw yourself into the adventure of becoming a SUB? You can't resist!! The next day I decide to sign up for the first course...the course consists of 5 parts between theory and practice, it takes a fair while but you only see the final rewards at the end, when the OPEN certificate arrives!! 18 metres in the Maldives and you don't know what you're missing...

During the course we explore the reef at shallow depths, but already there we see Nemo the fish's little house with fish swimming around it, and then the Lionfish too, it's poisonous but it's a calm type, maybe it fancied doing the course with us? Time passes...the days fly by among the wonderful sunsets, with that sea water at 29 degrees, and divine food among a thousand desserts, and above all coconut and Maldivian bananas that are super!! In the evening the animation at the Theatre at 22:00 is excellent, a lovely animation show that keeps us company throughout the week, and the spectacular bar terrace is wonderful, we could really do with it now...

The island is small, you can walk round it in 10 minutes on FOOT (the whole perimeter); the restaurant is good, and even when the resort is full there's always a little reserved spot for you, almost as if there were no one there...the naps on the hammock after lunch! The days pass...and it's already time to go home....the final image, the island receding and disappearing on the horizon...to the notes of sei nell'anima by Nannini it disappears and things start to look bad...the holiday is over, 10 hours of flying and we're home...and it's hard to put your shoes back on and not carry on believing you're inside a dream. But....but...THE DREAM continues...11 months LATER....

If you want the details you can read and see the photos on and you'll also find a 10-minute VIDEO!