The things a girl will do for her favourite food…
Spend ten minutes with me and there’s a strong chance I will either talk and/or eat some form of fruit. It’s my favourite thing to devour – rain or shine, morning or night.
If you’re a regular reader of Wordrobe Wonderlands, you’ll know that I’ve been staying in the beautiful Maldives this week for work. Due to a bad storm, I ended up being stranded on the island and couldn’t fly home on Friday – we couldn’t leave via seaplane, or even via boat yesterday. Normal clothes are a thing of a past – I’ve just been living in swimming gear!
Today, things were a little calmer. We were due to leave at 10am but, as these things play out sometimes, it was half 8 in the morning when I’d just finished at the gym, sweaty and ravenous, that a gaggle of golf buggy carts turned up to take us immediately to a nearby boat. There was a window of opportunity – and the island staff weren’t going to risk missing it.
So, after the fastest shower of my life, I flung on some clothes and ran for this vessel. I love it here, but I’m missing home and have a lot to catch up on before my next trip. So aboard this boat we climbed. And immediately, my stomach started to rumble.
The weather is better but still pretty bad here – getting across the water to the domestic airport was like sitting on a giant jet ski. We were flung everywhere, with waves crashing down on top of us. People everywhere around me were throwing up left, right and centre. Earphones in, trying not to breathe too deeply – and definitely avoiding the pastries I’d been given.
So eventually, one wobbly boat trip later, we rocked up to another teeny island. It’s from here that we’re waiting for a flight to get to Male, the main Maldivian airport. From there, we can leave for Dubai.
Alas, weather is weather. And wind is wind. The flight’s delayed for a little bit, so we ventured for the waiting lounge. It’s effectively a plant-decked room filled with coke, crackers and chairs. And… relax.
So – back to the fruit. I’m a picky eater. Coke and crackers aren’t really my thing, unfortunately. So I settled for a coffee, sat back and did some work. Stomach now rumbling a little louder. Our airport host arrived to let us know the flight’s going to be late, and asked if he can get us anything.
Me, being me, couldn’t help myself.
“You don’t happen to have any fruit, do you?”
“No, sorry.” He replied. “But I can go get some for you. Or you can come with me and pick.”
Now, dear reader, there are few things I will not do for fresh fruit. I even plan for my wedding to be full of it. So I followed this stranger straight out of the door and into the Maldivian jungle – expecting we would walk over to one of the nearby buildings.
Instead, we ambled across to a dusty looking motorbike.
“Hop on!” He said. And, after a moment of wild deliberation, I did.
Whilst my friends waited for their coffees to finish pouring, I was clinging to this local, zooming around the wild island roads whilst he pointed out little landmarks and sights.
“Here’s the school!” He cried as we swerved by a pot hole. “And the main road!”
One short kiwi stop later, we climbed back on. By now, I’d decided to just take the experience in my stride. And hope I didn’t fall off!
Instead of going back to the lounge, we were apparently running errands. So we stopped at a local hotel to make a payment, cruised along little roads, ventured near the sea and zoomed through the jungle. Weird things are always happening to me – this was just another one of them!
And back I arrived, a little dusty, with a bag full of fruit and a story to tell. The flight’s still delayed and there’s still three journeys ahead of me before I’ll even touch down in Heathrow. I can’t even book a taxi because I have no idea when I’ll return.
But even so – there are definitely worse ways to wait for a flight…
Sophie x
