March 18, 2014: “My heart is so full I could cry.” Those were the words Jen spoke as we waited for our seaplane back to Male.  The 5 days went so fast, but were also so incredibly low-key and invigorating. I’ve never been somewhere so unpretentious for the luxury it brings.  Simply unforgettable. Today we putzed around the reef some more, Jen went to get a massage, then we packed up our stuff by noon and hung out on the beach until our 5:30pm seaplane departure.

Then… the adventure really began.  The seaplane made a landing at a small 15’x30’ dock in the middle of the Indian Ocean to wait for a storm to pass through. Problem was, sunset was fast approaching and seaplanes don’t fly from sunset to sunrise.   No problem, we got the clearance to take off…. but the left propeller won’t start.  So there we are. Stranded at sunset.

Enter the GM of the Conrad, who was conveniently on our flight and heading to the same Singapore Airlines flight as we were.

He pulls out his phone, makes a call, and a speedboat magically appears. (With gusto I might add, as it ran up onto the dock and about knocked someone’s luggage into the ocean!)

So then we board this speedboat, which takes off at 40mph towards who knows where. Apparently there is an airport nearby. We pull up to a dock, are told to hop in a van, and not to worry about our luggage (?!?).  We enter a building (the “terminal”, where someone is hand-writing our boarding passes from a sheet. We are then escorted into a ‘VIP’ room, which basically means “this room has chairs and a toilet.”  We board a FlyMe flight from Maamigili to Male, and make it on time for our flight to Singapore. 

So many questions… who paid for this? Who arranged it? How did the airport have a printout of our names and info that quickly? Who the heck is FlyMe? Is my luggage on the plane?

But hey… like I said, we made it. :)

March 17, 2014: More sun and fun.  The house reef here is the best snorkeling I’ve ever seen, hands down.  So much diversity, incredible amounts of fish, and all of it within 5 feet of surface so you can really take your time and look around!  Truly stunning. Who needs to scuba dive with a reef like this off the shore?!  

We have been absolutely spoiled with the food here this week as well.  Incredible flavors and tastes.  I had a thai curry tonight that I won’t soon forget! 

March 16, 2014: Just another ‘is this real life?’ day in paradise.  This morning we went snorkeling with whale sharks! Bucket list item checked off the list for me. I would love to scuba dive with them at some point.  Majestic creatures.  We swam with 2, both around 22-25 feet long. (Juveniles!) It was incredible. 

Soaking up as much sun and sand as possible, and of course time with each other.  The Conrad has certainly made Jen feel special for her 30th! :)

March 15, 2014: Hopped in the ocean at sunrise and snorkeled around for a bit.  The water was ridiculously still.  I took the first pic on 1 try, an above/underwater shot.  One of my faves from the trip!   For lunch we did a champagne and canapes event at Ithaa, the world’s first underwater restaurant. 16’ underwater. Google it.   Dinner would have been nearly $1,000 so we opted for the $110 option. :)

The islands are incredible, and a boat called a dhoni shuttles us back and forth between them. We also love walking to our villa since we get to cut through the jungle :)

Tonight was cheese fondue and wine inside of the cellar. They keep it in the 60’s so a shawl is provided for women.  Oh yeah, and the sand on the floor is imported from New Zealand.  How ridiculous is that?

March 14, 2014: Welcome to paradise! On arrival we were given a fresh coconut to sip on, and then taken to our overwater villa.  #BALLER  I can’t believe we’re actually here.  Ridiculousness everywhere.  Tonight we had dinner at Sunset Grill.  The menus were iPads. Surf and Turf for me, which was incredible. Maldivian Lobster FTW!  Time to get some rest. Shouldn’t be hard.

March 14, 2014:  Our flight from Istanbul to Male was on an upgrade Airbus A330, with full lay-flat seats in biz class, which was great for our 2nd night in a row on a plane!  The chef took my hat to wear and said “Hey. Photo.” Hah!  On arrival we were whisked over to a Conrad van and then shuttled to the other side of the airport, where the seaplanes depart and arrive.  We were taken to the Conrad lounge, complete with free massages, food and more.  Nice!  About 30 minutes later it was off to our seaplane… the seaplane was heading to pick up the Royal Family after us! (?!!?!?!) Wow.   Is this real life?  And then…. out of the window… I could see it.  The 2 islands I’ve been looking at on Google Maps for the past 11 months.  And at that moment, all of the travel, the delays, the travelhacking… it was all worth it.  We have arrived in paradise, in the middle of the Indian Ocean.  Bliss.