Unfinished Business in Flores

Sixteen years ago, Frank and I attempted to go to Flores to see the Komodo Dragons for our honeymoon. We had taken a small boat and landed on a small beach island where we were supposed to spend the night in Hammocks. It was freezing cold and we had one only one sleeping bag which Frank declared belong to him. I hardly slept that night and noticed the boat crew fussing with the boat. By morning we woke up to a rude awakening that our boat no longer functioned and they were sending us another boat to take us back to where we had begun. We then attempted to fly to Flores with Merpati Airlines but in the end the flight was cancelled. So we then took a ferry to Lombok and climbed Mt. Rinjani instead which turned out to be a great experience even though it was hard on both of us for different reasons. For Frank, his knees were hurting as he made the descent. For me, I was unusually tired and later found out that I was pregnant with Adrian! 

Now we were back and wanted to complete this unfinished business of seeing the dragons. Times have changed in Indonesia which we noticed the minute we arrived in Ubud on Bali. This once quiet and open village was now heavily clustered with trinket shops, vegetarian restaurants, yoga centers and esoteric shops selling stones. The only good news we were staying at a wonderful hotel Pandok Pundi. We loved the family, food was great and the atmosphere was quiet and beautiful. The massages were only 6 dollars and definitely saved my life after our 60km Trek that messed up my knee and foot.

 We enjoyed our quiet Christmas and even met a group of Hindu ladies where we had a small Christmas party together. It was their first one! They explained how their daily lives are and how integrated the Hindu ritual is which includes making forty offering at the beginning of the day and then setting them around at different locations.

Frank then booked us a flight out heading toward Flores. At this moment it feels like all of Indonesia is doing a facelift. Both Bali and Flores are getting new airports, streets and harbors. Arriving at the Flores airport, a young man with wild hair greeted us and said Welcome to the jungle, do you need a Taxi? Frank was quick to reply and said “No thanks.”  But later we learned that there is normally No Taxi service, so we should be happy to hook up with these guys.  However we were in luck because shortly afterwards our hotel’s shuttle bus showed up with some other guests. The airport was small chaotic and muddy. It was pretty unbelievable. Even one of the airport managers made the comment that Obama didn’t even come to see the dragons. Frank and I looked at each other and then looked at the mud and laughed. We booked La Prima since it was the only one available during this time. Frank was worried since it was not our style since it is a modern hotel. In the end we felt blessed to have it since it was on the beach and is quietly located 2 km away from Labaun Bajo. This main small harbor town contains not one or two mosques but three mosques which blear out their prayers throughout the day (and night!)

 We arranged a boat to take us for two days with one overnight. Frank picked the agency Perama which coincidently was our original company from the past. We laughed and hoped this one would work out better. My only request was to have a captain and a cook with a good sense of humor, and that was just what we got; Anton and Emmanuel plus two stowaway friends of the captain.  We sailed off to the island of Rinca where we landed and immediately were confronted with aggressive dragons. One in particular had already attacked three people so we had to stay in a group as we passed them. 

We then continued on a medium trek and saw a wild pig, birds, lizards, yellow monkeys, and where the dragons laid their eggs. We learned that they are solitary animals and eat their own species including the young dragons and their eggs as well. The young dragons survive by climbing in the trees and live there until they are ready to take on the big ones. We saw one adolescent and one adult in the jungle.

But you could always see some dragons hanging around the kitchen of the rangers. That was quite disappointing and could be easily fixed with a barrier between ranger’s quarters and dragons, but that was not interesting to the rangers who like it the way it is. 

We then headed to Pink Beach where we snorkeled and saw wonderful fishes and even a manta ray. We then headed to a small fishing village on Komodo Island where our entire crew disappeared and we walked around the small fishing village. We bought some drinks and greeted many of the locals. We were mesmerized at their houses and how they currently were rebuilding many of the roofs out of tin. There were hawkers selling goods everywhere and the poverty level was clear to see. That seemed to be a big mystery to us since the Komodo Dragons National Park fees are expensive and clearly the small fishing village that shares the island doesn’t see one penny of that money.

Our crew returned to the boat with happy faces. They had won their soccer team against the other team.  We then moved our boat to a place where we would see the flying foxes take off in the morning.  The heat of the sun finally hit me and I had a headache that would not stop. I fell asleep to the sound of the generators and eagles catching fishes. Frank stayed on the roof and tried to sleep but the generators were annoying. 

When they finally stopped he slept well while I was sweating like a pig in my bunk on the floor.  I was only thankful that there wasn’t any night creatures crawling around on board. The crew slept everywhere on board our small board. There is nothing like the sound of five snoring men…

The second day was a wakeup call as we saw the swarm of flying foxes disappear in the jungle of Komodo Island. We arrived at the Komodo Island which was a duplicate of Rinca Island. Frank told the rangers they needed to change their National Park, but again the rangers looked at us like we were crazy. We then went snorkeling twice, saw a shark and another manta ray. I was surprised to see how much marine life was there to see considering how much garbage could be seen floating through the waters. In general I would not give Indonesia high marks on recycling and ecology. Both Frank and I had all our energy drained out from us and we both suffered sunburns despite sun protection.  Frank had started the trip with a strong Haka pose and before the end was reduced to a man in extreme pain.

We spent the next two days recovering and got ready for a New Year’s Eve in Labaun Bajo. I was not sure what to expect since this town is predominately Moslem, but actually we had a great time. We started off by eating dinner at an Italian restaurant with a wonderful view to the harbor where all the random fireworks were being shot off. There is no regulation here so the people seem to drift from one party to the next wishing everyone Happy New Year. We joined in first going to the harbor then meeting our captain Anton and the entire crew of friends plus family members. We danced in a water puddle with a disco light swinging over our heads which was more than bizarre. My hips definitely are not made for swaying back and forth. We finally returned to our hotel, to yet another party with fireworks being set off on the beach. We both finally collapsed in our beds, knowing we had to leave early the next day for Bali.  

So we wish all of you out there a Happy New Years for 2014!