Stop #11: Kuramathi Island, Maldives

I knew I’d really like Maldives, but it turns out that I absolutely love it with passion! I’ve been to quite a few nice places in the world, and this place definitely earns its place at the top.  When researching where to stay in Maldives, I didn’t have a clue where to go.  There are almost 1,200 islands in the country, all of which are fairly different.  It took Lorenzo and me quite a while to finally pick a place.  Lorenzo’s #1 priority was that the resort we selected had to have great diving.  So he provided me a list of his 7 favorites, and after I did a thorough comparison, I selected Kuramathi Island Resort.  And we’re so happy with this choice…

Kuramathi Island Resort is the 2nd largest resort in Maldives.  That may sound daunting, but actually it still felt like a very secluded and private island.  The Island Is only about 1 mile long and ½ mile wide at its widest point.  It Is almost completely covered in trees and vegetation, and the entire island is covered in sand (no concrete).  There are no cars or pollution, only electric buggies to help you get around.  Tourists can’t even ride bikes on the island, its all by foot.  In addition, you could only get a little wifi in your bungalow, or in the reception area.  This all made the experience that much better because it truly felt like you were off the grid.  No cars, no pollution, no wifi, no concrete… what a shock coming straight from Dubai!  It was almost a whiplash of a change, going from that crazy city to this quiet little island.  And it was a change that was greatly needed, as two months of constant travelling has taken a toll on our energy.  It was perfect timing for some intensive relaxation and rejuvenation.

But getting to our resort wasn’t easy.  We had to take a plane from Dubai to Male airport (Maldives), and then catch a seaplane to an island, and then a speedboat to Kuramathi.  We only had a 30 minute layover to get from our 1st flight to the seaplane, and Murphey’s Law definitely kicked in.  Our 1st flight turned out to be an hour late, so I was frantically emailing our resort to beg the seaplane to wait for us.  Our seaplane was the last one for the day, so if we missed it, we would have to sleep near the airport and catch a different seaplane in the morning.  This would be absolutely terrible since we only had 3 nights in Kuramathi.  The resort is too expensive to stay any longer, so we didn’t want to lose one precious day there.  Needless to say, I was stressed out during the 1st flight, and a bit panicky when we arrived at the Male airport.  But it wasn’t until we saw the “No smuggling alcohol into Maldives” sign at baggage claim.  No smuggling alcohol??  Did this mean we couldn’t bring alcohol to our resort?  First of all, I’ve never heard of such a thing in my life.  Secondly, we were carrying 6 bottles of alcohol in our suitcases!  Two bottles of vodka and 4 bottles of wine.  Hey!  We were planning to have a good time in Maldives…

With our extremely short layover, and our delayed flight, we were extremely stressed when security forced us to go to “Customs to Declare”.  They made us open up all our luggage and give them all our alcohol.  I tried to argue with them, since no one warned us about this policy, but it was useless.  Turns out that Maldives is a strict Muslim country, which I never knew!  I guess this was a very difficult lesson learned.  After getting robbed of our alcohol, we ran around like chickens with our heads cut off, trying to find the person who was supposed to help us with the transfer.  I latched on to a random staff lady to help us, which she did.  She lead us to our check in place, where the people were very happy to see us.  All the guests for the plane had been waiting for us!  Oooops… not our fault.  Anyhow, we made it to the bus to take another bus, to take a seaplane to one island, to take a speedboat to another island.  All this transporting was making my head spin, but when we finally stepped onto Kuramathi, I suddenly felt like Cloud 9 <3

The water was a gorgeous turquoise color, the sand was white and powdery like flour, the island was covered in greenery, and the temperature was perfect... it was a dream come true!  All those beautiful pictures you see of Maldives are true.  It really is postcard-perfect 😊  And our bungalow was another impressive experience.  We had our own private bungalow, located just a few steps from the beach.  It had a large patio, a king-sized bed, a large bathroom, and the coolest outdoor shower.  I can’t tell you how excited we were to be there!  I wanted to run around the island immediately and see everything, but the sun was already going down.  Being so close to the equator, the day time in Maldives is about as long as the night time.  The sun rises around 6am and sets around 6pm.  So we quickly took a shower and headed to our all-inclusive dinner.

Our love nest for the next 3 days...

 That evening Lorenzo and I slept like rocks.  Our bodies were desperate for some recovery time, away from all forms of transportation.  We probably passed out around 11pm, and woke up at 8:30am.  I felt great!  Breakfast was fantastic, and we were charged for the day.  I wanted to see every single thing on this island, which was supposed to have 8 restaurants, 6 bars, 2 infinity swimming pools, a tennis court, soccer field, an eco-center, diver center, hydroponic gardening center, spacious gym, and endless beaches.  And everything we saw.  I was so surprised that, even with all the amenities provided on the island, it still felt very secluded and not crowded at all.  Everyone had their privacy, and everyone pretty much kept to themselves.  It wasn’t a place to party, it was a place to relax and enjoy time with your loved one.s  I’ve been looking forward to this type of vacation for many, many years.  For so long, I’ve wanted to go on a Yoga Retreat.  But for some reason, they are so expensive!  This place is probably the same price or less than a formal Yoga Retreat, and its almost the same – Relaxing environment, healthy food, gym & yoga classes, and pure serenity.  If there’s one place that “feels” like a honeymoon, it’s for sure Maldives.

The best part about Kuramathi Island is the sandbar.  This is the longest, and coolest sandbar I’ve ever seen, by far.  We walked from one side of the island to the completely other side, and all the way down to the tip of the sandbar.  In order to get to the tip, we had to wade through some ocean water since it was high tide.  I really could care less about my clothes at that point.  It was so cool to see ocean waves coming in from both sides of the sandbar and crashing into each other right in the middle! I don’t know how long we were out there for, but we were having a blast 😊  I’d have to say that from the minute we stepped on to this island until the minute we left, we hadn’t stopped smiling.  I could have stayed on Kuramathi forever… or at least a couple of weeks.

Taking pictures on the sandbar just before sunset... a memory I'll never forget!

Swimming in the ocean was absolutely perfect.  The water was clean and pretty, and the temperature was perfect.  The best part about it was that it was the first time I really got to swim after my bike accident, 3 weeks ago!  We picked up some waterproof bandaids back in Greece, and at some point I picked up a long sleeved swimsuit.  I had to completely cover up my arms, since my right arm still had a deep cut on the elbow, severe road rash on the shoulder, and long scars that I had to keep out of the sun.  I was sad to have to wear a long-sleeved swimsuit and forfeit sunbathing, but at least I got to finally go swimming.  It was the best feeling!  And our day even got better when we walked out on the sandbar at sunset.  Somehow, we were the first ones out there, so we were able to have our privacy and take some fun pictures… I’ll never forget this very special moment of our trip <3

That evening, we enjoyed another great buffet dinner and a few drinks at one of the bars.  We also played chess together which was a first!  It had been an extremely long time since either of us had played, but it turned out to be really fun.  Unfortunately, I must have had one too many glasses of wine and lost to Lorenzo… super bummer.  But how amazing was it to have no technology and dwindle your entertainment to a simple board game?  Truly amazing.  I actually started laughing as I realized that we humans pay so much money to get away from everything we worked so hard to earn – our house, our cars, our technology, etc.  We pay to bring our life back to the very basics, and to find joy in things we forget to appreciate.  To find joy in good food, a quiet moment, fresh air, and personal time with a loved one.  It truly shows how little you really need in life in order to be happy.  That is one thing Lorenzo and I have learned over the past 2 months of travelling… no matter where we are in the world, no matter how “crappy” or fancy our living situation is, no matter how many or few belongings we have, we are still happy because we are with each other.  We’ve been stressed and strained so many times during our travels, but in the end, as long as we are together, we are still happy.

The next day was an active one.  We enjoyed a light, health breakfast and hit the gym.  It felt so good to workout, even though the scale said I gained 5 pounds (dammit).  After working out, we rented some fins and went for an hour long snorkeling adventure in the ocean, around the coral reef.  Lorenzo was having a blast, diving deep and taking pictures with his GoPro.  We saw tons of fish, a bunch of eagle rays, and a few black-tipped and white-tipped sharks.  Underwater safari!  The adventure continues 😊   After snorkeling, I did 10 quick laps in the infinity pool, which was extremely satisfying.  I just wanted to keep swimming since I hadn’t been able to for 3 weeks.  I was so happy to have my arm back!

The rest of the day including eating, chillin’ on the beach, a couple drinks and more chess.  Without the hustle and bustle of sightseeing, transporting around, and technology, we actually had lots of time to talk… about everything.  I feel that we learned a lot more about each other, and got a lot closer to one another.  For example, I learned that Lorenzo doesn’t know how to eat soup, which is why he always burns his mouth.  He just dumps his spoon in the bowl and takes a (hot) gulp, while I skim the top layer of the soup with my spoon.  It’s things THAT simple that we learn about each other, when all other distractions are removed.  And I realize that these are extremely precious moments – quiet moments together – which we may never have again, after having kids.  I know I will love my kid(s) with all my heart, but I also know that Lorenzo and my relationship will change.  It will not be 100% about him and me anymore, it’ll always be about us and the kid(s).  This is one of the reasons why Lorenzo and I wanted to take a world trip before having kids… even if we could travel with the kid(s) in the future, it will surely not be the same.  I am so thankful that we get to do this right now; if we waited any longer, the chance may have passed us by.

The next day was a sad day, since we had to leave. A few of my friends who have been to Maldives before said that they were kind of over it after a couple days, since their island was so small.  But I feel like Lorenzo and I could have stayed for at least another week, and enjoyed it just as much.  Regardless, our time had come to an end.  We enjoyed another great breakfast, another great workout, another great lunch, and a whole lot of transporting back to the airport.  We took a speedboat to a seaplane, to the airport to wait… for 5 hours!  Unfortunately, the last seaplane from Kuramathi was at 3pm and our flight was scheduled to leave at 9:10pm from Male.  Luckily, the airport had a nice lounge with AC, wifi, showers and food, where we could hang out (for a fee).  And it was worth every penny.  Our flight left on time and I can finally write this blog 😊   In a couple of hours we will arrive in Singapore, to catch another plane to Bangkok, to catch another plane to Phuket, and to catch a 3-day scubadiving Liveaboard.  It’s going to take a lot of energy, and a lot of luck to make it to our end destination… but so far so good!

PHOTOS OF MALDIVES