If paradise on earth exists (apart from Bora Bora), that would be the remote Padaido islands. While planning our trip, we both wanted to spend a few days relaxing on one of those dream beaches that are usually found in travel magazines.
But where to go? There is plenty of choice: Indonesia offers a myriad of destinations and each one of them looks wonderful: Komodo, Bali, Raj Ampat… but we were not sure yet.
We browsed around our guide looking for further inspiration and almost casually we stopped on the insignificant paragraph dedicated to a remote small island: Pulau Wundi. The only information available was a telephone number associated with a name: Erik.
By reading those very few indications, we immediately got excited: it was exactly the island made for us. We couldn’t wait to meet Erik, our new friend.
Although at first it seemed to be a joke, when we dialled the phone number we found out that Erik really existed. He only needed a few essential information: the date of our arrival in the main island of the archipelago (Pulau Biak), the number of days we were going to stay there in order to plan the shopping, and that’s how our entire trip was planned. When we landed at Biak airport, there was a question mark: how to find Erik? He found us.
Before leaving for “his” island, we went shopping together, because there is no shop in Palau Wundi! When we finished, it was dark already. We arrived at the beach where a canoe was waiting for us: maybe it was a little bigger than usual, but still a canoe… with a motor.
We travelled towards the darkness of the ocean. Above us, a magnificent starry sky and the noise of the motor boat only. Our hands were immersed into the blue waters of the ocean that gave life to a wonderful bioluminescence.
After an hour and a half in the dark, we saw a light in the distance. It was “our” island. They turned on the power generator to prepare our reception. We were the only guests. On the background of the palm trees there was a little house on the beach: it would have been ours for the next four days. Erik showed us where we would have slept, and told us that the dinner would be ready soon. We ate on the beach. Dinner consisted of rice, vegetables and fish. Delicious. Probably it was the place we were in, but it seemed to be the best food we had eaten ever!
The following morning we woke up and ran out with curiosity to see how the island appeared in the sunlight. We were in heaven. Breakfast was ready, again prepared by a woman who was Erik’s neighbor and the official chef of the island. After a while, Erik asked us if we wanted to take a boat ride to the coral reef and of course we accepted. The experience of diving on the coral reef is quite impressive. It almost seemed we were flying. The contrast between the barrier and the deep blue ocean was absolutely impressive: it was so clear that, when we passed from one point to another, we almost had the sensation of falling. What to say, it was magnificent. We spent the rest of our days between one strip of beach and the other, discovering the most diverse species of fishes and the countless brightly-colored starfishes. At sunset, we went back home.
The golden light of the sun was reflected on the water, few tiny fishing boats returning from ashore, children playing in rose-colored waters.
I did not want to leave the island. But sooner than we imagined, the day of our departure came (why did we planned our trip for four days only?). We thanked our host for the magnificent welcome and the extraordinary treatment we received. Goodbye Wundi. Thank you Erik.
