Maldives (Day 6)

This was our full day on board The Britt. Waking up on board was something else. When I opened my eyes, I saw a sky dappled with specks of clouds, with the dawn splashing the canvas with pastel pinks and oranges, with the morning breeze whispering cool breaths on our deck. I can’t stress enough how many “moments” I’ve had on this trip. I can’t believe that something as mundane as waking up could feel so profound, almost flirting with divinity. Nature does that to me. As for the activities, it was basically snorkeling all day, at different points, and all were going around the edges of reefs, where the reef slopes down to the open blue. This is where you see all the pelagics, as they ride the currents at the outreefs. We also visited a Maldivian island, not a resort, but where your typical Maldivian lives. It wasn’t like anything I was expecting. It didn’t look like the stereotypical fishing village, but not quite a typical concrete town either. Hard to describe, it’s meant to be experienced. What I found noteworthy though, was the fact that they mostly painted their walls bright colors – we’re talking pinks and yellows and oranges and purples! It almost looks like those kiddieland places where you leave your children. It was very enriching to see the real Maldives, as opposed to the usual manicured resorts (not that I’m complaining). After the visit, we got back on board and did some night fishing. The only one who caught a fish, was the guy who was married to a vegetarian, so he was obliged to throw the lucky fish back into the water. Then we had a huge dinner, as usual, and we fraternized with each other, guests and crew alike, British, Irish, Filipino, and Maldivian cultures swirling into a rich soup that we all partook of. Chris is from the military, his wife Karen teaches special kids, Tony is licensed to fly a plane and drive a boat, Brona has had U2 in their house, Kamil has a 6-month old baby, they discovered that I work in radio, and Captain Ibrahim likes to walk around the boat in his lavender undies. By the second night, we felt like we had our own floating village, our own seabound culture club. I was starting to feel a little separation anxiety, at the thought that that was to be our final night together. But at the same time, we were all anxious to use a proper loo, having to deal with those bloody toilets (naks, feeling british ang jeje!) The second night wasn’t as breezy as the first one, but pretty soon our lights were dimmed, one by one, as we dreamt of the dry toilets and sandy shores awaiting us.