… Homeward Bound

It’s a different kind of sunrise when one wake’s up knowing it’s the last one in this stunning little part of the world, isn’t it? Knowing you have hours vs days remaining can be a downer. But we are ready to head home and plan to embrace our last few hours here at Six Senses Laamu.

25 days … away (round up … a whole month)! We miss home + family + the comforts and familiarity it brings. Plus I bet people think our house is in foreclosure because our lawn hasn’t been mowed in weeks! 😂 Going to be arriving home to our own little safari with the wildlife being two golden crumb snatchers … a rare breed. Lemino if you need more info on these unique 4-legged creatures. 😉

Morning routine remained the same — sunrise 🌅—> ☕️ + 🐢—> breakfast.

But today the sun had more trouble peeking its head up through the gloomy clouds. A little rain at breakfast to go with the feast, which was a nice little change. Bummer for the people that just arrived the night before though! Their forecast for the week not looking like many days with clear skies or ☀️.

NOTE: I’m not going to lie … I did inquire if there was a Plan B for a flight out to Male if the sea plane can’t fly in bad weather. Mike humored me and reached out to our GEM, which assured us the sea planes were made for this type of flying and Maldivian pilots know the skies. Oh good! And if not, it would quite the adventure to end the trip!

What did help ease the concern (or get my mind off departure) was … one last spa treatment. We each had a massage early afternoon with the goal to hold onto this Six Sense we acquired a wee bit longer. The cool lavender towels and juice de jour provided upon arrival to the spa will be missed!

May have to get myself a juicer and start juicing! Not the kind that builds huge trapezius’. Literal juice.

All oiled up and back to villa for packing and a last swim. Just as we were all packed, in our suits for a dip … downpour again. We looked at each other and Mike decided … cannon ball! Swimming in the Maldives in a downpour with the underwater locals was amazing!!!!! Our neighbor to the left of us, came out on the lanai to see what the commotion was about. I wanted to say … “Come on in!” But I don’t like many strangers so I didn’t. Kept this moment to us.

The water was SO warm compared to the rain drops! Seriously bath water! We floated, laughed and soaked in more than salt water. Then it was time for us to “clean it up” for check out.

Said goodbye to the two-wheeled hogs, thanked the villa for the memories and headed to …………. Can you guess?

Yep! Ice cream!!!!! Couldn’t leave without one more delight!

I couldn’t make up my mind which 2 to get, so I snagged 3! Talk about a challenge but I handled it. NBD. Been training all week for this finale.

Last ice cream fit:

A — Fruit of the Gods (chocolate) + Burnt Milk + Strawberry
M — Pomegranate and Wuzu (a local fruit) sorbet

And what an added treat for me to take a picture with my ice cream dealer. She was a hard nut to crack! Mike tried and tried and tried but she gave him a run for his money! She reminds me of Payton … like she likes you and enjoys your company but the RBF game is strong. Probably the only SS person who didn’t always have a smile on. But I get her … just like I “get” Payton. 😉

Time to load up on the flying turtle! It was only us and another couple for Los Angeles. One of the few Americans we ran into on this trip. She was a judge and he was in film. Interesting couple! Mike made friends with them and I was hesitant because she didn’t like ice cream!

Funny story … Mike and I were having our last treat and chatting with the GEMs when Mike said, “Who in the world doesn’t like ice cream?” And she chimed in from outside the convo and said .. “I don’t.” 😳 Told us sugar is really bad for us. I was like … girl … this vessel runs on cream and sugar. Hahaha! I didn’t actually say that (probably because I was busy eating loads of sugar) but you can imagine my face expressed my response in between licks. They ended up being very entertaining and I loved hearing about her law career. No kids but two dogs and two desert tortoises, which is another funny story to share another time.

Any hoo … what a sea plane flight. A bit bumpy but the Maldivians did navigate the conditions like champs and it was smooth sailing with a few prayers during a few air bumps. And as always … God sent a reminder that we remain in His protective bubble — the one we have been in on this whole trip.

Here is how that all happened … As we passed through clouds, a shadow of the Flying Turtle would appear with a rainbow 🌈 bubble around us - all reflected on the clouds. I can’t make this up! Nudged Mike and he saw it too! Thank goodness he did, as I really thought my mind was playing tricks on me. He captured a video. Check it out!

Landed in Male on time, and then to the SS lounge to wait for check-in for our 11:30pm flight. It has been Male —> Singapore —> San Francisco (currently in flight as I type, sipping on a coffee — first of many today, I have a feeling 😂). Total fly time for trip home … about 20 hours, with a total travel time just over 31.5 hours. A marathon but one I actually like running! ♥️

Final Thoughts:

Mike and I joke that he is a dreamer (and how I am not). Aside from all the adventures we embarked on, the memories, laughter, the OMG moments and gratitude … my most favorite part of this trip was to see my husband’s dreams play out in real-life. He planned every detail of this adventure with such passion and effort, all I can do is sit back and admire him, and be so grateful he chose me as his sidekick for it all.

His dreaming literally takes us to places I’ve never imagined or knew about. And as we come back to reality … to a new reality for us … I pray he never stops dreaming!

Dreams do come true! This trip is documented proof! So … dream big folks! Why not?

With much love and gratitude,
M&ALæs mere