Xanadú is my ideal place to be. Nothing
to do with my present-day hometown. Xanadú is basically a
peaceful place, an island somewhere in the south with no historic
ruins, no cathedral, no big towns. There are no shopping centres,
no museums, no zoos and no hospitals.
It is a round small isolated place five hours
from Madagascar by ship. When you get there, if you walk past the
small fishing town at the harbour, you will see behind a line of
slender palm trees, a unique whitish futuristic building. This is
the only hotel in this almost deserted tiny island off the African
coast.
Its is actually like a spa, which is a place
to rest and relax: hot-water swimming-pools, healthy and nutritious
local food, homeopathic medicine, fitotherapy and acupuncture are
the treatments offered to help customers recover from the hustle
and bustle of western civilisation.
The weather in Xanadú is at its best
in spring and autumn. During the day, you can either enjoy the facilities
at the spa, or alternatively take a ride on the path that surrounds
the island along the coast shore or simply lie by the emerald-green
sea with an interesting book at hand.
Once a week you are allowed to go fishing
with native fishermen and, in the evenings, you can join the villagers
when they meet round the fire to grill the fresh fish for a shared
supper. Next morning you can watch the seabirds pecking the leftovers.
Diving is a breathtaking experience: the coral
reefs, the jellyfish, the tropically coloured fish, the starfish
in the blue sea, all these seem to take you into their own world
when you swim under the water.
Xanadú is not the real name of this
island. We don't want herds of tourists flooding the place so, if
you discover the island in one of your trips, please… keep its name
a secret.
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