TRAVEL
The Maldives Diaries: Day One
Arrival to Baros Island
With freezing temperatures this week, I decided to warm things up by recollecting the warmest place I’ve ever been: the Maldives.
There are over 1,200 islands in the Maldives. In 2014 I visited two of those islands with my husband. We spent a week on Baros Island and a week on the island of Gili Lankanfushi.
In the coming weeks, I plan to share photos of a different day each week in my new publication: The Maldives Diaries. You’ll find the publication empty at the moment, but not to worry! It’ll soon be filled with exciting photos and stories to warm your heart on these cold winter days!
I have so many photographs and memories that I’ll share in multiple publications, but this will be the main hub for my Maldivian Journey.
Without further ado, let’s begin our journey!
Day One: Arrival to Baros Island
After a total of over 24 hours flight time, we arrived in Male, Maldives at 8AM. From there we took a thirty-minute boat ride to Baros Island.
Our host, Julian, greeted us with champagne, Mimosas and fresh Mango juice in the main lobby upon our arrival. There was also a bottle of champagne waiting for us in our room, which we enjoyed later that evening.
The reception host disappeared briefly. He returned to announce that we were being given a free room upgrade, to the nicest villa in the resort. More on this story of compassion in my next story!
Our room host, and my new friend, Ubaid.
My husband has difficulty walking and usually I assist him. Ubaid wouldn’t hear of it! He insisted on helping my husband walk to our villa. They snuck away while I was in the lobby and beat me to the room! He’s also carrying my purse filled with bottled waters. No, he’s not a thief, just one of the kindest people I’ve ever met.
Hello Sunshine! You can see the reflection of the beautiful view off the windows of our villa. But that’s not why he’s smiling. He’s seen many beautiful landscapes in his lifetime. He’s smiling because of the generosity and kindness extended to us from the moment we set foot on this island.
Interesting Fact
We couldn’t afford this resort. We asked God to guide us in the right choice of islands. We chose the cheapest one. A travel agent in the UK gave us better prices, but they accidentally overbooked the cheaper island. To compensate for their error, they upgraded us to this nicer island and this luxury resort, free of charge.
This is where the magic happens. By magic, I mean passing out because you’re exhausted and expect your bags to magically unpack themselves. See how neat and clean that bed is? Not for long. This is the “before” photo. Before I dumped all our stuff on it to organize for the week.
Each villa had a private plunge pool. This was the perfect spot for my husband’s physical therapy. More on that heartwarming tale in the next story!
Fresh fruit was waiting for us upon arrival to our villa. We enjoyed the rose apple the most, because they’re not available in our area. They replenished our fruit bowl daily.
I washed off two days of flights in a large soak tub with an incredible view to the sea! It’s a reflective window. No one can see inside.
The shower is accessible from inside the room and from the deck. Unlike the bathtub, you can see inside the shower from the deck. There is a privacy curtain, but we never needed it. Fortunately we were in the middle villa and no one crossed in front of our deck the entire week.
The first, of a weeklong string of lovely sunsets.
The sun retires for the evening and relaxes into the sea.
The moon rises and we enjoy our first moonlit Maldivian night.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this photo diary of the arrival to Baros Island. There are more photos with some exciting commentaries coming soon! The island has much to show and tell.
This isn’t simply a travel diary, but a story of compassion, as you’ll see in upcoming stories.
The next installment of The Maldives Diaries
Mia Verita, 2021
Mia Verita is a nurse and a traveler who enjoys sharing her journey and heartfelt stories with the world.