The place we’re staying in is quirky. In a good way.
Most unusual. Kind of a tree house.
Up a narrow stone path and a slippery muddy trail.
Between rocks so tight that Stan had to turn sideways to get through.
And this - after the taxi dumped us off on a side road god knows where.
In the pouring rain.
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Stan - with his pack - and folding guitar.
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The bathroom is open to the sky.
When it rains here, it comes down with intense tropical enthusiasm. For good measure, the toilet is placed just beneath the runoff from the roof of the bungalow.
Timing is everything.
There's a bar, but it only had 1 beer. (luckily a large one-)
We took it.
But the place has a great balcony.
I keep thinking - where the heck ARE we?
I think we're the only ones here.
Watching the scene below.
Pretty pleased with our choice of being on the hill.
We're overlooking the city of Labuan Bajo.
On the edge of the island of Flores, Indonesia.
Ships and containers.
Tin roofs and wooden boats. Lots of both.
It's a working town.
When it’s not raining, sounds of an impromptu soccer game.
Hammering from the boatbuilders.
More enthusiastic roosters.
Motorcycles.
Cheering from the gang watching the soccer match.
All sounds of a regular city, doing the things they do everyday.
And we're SO FAR from everywhere we know.
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| Handmade boats and lumpy green islands. |
Lots of cool old wooden boats.
Fishermen, construction, mosques - and the occasional small dive shop.
The scuba diving here, however - is incredible.
Sharks and rays and turtles and corals and seahorses - SO much to see!
It's a complete wonder world. We spend a LOT of time underwater.
Then, someone mentioned we could go snorkeling with giant manta rays, so we signed up.
We didn't realize we'd be seeing Komodo dragons, too.
There weren't a lot of takers on the trip.
A lovely old traditional Phinisi wooden boat.
Over 10,000 of the 17,000 islands in Indonesia are uninhabited.
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Islands in all directions, and so very green this time of year.
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Even with the inhabited ones, transport between the islands is NOT straightforward.
I looked into going to Raja Ampat and the Banda Islands.
The best I could find was 39 hours from here, with 6 transfers!
All - within the same country.
But - back to the Komodo dragons.
When we get off the boat, we see this sign.
Crocodiles? - As if Komodo dragons aren't enough.
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| Looking for crocodiles. |
These guys are dangerous. Shark-like teeth.
Their saliva is saturated with toxins. There's no anti-venom.
And - they're cranky.
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| A cranky Mama Komodo. |
On the island, Komodo dragons are just - well, lying around.
On trails. Under laundry lines.
We had to be accompanied by a local guy with a big stick.
I can't believe people just - live casually around them.
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| These are under someone's kitchen! |
Plus, Komodo is home to poisonous snakes.
Vipers, kraits, and cobras.
Pythons, too.
Unbelievably, they allow camping here.
-Really.
Then: GIANT MANTA RAYS:
They call it "Manta Point" for a reason.
You could FEEL and SEE the currents working beneath the surface.
The waters churned and swirled.
The captain cut the engine and we - jumped off.
The swirling water creates a sort of jet stream of fish and plankton.
We were being carried along with the current, and the mantas came towards us, huge mouths wide open, feeding on the plankton.
They are HUGE.
2-3 meters across.
Their mouths are wide open.
Dozens of them.
Beneath us.
Next to us.
Around us.
We struck manta gold.
Something I’ve never seen before, even though we have seen mantas in other places.
WAY cool. I was totally impressed.
This alone was worth coming for.
Also, dolphins followed us out there, jumping and swimming along with our boat…and there were even sea eagles. A regular nature film in the making.
Just before sunset, we anchored off a mangrove island.
Around us, hills and islands, green humps in the water, in all directions.
No lights.
Just hanging out.
Waiting for sunset.
As the sun went down, thousands of giant fruit bats begin to appear.
The ones they call flying foxes.
Over a meter across, enormous. Coming out of the jungle, cruising slowly over our heads, into the night sky. They flew in front of the setting sun, and the rising moon. Each one looked like a miniature "Batman" sign - just so much larger than any I’ve ever seen before.
Thousands and thousands of hunting bats.
They come out of the mangroves and head for night feeding on Flores Island.
Every evening.
It felt like a classic scene from a zombie film.
And then - we cruised back home to Labuan Bajo.
In the dark.
With no lights.
The captain says he keeps everything dark so he can see the smaller boats - also with no lights - by the light of the moon. Lovely.
An impressive day.
Can’t ask for much more than that.
Some day, all of this may be very popular, but for now, it's pretty low key.
KANAWA
Back in town, we found a small desk in a closet-sized office that advertised stays on an island called Kanawa. It was supposedly located inside the Komodo National Park, which I didn't think was allowed. But supposedly, it had accommodation. No idea. We couldn't find out much about it. Anyway, off we went.
SO glad we took the chance!
A small wooden boat picked us up with our packs.
En route, there was engine trouble.
Both the captain and first mate dived in to sort it out, leaving just us on the boat.
Turns out, Kanawa is tiny.
Simple wooden cottages for rent - no electricity on the island.
And a simple restaurant.
But the best snorkeling I've EVER come across.
Right from the deserted beach - or from the handmade jetty.
The place is so ridiculously laid-back and relaxed.
The weather not as hot as I’d feared. Without electricity, there were no fans.
Yes, the nights were a bit heavy and still under the mosquito netting, but - worth it.
I snorkeled every few hours, and loved it.
We saw our first sting ray before we even got off the boat.
Underwater was even better.
Small black-tip sharks, a wonderful octopus, large cuttlefish.
Great healthy coral formations.
Fish of all shapes and colors.
Incredible.
There were about 6-12 of us on the island at different times, including staff and a few fishermen, coming and going.
The atmosphere was so relaxed, you couldn’t help talking to everyone.
To use a trite phrase: Awesome.
Really, really cool.
"Traveling seems to be me to be a profitable exercise.
The soul is continuously stimulated by noticing new and different things."
- Montaigne (French philosopher, 1500's)
"Ideally, I would capture the ounce of magic that exists in every moment."
This was definitely magic.
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