We all make plans in life, set ourselves goals and have places we want to see and things we want to do some day. I’m one of life’s butterflies, flitting happily from one thing to another, endlessly fascinated and enthralled and eager to see, do and experience as much as I possibly can.
Whilst this makes life interesting, it can make planning quite a challenge.
For everything that I plan to do, there’s a list as long as my arm of other things I also want to do, and sometimes choosing between them can lead to angst. I tend to get a pervasive feeling bubbling away that leaves me wondering if I made the best/right decision.
The creeping realisation that I no longer feel immortal
As well as wanting to DO EVERYTHING in life, add to this the fact I’m now over 40 and feel quite frankly, like time is now starting to run out. Whilst I don’t wish to sound dramatic (though I am prone to hyperbole), the feeling isn’t anything new and has become quietly more insistent over the last couple of years; and whilst I didn’t hit 40 and immediately go into meltdown, I do now feel like I’m up on the peak.
I’ve worked hard and I’ve overcome half a lifetime of set-backs to make it up here, and now I’m here, I feel like there’s only so long I can spend admiring the view before I have to begin the inexorable decent down; an obvious metaphor with less than cheery connotations.
As well as making me feel slightly maudlin, it’s made me appreciate just how far I’ve come and it’s also provided a degree of introspection that has lead me to realise that there’s still a whole heap of things I’ve always wanted to see and do, but haven’t got round to doing yet.
Every few years we have a ‘big’ holiday. A couple of years ago that meant returning to Whistler in Canada where we go snowboarding every few years. Buoyed by the urgent sense of mortality that only middle-age can inspire, I started to think a bit bigger and decided “If not now, then when?”
With a budget inflated to accommodate more far-flung locations, there were 4 destinations that immediately made the shortlist.
Zanzibar, Costa Rica, Borneo and the Maldives.
I spent several weeks signing up for deals, researching the areas, looking at the kind of travel options and so on. I ruled some out based on price alone, others based on only having a very limited number of days leave I can use for the trip, and others based on the lack of suitable accommodation options, as we typically dislike large impersonal all-inclusive style hotels that tend to be so prevalent with affordable package deals.
The holiday destination shortlist
The list of 4 was whittled down to the Maldives, and I then set about finding a holiday provider. Most of the time we much prefer independent travel, and like to be fairly adventurous in our choices, but this time, the goal was twofold, with relaxation being paramount.
Between my day job and running this blog, it’s meant that for the last year I’ve been working at least 70 hours a week, and it’s got to the point where I am well and truly burnt out. As with our short break to Morocco earlier this year, I just couldn’t be bothered to faff around making my own travel arrangements, and really, from the prices I put together independently for the 3 flights necessary to get there, there was no price benefit to doing it that way.
After deciding to go with a package deal and to simply wait for the right offer within our budget, I then started researching individual islands. My number 1 reason for wanting to visit the Maldives is, as you might expect for the diving (I’ve been before, and it’s simply incredible), but more specifically to see/swim with Manta Rays. So when I found a hotel within our budget (sort of), and found out they had a Manta Ray cleaning station on their house reef I couldn’t quite believe my luck.
Sure I had to compromise on the length of the holiday (just 7 days), but I did upgrade to a beach front villa and sea plane transfers. It all came in over budget, by about 20%, but I checked my finances and figured I could just about manage it. As I looked at the total cost I must admit to feeling a little queasy, while my finger hovered on the mouse as I triple checked the dates and passenger information I’d entered. Then I booked it.
Swimming with Manta Rays in the Maldives…What!!
Swimming with Manta Rays is something that I’ve wanted to do for as long as I can remember and the fact I’d booked, and there was now a good chance I’d get to do that, was just a bit overwhelming. Of course you can never guarantee anything when it comes to nature, but I’m hopeful, and if it doesn’t happen, I’ll settle for the joy of seeing sharks, parrot fish, sting rays, sea turtles and all the other things I know I am guaranteed to see.
Since booking, even though the trip is many months away, I’ve felt a certain sense of serenity. When I think of the outstanding balance still left to pay I do feel a mild sense of panic welling up, but I just think about drinking an endless array of cocktails and obsessively identifying sea life, and I’m just happy and grateful that I’m even in a situation to have been able to book it in the first place.
I’m not sure how I expected to feel after making the booking, perhaps excitement? The sense of serenity that’s settled upon me is certainly unexpected but most welcome.
I’ll be sharing my trip here on the blog next year, and fingers crossed, there will be some pictures and footage of Mata Rays too!
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