Journey to Flores: Sand and Surf

In a matter of minutes, you can descend from the awe-inspiring mountains to the picturesque beaches of Flores. Last week I wrote about the “Turf” of Flores, and this week I present you with my favorites from the “Surf.”

Wildlife!

Although hard to see from the surface, a whole world of fish, large and small, call the corals of Flores home.

Slather on some sunscreen and grab yourself a snorkel, because the waters around Flores and Komodo National Park are home to blooming corals and sea creatures large and small. My friends and I took an overnight boat trip out of Labuan Bajo (a sleepy, tourist, harbor town).

The crew. Pak Amin (left) built this boat by hand and hopes to one day pass on the family business to his son (middle). The food was amazing, the sights unforgettable, and the company beyond compare.

Our overnight boat.

We were treated with giant jellyfish, mammoth manta rays, huge bats (“flying foxes”), pods of dolphins (I literally almost cried), stray sharks, and enough fish to make me think I had fallen into an old Window’s screen saver.

Swam with one of these…

…and watched these not-so-little guys take flight from their mangroves.

Bats straight chillin.

Of course, I can’t leave out the infamous, scaly namesake of Komodo National Park, the komodo dragon itself.

Mean muggin.

Ok, so these don’t exactly live in the water, and are known in the local language as “land crocodiles,” but the islands which they inhabit are only accessible by boat. Cautioned against going to Komodo Island by recent visitors who left without seeing a single dragon, we went to Komodo’s lesser known cousin, Rinca. Right off the boat, we crossed paths with an adolescent komodo, and later cautiously crept around a small handful of others.

Adolescent Komodo: around 4 years old. Komodos reach adulthood at the age of 5 but can live into their 70’s.

With their forked tongues, powerful claws, feet that can turn 360 degrees, and saliva with enough bacteria to kill prey via infection within days, they may not have been the most cuddly of creatures, but they are nothing short of a natural wonder. Taking an hour-and-a-half trek through the forest and grasslands of Rinca was the icing on the cake.

Our guide leading us through the komodo dragon habitat.

While swimming with sharks and mantas, joining flying foxes in their sunset revels, communing with the corals, and watching dolphins glide along the side of our boat, I kept thinking that all my childhood Animal Planet dreams were finally coming true – Komodo National Park and the surrounding waters are an animal enthusiast’s paradise!

(This video is from Australia, but these bats’ Indonesian relatives are just as large, just as loud, and just as amazing.)

Beaches

When you fly into and out of Labuan Bajo, you glide over island after island with perfect beach after perfect beach for miles and miles. Never in my life have I seen so many beautiful beaches on so many little islands – it’s like a James Bond movie waiting to happen. I never understood the appeal of having a yacht until now… But for those of us on a much, much smaller budget, you can easily rent out a basic boat for the day (for three people we paid around $38 dollars). The captain will chauffeur you to the uninhabited island of your choice where you can lounge on the sand and laze in the waters all day.

Plenty of boats for hire – large and small, bare-bones and luxury class.

Flores is an up and coming tourist destination, but still has a sleepy, laid back vibe – which is probably why no one batted an eye on Seraya Island when we pulled up to a dock and waltzed into a high end resort. After having my shoulders covered for the past year, lying out in the sun with the hush of the crystal-blue tide coming in and out was absolute bliss.

Erin sips on pineapple juice and seamlessly eases into the life of the fabulously wealthy – if only for an afternoon.

I often complained in Flores that the pictures I was taking just didn’t show the “depth” of what we were actually seeing. Nor can a couple of blog posts capture the beauty, diversity, and unexpectedness of the island.

Mountains with the ocean in the distance.

There just isn’t enough space to write about discussing politics with Oscar (political rebel and hotel manager), eating instant noodles in mountain fog, swimming in sulfurous hot springs (and fleeing from a dead rat), collecting blue rocks on a black sand beach, eating an amazing pineapple-bacon-burger after a long day in the sun, indulging in molten chocolate lava cake at a resort I could never afford, watching people walk to church on Sunday morning with their Bibles in hand, eavesdropping on conversations between dive masters, and bonding with fellow adventurers from around the world.

Sunset from the boat.

Flores was a mix of natural wonder, deep-seated culture, and budding tourism. There is so much more to Indonesia than Java and Bali – my trip to Flores added another layer to the depth of my understanding of Indonesia, and I hope these posts added a little more to yours as well. Happy Travels!