Komodo National Park (Rinca Island)

At the very west end of Flores Island is a thriving town called Labaun Bajo.  It was here that we picked up some much needed provisions.  It was also here we visited an awesome resort (Thanks Amy & David on S/V Starry Horizons).  The manager was most welcoming and we enjoyed a great lunch and a relaxing swim in their lovely pool.

 Everything in the three pictures above and soft drinks - $25 Canadian (including a $4 tip)..

 You know we have been out of the first world a long time when we got really excited over linen napkins....  They also use ONLY bamboo straws... How cool is that??

The next morning we made our way the short distance to The Komodo National Park on Rinca Island.  We anchored in about 45' and were surrounded by local tour boats all day and night...  It was loud and busy, but lots of fun.  These guys know how to handle their boats....

We arranged to make an early morning tour in the park and settled in for the night.  This morning at 6:30 we arrived on the island and we met by Mathues our young 61 year old ranger who does a minimum of 4 - 2 hour hikes every day for 10 days in a row before returning to his family in Flores for a well deserved 10 days off...

This was the first Indonesian "MUST SEE" on our list.  It did not disappoint.  There are some 1500 dragons in the park who are left to fend for themselves in their natural habitat eating water buffalo, deer, and an occasional wild bore or monkey.  There is not one single animal in captivity and the rangers are diligent with the thousands of guests each year to keep the ecosystem in balance.  That said, once in a while some tourist thinks they know better and get themselves eaten by a Komodo Dragon...  (Clearly, Darwin was NOT wrong)...

Here are a few of the other creatures that call Komodo National Park home....

Matheus took us on a 2 1/2 hour adventure where we saw an example of everything that lives in the park.  By smell he knew when we were near an area where dragons were feeding.  Less than half the size of a water buffalo, the dragons sneak up on  them (usually near a waterhole) and bite their leg.  With over 60 horrible bacteria in their mouths. Once bitten the water buffalo (or other critter on the dragons menu) quickly gets sepsis and within hours or days, dies.  The dragon follows his victim until it dies then enjoys the spoils of his labors...  Komodo dragons do not hunt together, but will consume a dead animal as a group leaving nothing but a skull and a few big bones....
Ok, it sounds a little gruesome, but I assure you, in this hostile environment I am amazed they ever get to eat...

 There is Blowin' Bubbles waiting for us to return....

Shelley posing for her mandatory "tourist" photos...  If you ever met her mother, these pictures make perfect sense...

 

After our hike we returned t o Blowin' Bubbles and made our way to our next adventure....  As we left the bay a small pod of dolphins played in our wake long enough for Shelley to get some fun pictures...

Yes, this guy is swimming on his back!

More soon....
Cheers!

Flores, Indonesia

After island hopping so many tiny islands we have a big change with Flores Island.  We have been here a week now and still not made it down its length.  That said, we are no longer doing overnight sails as there are just too many unmarked and unlit hazards in the waters around this area...

They call these things FAD’s or “Fish Attracting Devices”.  I’m not sure how many fish they attract, but I am sure if we hit one at 6 or 7 knots, we would sure know it...

As for fish, we have been dragging lines behind us for a week now and haven’t had so much as a bite....  we have colected at least 5 lbs of plastic garbage though.  This part of the world is literally covered in garbage.  And sadly, no one seems to care.

We stopped at Maumere, the largest city on Flores and reprovisioned.

This was the first place here in Indonesia where we found frozen chickens.  We have not seen pork or beef yet.  Good thing we like fish...  we did meet a wonderful man, Mesak, who drove us around for our banking, provisioning and helped us find some boat bits....   After all that work we celebrated with lunch... Much more expensive than we are used to... It was $25 for the three of us...  life in the big city I guess...

The market was very interesting.  Along with the regular fruit and veggies you would expect to find, there were vendors selling local “wine” (I use the term loosely), tobacco, and honey.
The wine tasted strong enough to strip paint.  So we bought some...  We can’t wait to try it out on some unsuspecting cruiser the next time we get together for “Sundowners”.   The tobacco didn’t look like anything I ever picked when I was a teenager, but they seemed to like it... One lady even ate some, to show good it was... We passed... And the honey still had bees in it.  When we got back to the boat we strained it and it tastes great!

Before and after a first taste....

Local Tobacco!

We also bought some local rice.  It was very tasty.

From Maumere we made our way to the 17 Island National Park.  This is an area that is supposedly protected from fishing where marine  species can thrive... I knew it was an overstatement when we were pulling in and a guy was bringing in his fishing nets from one of the “protected” reefs...  That said, we did what might have been our best snorkel ever this morning.
We saw critters that we have never seen before and we saw fish that usually live beyond the reach of most snorkelers.  It was very cool.

A Lionfish in it's "NATURAL" habitat.....  No need to kill them here...

In the next few days we should arrive in the Komodo National Park were we will pay for a guide to take us to see these famous dragons.  Can’t wait.  More soon...