We always expected that at least one of our days would be a bit of a washout, and it arrived today. We were able to get to the breakfast area without getting soaked. A downpour then happened while we were eating, but we were able to walk back to our villa while it was just a drizzle.
We organized some items to be sent to the laundry service for some unfathomable amount of money. Nicole was wise to bring a few tide packets, and I did some washing in the sink for our smaller items, which will save us $75 or something. They are now hanging to dry on a clothesline. The humidity today, is something else — even stronger than before. Everything just feels damp. Anything glass is fogged over.
The sun did show itself for the remainder of the morning, and we did lounge out on the opposite side of the island (to avoid the insane wind) for an hour or so. We saw more people on the beach than normal, perhaps because people also suspected the weather might be a bit schizophrenic today. We also witnessed a heron poop on a lounge chair table. Anything goes on a day like today.
The clouds eventually closed in and it started raining again, but we were somewhat protected under our thatched-roof umbrella. I was busy uploading our negative PCR test results and generating a QR code that we will need to show to exit the Maldives. I’m not sure why they need that for us to leave, but they evidently do. This was nothing compared to the Seychelles government’s Travel Health Authorization. It took me well over an hour and multiple attempts due to a poorly-designed app and webpage that kept crashing.
They wanted PCR results uploaded along with vaccine records, a copy of our hotel bookings, confirmation of airline flights inbound and outbound, a copy of our health insurance, scanned passport images, a “selfie” to verify against the photo in the passport, and €20 just for kicks. When I finally completed all of it, I was asked if I wanted to make a donation to their environmental fund. Not the time, nor the place for that kind of noise. Add that to an airline ticket price or hotel tax. Adding it at the end of the world’s most frustrating health declaration form? — Poor form. Luckily it was raining and quite windy while I was fighting with the app, so I didn’t feel like I’d missed out on anything. I do, however, worry about everyone else trying to get to the Seychelles. At least I’m fairly tech savvy and although it was extremely tedious, I had no problem getting all the uploads and digital scans sorted out. If your flight is within 12 hours, they charge you an extra processing fee of €140, so I suspect a lot of people might be paying that at the airport.
The clouds eventually broke and it was sunny for an hour or so in the afternoon. We walked around the island during this time which eventually led to Happy Hour. About halfway through, a downpour interrupted everyone’s cocktails and mocktails and it was like cockroaches scattering in the light. A smug looking German couple who were strategically located partially inside and underneath an overhang chuckled at everyone else’s misfortune for sitting outside. We slowly worked our way back to the room in the monsoon.
We spent the rest of the evening repacking all of our clothes and prepping for an early morning floatplane tomorrow. To send the Maldives out with a bang (and a high bill) we decided to have dinner at one of the restaurants. The prices in the end are about the same whether we eat in our room or not, and realistically we won’t be back here for a while. Nicole will have to accumulate a lot more points to make such an experience happen again, but this is why we have points to begin with — so we don’t spend $1200 per night on a room . . .for five nights. º_º
We had a nice dinner in the middle of an apocalyptic storm that took out the power of the Sunset Grill, where we ate. Rain began blowing in through the windows and took out half the restaurant. We had chosen our seats strategically downwind from all the chaos, and were able to watch the trees swaying in the distance as even the workers paused to look out at the torrent of rain and wind. There was a brief lull that allowed us to walk back to our villa without getting soaked.
One of the waitstaff said they normally have monsoon and heavy rains in the summer months, but having an intense storm like this in October isn’t that common. We’ve had pretty good luck with the weather, even at certain moments during today, so I can’t complain. I sent a WhatsApp message to our liaison to ask what time the floatplane is leaving tomorrow. He has yet to hear back from Trans-Maldivian. I did notice that normally a floatplane anchors here overnight and then departs at sunrise around 7am (central standard Conrad time). However, tonight there is nothing. So we shall see what happens. Honestly, it would benefit us to not leave at 7am because that’s when the breakfast room opens. Priorities.
passports & pepto bismol 