After a drizzly arrival day and sleep by 9:30pm, I woke at 4am. I walked through to the outdoor bathroom and could see the sky was filled with stars. This generated so much excitement that it might be a sunny day ahead that I couldn’t get back to sleep.
I laid in bed going through old blog posts until it was light enough to wander. I figured I would walk out onto the beach and then see if I could walk all of the way around the island on the beach.
I walked onto the sand and turned right. I was also keen to catch the sun rise - until I saw that there was indeed low cloud and the sun rise wouldn’t be visible. Nevertheless, I kept walking and decided to explore a little more than I had yesterday.
The beach in front of these beach villas is honestly unreal. Vast (but not too vast) stretches of sand with the turquoise waters lapping the shore. At risk of repeating myself, it has sandbank vibes all day long.
When I got around as far as the gym, I had to come inland. The building that gym is housed in juts over the water and you can’t walk around or under it (at least right now). I took the opportunity to have a look inside. Given that it was 6am I figured it shouldn’t be occupied. Lo and behold, when I entered, Victoria was in there. She took a pause to show me some of the features and discuss future plans (no spoilers!) for the space. Then I left her to it and continued my exploration.
The next stop just a few steps on from the gym is the Infinity pool and bar. This pool extends right out into the ocean and in certain lights it looks invisible. I paused to take some pictures and then carried on round. Once I crossed the second water villa jetty I was back on the stretch of beach which is serving as home base.
One side of the island loses its beach for 6 months of the year currently. They are hatching plans to help with this seasonal erosion but for now those villas are sold as “Ocean view” as despite their proximity to the water, the exposed rocks prevent access.
I came back to the villa and did my core workout. I’m on a 30 day challenge and convinced that this trip will be the one where I remain consistent! I grabbed a towel and laid it on the sand thinking that would be a friendlier surface. Doing a plank with twists on a movable surface is not ideal in case you were wondering.
Now it was certainly time for breakfast. I set off for Kakani and could feel that I had my bearings much better now. It’s really funny how on these tiny islands you can be so disoriented to begin with. My theory is that it’s because they are round and so every pathway looks the same. Fortunately it only takes a lap or two before you have it mapped out. Ooh a pun.
Breakfast is a scaled down version of the hybrid approach that Amilla was running. Buffet for pastries, fruits, juices and cereals and then a la carte menu for eggs and other dishes made to order. There is also a crepe/waffle station as well as several “Wellness your Way” items such as chia, kefir, infusions and a booster shot of the day.
I loaded my plate with fresh papaya and coconut and then ordered my Maldivian breakfast staple - orange juice with ginger. I also ordered a coffee. I am a self-confessed coffee snob and usually I try and then abandon coffee by the second day in the Maldives. The verdict? While the beans they are currently using have a bitterness that’s more intense than my usual preference, it was an enjoyable coffee.
I spent a good 90 minutes sat here writing updates on the previous posts in relaxation with all of the drinks a girl could ever need.
After the extended breakfast the sun was trying to peek out. I went back to the private garden pool in my bathroom (any excuse to drop that in again) and took a dip there and then laid on the loungers to dry off.
I also got the cushions out for the loungers on the beach and spent some time alternating between beach and pool and really enjoying the villa and it’s location. This is for sure the most amount of time I have ever spent in my villa on a Maldives trip.
I went for a late stroll to lunch even though I wasn’t particularly hungry, there was too big a gap to make it straight through to dinner.
I went back to Kakani and the exact same table. I ordered the Garudiya which is a Maldivian broth with fish (and spicy) and coconut shrimp. Both were fantastic and this island for sure has a flair with it’s soups because much like the lobster bisque resembled tomato soup, the garudiya looked like Thai green curry. the flavour was delicious - in fact my mouth is watering as I recall it.
Back to the villa and I took a beach towel down closer to the water and just laid on the sand for a while appreciating it’s colour, the sun on my skin, the sound of the waves and played with the sand between my fingers.
At 4:30 I was collected from the villa to go on a tour of some of the other room categories. We saw a sunset water villa, the deluxe beach villa with ocean view and the whopping three-bedroom beach residence.
When we came back from the tour, I dipped in the ocean as the sun was setting and then I came in and ran a bath in that huge circular tub in my private garden bathroom with pool and giant bath tub (yup… it’s really rolling off the tongue now).
Dressed for dinner and then i walked around to the jetty on the other side of the island where I was meeting Jason, Victoria and Mark for dinner at White Orchid. I was a little early so I walked up the jetty and watched the fish feed for a while under the flood lights.
Dinner at White Orchid was a combination of the perfect setting, fantastic company and the food was nice. Not outstanding but very nice. There are already some big plans ahead for refining the recipes and the menu and I will be looking forward to that development because it truly is a wonderful place to dine. It’s at the foot of the jetty over the water and you are seated outside. The sounds of he ocean, the stars overhead and the occasional splash of a fish really created the idyllic ambience you’d expect to be able to experience in the Maldives.
We really enjoyed a long catch up and we were all ready for bed by the time we left.
A beautifully relaxed day. Here’s to more of the same.