Getting older - like a turtle (Maldives)
When I planned my last bigger holiday trip to the wonderful Maldives, I was so excited to finally see turtles in their natural environment. During our time in Australia, we spent a few days sailing and snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef area. Back then and also when I visited the Maldives for the first time a few years ago, we didn’t have the good fortune to see turtles. So I had to take another chance in another habitat of those special little fellows. I was pretty lucky this time and saw a lot of them and they weren’t even that little at all.
A birthday holiday
Turtles are not only famous for their particular cuteness but also for reaching a very high age. As chance or faith would have it, during this holiday there also was a special milestone of my life to take: my 30th birthday. Not really as fancy as the 20th one for a girl I guess - no I know! Turtles always seem so unbelievable relaxed - no matter which age. They move in such a slow and elegant way whilst most of the other sea dwellers rather seem to always be in a hurry. The reef sharks for example - we have seen a lot of them, but they were always disappearing in the deep blue sea again after seconds. Turtles are also pretty good in hiding their age. Well, I guess that’s a biological thing and within my power only on a limited extent (I’m really glad that none of my presents had anything to do with „anti-aging“ products just yet). I decided to accept this limited power and try to focus more on the turtles’ serenity. Therefore I will try to highlight all the good things that come along with getting older. If I just think about it for a little bit longer, I realize that it really isn’t that bad at all.
So much to enjoy
Our hotel was located in the southernmost atoll of the Maledives. It takes a lot of time to get there. My friend Lena and me made another stop over for a few days in beautiful Doha before we flew to the capital of the Maledives, Malé. From there you have to fly another hour before a speed boat takes you on another 30 minute ride to the private club island. This long journey is more than worth it. The whole time I wasn’t able to stop being astonished by the spectacular scenery and then we ended up in paradise… .
So that’s the point where we can start with the advantages of getting older. When we are young, we often seem to be in a hurry and then tend not to realize the beauty of what surrounds us - or we are just not interested in it just yet. I feel like I am more able to just sit down and to do nothing more than just listen to the sound of the Indian Ocean, watch the sundown or the sunset, the beauty of beaches, flowers or the colorful underwater world. Even my friend Lena, who first of all has not yet reached my age and really is a bubbly person, could not stop enjoying the tranquility of the wide ocean for hours when we snorkeled along the housereef. The reef surrounds the whole island. Outside the water, the island offers uncountable places of incredible beauty. Although it only takes about 15 to 20 minutes to walk around the whole island, I could have stayed there for at least another week as there is so much to experience and to enjoy. We were welcomed in such a warm way and felt perfectly supported all the time - not least during breakfast, lunch and dinner time. The Indian Ocean is the perfect warm bath tub - we spent hours just enjoying the water and the sand between or toes and fingers.
Doing the things we love and nothing else
Another good thing about growing older is that after many years of living on this planet you know the things you like und you definitely know those you don’t. After thirty years I additionally realized that I don’t need to do too many things of those I don’t like. Some are necessary but so many aren’t. It’s not anymore about having to attend every activity because it is trendy at that particular time. I stand by not being into running for example. I just hate it. There are many sports I like, especially aerobics with good music, tae bo, yoga and dancing. So I focus on those activities - also and especially when I am on holiday. There were really nice classes on our island - including my beloved sun salutation - and every second evening we had the chance to dance until late - barefoot in the sand. I do love traveling and enjoy pure nature but I am absolutely not a backpacker kind of type. I do feel too old now to sleep in dorms with foreign people. Therefore I just don’t do it. Getting older also means to be more independent and to have a few more possibilities than back when being a student. I don’t need them all the time but I do love luxury places when I am on holiday. I also like to make plans to at least some extent and not being forced to find a place to crash during my holiday every day anew. When thinking about the future, making plans in general doesn’t sound that scary anymore. Of course things always tend to turn out different than imagined or planned. But in my opinion, by knowing what you want and making plans according to that, it is at least possible to pave the way for a life that will make you happy.
Doing less of what I don’t like gives me so much more time for the things I love - and there are many of them. In addition to the above mentioned I had the chance to take a lot of pictures with my beloved camera (which now also has a little pink sister that is able to dive - thank you so much guys!) and to listen to my favorite music. Lena and me love to create playlists and we really get thrilled when we remember another song we didn’t listen to for a long time but loved so much when we were younger. It’s not any longer a feeling of liking a song because I have a crush on that one guy in the band or because the singer is so unbelievable cool or something similar. The songs and often also the lyrics just make me feel so happy from inside. Sometimes they also remember me of something I have experienced in the past. We got to know Dolton and Rodrigo during our holiday - the great DJ’s of the club. Of course they love music, too. They offered us a very special moment at the beach with live guitar and harmonica music from Sri Lanka. I will never forget that. Dolton also was the one who showed us the best spots for snorkeling and it seemed like he can smell turtles, sharks and lobsters under water. Sometimes he gave us a sign because he saw one of them - but we had to swim like 3 minutes before we reached the animals. I still wonder how this was possible.
Priorities and gratefulness
Getting older, our lifes get busier. This might seem like a negative point and it somehow is. It forces us to set priorities. The positive thing is that this gives us a different relation to gratefulness - we appreciate things more. I am very grateful for the people who spend their time with me and also for those who make it possible for me to do the things that are important to me. I am pretty sure whoever I mean and who is reading this knows that I was thinking about him or her when I wrote this. Appreciating several things more also comes with giving a sh** about unimportant things. I am so much more relaxed now than I used to be when it comes to things I cannot control and things that do not matter anymore a few minutes after they have passed. A few years or maybe months ago, I would have taken an unfriendly bus driver personally and I would have thought about eating a second desert a lot longer before just enjoying it. The food was so delicious during our holiday, we would have had to feel very bad otherwise. I am not exactly sure where this particular and turtle-like serenity comes from. I think it is because with every situation you experience during your younger years, you realize that in the end it usually all turned out all right.
The opposite of being an adult
As much as I desired to see turtles, Lena desired to see dolphins. So she looked out for them every day in the early morning and the late evening and never stopped believing that they will show up. On our last day on the island in the early morning it finally really happened. One dolphine swam and jumped out of the water right in front of our beach bungalow. A perfect goodbye! We were both happy like little girls. There were so many situations during this holiday that made us thrilled and happy and we were definitely not behaving like adults back then (I guess sometimes we weren't even talking like adults…). But that’s something I promise to myself, I will never give up - no matter if I turn 40, 50 or 80. Sometimes it's the best thing to be like a little kid. Therefore, when seeing a turtle, I will remember myself of how relaxed turtles are and that I can also be like that when getting older - but I will also behave like a little girl because they are just so cute and lovely! I will also behave childish after I have booked my ticket back to the Maledives. This is the most beautiful place I have ever seen in my life and I just have to come back again!
Hotel: Robinson Club Maldives
Getting there: There are several options - Lufthansa and Condor offer non-stop flights from Frankfurt, the transfer from Malé to the club will usually be organized by the hotel
Soundtrack: Mark Foster - Wir sind groß, Bryan Adams - Heaven, The Veronicas - Speechless, LIZOT & Charming Horses - Sonnenmädchen, Peter Andre - Mysterious Girl, Corado - Rock this party
Special thanks to Dolton and Rodrigo and the whole Robinson team, my parents, Helmut and bubbly Lena - It was more than wonderful - we have to celebrate your 30th birthday the same way <3!
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