Maldives: a dream come true!

On 12 January 2008 I fulfilled a great dream: thanks to my husband, who gave me this wonderful gift, I was able to see with my own eyes that spectacle of nature called the Maldives!

Now here I am at home, telling you about this unique and unrepeatable experience.

We set off — me, my husband and my 2 children Pietro (10 years old) and Sara (14 months) — on 12 January of this year. After months of research on the atoll and the village we opted for Olhuveli, in the South Malé atoll, because with 2 children we didn't want to go too far from Malé, and Olhuveli is indeed 36 km away and reachable with 1 hour by speedboat. (Eventful!)

Already from the plane we savoured the beauty and enchantment of this wonderful place: many little islands surrounded by the azure sea emerging from the deep blue (an amazing feeling!).

After all the airport bureaucracy, which I'll skip, we are transferred by speedboat to our long-awaited village, and as soon as we arrive we immediately realise the beauty of the island and the village, and that everything we had seen in the brochures or online had turned into reality, exceeding our expectations.

After lunch in the enchanting restaurant on the sea (and what a sea!), we reach our room, on the ground floor of a bungalow furnished in Maldivian style. The loveliest thing was that you stepped out of the room, through the large window opening onto the little terrace, and you were on the dazzling white beach and therefore in the turquoise, warm sea.

Everything comfortable and very nice; the room was cleaned twice a day, with towels and beach towels changed every day, and 2 sun loungers were also available directly on the beach.

The island is elongated in shape, you can easily walk round it in about an hour; the beaches of very fine sand, populated by funny, colourful hermit crabs, are very wide, and the lovely thing is that they're never crowded, and what can I say about the lagoon.. enormous, exactly what we were looking for for our children but also for ourselves, since we're not great snorkellers. The reef is in fact far away, but you can reach it in 5 minutes from the jetty and dive among the colourful fish, and that was enough for us, because we wanted above all to enjoy the beach, the turquoise sea and the warm sun, and I think anyone who chooses Olhuveli has these priorities; in any case, every day there were group snorkelling outings.

The restaurant offers a buffet service for every meal, and what meals! Everything very varied and abundant, you're spoilt for choice, and what can I say about the pasta — almost Italian!

The evening entertainment is almost non-existent apart from the fun hermit crab race and the typical evening of Maldivian dancing, costumes and music, but we knew that and it didn't really interest us that much anyway, although I must say a few more little shows wouldn't have gone amiss. So for anyone looking for fun I'd recommend the Caribbean, but for anyone who instead wants to relax at the bar on the sea sipping cocktails or admire the wonderful manta rays from the jetty or simply listen to the sound of the sea gazing up at the starry sky, Olhuveli is perfect. As the prices are fairly high (1.5 litres of water 4 euros, a coffee 3 euros, a small glass of wine 4 euros, etc.) we almost always drank water apart from the odd Coke, managing to keep the drinks bill down, as drinks aren't included in full board.

The days, as on every holiday, fly by between walks in search of the fascinating sandbanks that emerge from the water at low tide and let you walk in the middle of the ocean without getting your feet wet (truly a spectacle of nature!), canoe trips, snorkelling, sunbathing and lots and lots of photos.....

We took a single excursion, a whole day with departure by doni, a stop for snorkelling at 2 spectacular spots in the middle of the ocean, a lunch stop on the desert island (taking the village cook along for the barbecue), then a nap in the sun and plenty of swims. The desert island truly left us speechless; it's hard and almost impossible to describe the Maldives and everything that's part of them: the colours of the sea, the soft white sand, all their greenery, like being in an enormous greenhouse.... The sea is so blue and the sand so white that at times you couldn't keep your eyes open; I know that what I'm saying may sound impossible or exaggerated, but it really is like that — seeing is believing!

We reluctantly leave the island, aware that we're parting from a place we'd never see and experience again; in 20 minutes we reach the fishermen's island, which in our view was fairly disappointing because it's dirty and neglected. Mainly we took the chance to do some shopping since the prices were lower than the little shop in the village and, above all, negotiable; I would without doubt have preferred to spend another 2 hours on the desert island!

We had already seen the Indian Ocean (Sri Lanka and Kenya), but nothing compares with that of the Maldives, just as every place experienced is different and unique in something of its own.

What else can I say, except that it was an unforgettable holiday: Olhuveli is wonderful, we found no faults apart from the fact that time seems to fly far, far too fast. I should also say it's ideal for families like ours (the village hosted many, and many children too); by the way, my children were very good, especially little Sara, who had long naps (take that, jet lag), big meals and lots and lots of swims.

In short, I fulfilled a great dream, and I hope one not-too-distant day to return to this enchanting place full of wonders, where my heart and my eyes rejoiced every moment of every single day. I almost forgot: Azemar is a good, well-organised tour operator, we recommend it, and above all we recommend Olhuveli — you certainly won't regret it if, like us, you want to see and experience the splendid, indescribable Maldives. A line for the Azemar staff: good during the day, when they don't bother you or buzz around you with absurd, insistent offers to play, but not very active in the evening entertainment, at least for the children; in any case, all very helpful and competent.

A few practical tips: don't fill your suitcase with useless clothes or high heels.... None of that is needed at all; most of the time you walk barefoot and wear a pareo (apart from at the restaurant, where you need at least some flip-flops), and don't forget the sun protection — with 2 children I used a lot of it, but it's necessary for us adults too.

To finish... I arrive in Milan in thick fog and 2 degrees after a rather turbulent flight and landing. A trauma!!

See you soon, perhaps to answer a few questions or for a new story.

Alice