Who I am, what I do, and why the Maldives.

My name is Paola, born in 1972, two wonderful children aged 19 and 20 and for 11 years I became an adopted "Maldivian". In my "previous life" I lived in a delightful village in Brianza and I was (I am) an ASA or assistant for the disabled and elderly.

Eleven years ago, destiny chose a different path for me, casually (or maybe not) leading me to this paradise of small white sand jewels scattered in the Indian Ocean, the Maldives.

Initially we moved with the whole family even if, along the way, we got a bit lost. My ex-husband decided to return to Italy because the Maldivian life, which is certainly not easy, was not suited to his type of temperament while the children and I continued our adventure. Giulia and Lorenzo have always enjoyed themselves here as long as they were young, they attended local schools and integrated very well with the Maldivian people.

We have never had any kind of problem due to the fact that we were of a different religion, indeed, they have always welcomed us with warmth and affection, not making us miss our family.

In 2015 I made the important decision by bringing my children back to Italy as they were no longer children but teenagers. I made this difficult choice for my children, in order to be able to give them a broader and more complete education; for the lifestyle, I wanted them to grow up with a "global" mentality compared to the Maldivian one, restricted from some points of view. Today they live happily in Italy with their father and they join me whenever the school or for me work allows it .

I continue my business with enthusiasm, which is to manage a Guest Houses. Unfortunately, not everyone knows this new reality because in the imagination of many the Maldives are associated with luxury, money and resorts.
Well no, it isn't! The Maldives are much more: life and not just white beaches, crystalline sea with a thousand shades, lush green palms, the Maldives are made of smiles, of curious children who touch your white skin, of women who tidy up their sandy streets of the town with brooms made of palm leaves, men in sarongs who with their “dhoni” (classic Maldivian wooden boat) leave in the morning to go fishing.

The Maldives are also culinary culture, made of simple ingredients, garudhya their main dish, fish broth with rice, of "roshi" and "massuni" that they eat for breakfast, a mix of tuna, lime, onion and grated coconut combined to a sort of wraps, of fish left to dry in the sun and then their customs and traditions. The "Bodu Beru" which literally means "big drum" that they use and play in a divine way singing and dancing.

Here, these are the Maldives that I love to introduce to my clients because I want people to learn about this people and not just the beauty that surrounds them.

The guest house I manage is absolutely simple and perfectly integrated into the Maldivian context, on an island that fortunately has not yet been touched by mass tourism and therefore still true, honest and "wild". But this type of holiday is not suitable for everyone, it takes a spirit of adaptation and the desire to know, discover and share, because with us you eat together and stay together like a big family but if you want to have your own privacy nothing denies it.

In short, it is nice to rediscover human contact and with nature and I always remain pleasantly satisfied and happy when the people who met here continue their friendship even once they return to their worlds.

As I like to call it, ours is a Journey into a Vacation.