Komodo Trip, Part 4

Our last morning was another lovely one.  It was a perfectly still night and the water was barely moving at daybreak.  The captain said we'd stay there for a few hours so it was a great time to jump in and snorkel.

We were happy to have spent the night here with just one other quiet boat.  I got up in the middle of the night and I could hear music in the distance at 4am...we are definitely not part of that crowd.

 All of these islands were so beautiful and usually populated by nothing but deer, maybe komodo dragons, and birds.

 The snorkeling here was awesome in the morning sunlight.  There were so many fish!

I'm not sure exactly what these were, but we saw lots of clams or something with big, colorful lips living inside the coral. They would close up tightly if you got too close.

Ben and I snorkeled through the thousands of fish on our way to the beach.

Seriously, every beach and these boys were intent on creating some towers in the sand.

The best way to get back to the boat?  Snorkeling, of course.

We began to make our way back to Labuan Bajo, but we were in no hurry and we stopped a few more places.  Not sure exactly where this beach was but it was lovely.

 

Postcard perfect!

Our final stop was on Kanawa island, close enough to see the town in the distance.  We were definitely back in civilization, so it was nice to ease back into the real world by spending a few hours around people and with real beach chairs.

This island had a dock and a tiny restaurant, so I imagine it's a popular place for day trips from Labuan Bajo.

 

The snorkeling here was some of the most fun we had the entire trip because it was all very shallow and easy to see.  

Ben's favorite memory was seeing this stingray, his first ever.

The variety and colors of all the fish and coral was some of the best we've ever seen.

 

I think we snorkeled in 8 or 9 different places but each one was different and they were all memorable for one thing or another.  In some places it was hard to tear ourselves away from the show.

 

What a perfect way to soak in our last few hours!

Masterpieces: complete

 

Our last ride into the harbor was a quiet one.  We packed up all of our stuff and took our last naps in whatever places seemed best.

Back to the real world!

We checked back into the same hotel and took absolutely amazing, warm showers with soap and shampoo.  The boat had a tiny shower but it wasn't good for much more than rinsing off sand and maybe a little soap.  I had never gone so long without washing my hair and with all the salt water on it, I was wondering if it would ever be the same again.

Next stop: Mexican food!  Bajo Taco was a pretty great find with a wonderful view of the sunset.

We flew out early the next morning and thoroughly enjoyed the flight back over the islands we had just visited.  Goodbye, Flores and Labuan Bajo.

Goodbye, Komodo!

One more look at Sangeang...

Instead of going straight home, we stopped halfway for a few days in Bali.

Nothing like a few days by the pool to soak in a little more sun!

The expat world is so small here.  Alex ran into a classmate at the pool and they played together all day with their brothers.

This is definitely our happy place.

Turns out our lizard sightings weren't done.  Matt and the kids got to watch one of the resident monitor lizards catch a fish and eat it.

 

It was a trip to remember, for sure.  We are so grateful for the travel opportunities that living in Indonesia has provided.  When it was time to head home, we were all ready to get back and sleep in our own beds and celebrate Easter.  The Bali airport helped us get into the spirit!

Komodo Trip, Part 3

Our third day on the boat started bright and early, because as soon as the sun is up, the birds and the crew are awake, and the day gets going.  The nice part was that after dinner, we were so tired that after a game of cards or a show on the ipad, we were all ready to get to bed.  Some of us still tried for a few extra minutes of sleep, though!

I loved the quiet mornings on the deck with my coffee.

On this particular morning, I watched a pair of eagles hunting while the sun rose and the fishing boats headed out.

The village looked beautiful in the morning light.

We had one brief shower that morning - the only rain we experienced during all of spring break.  We were so fortunate!  It was close to the end of rainy season so the weather could have gone either way.

Our first stop was Loh Liang visitors center on Komodo Island.

Komodo was quite different from Rinca.  It was lush and green with lots of bird life.  Our guide was showing us all kinds of new birds and listening for different calls.

We really enjoyed seeing wild cockatoos...haven't seen them since Australia.

At the watering hole, we found our first komodo dragons of the day.  These guys were BIG. 

This one in particular got a lot of space and respect from the rangers so he must mean business. 

Here's a better idea of what it's really like visiting the komodos.  Nothing we did anywhere was crowded but you knew if people were gathered anywhere they were gawking at something interesting.

The obligatory monster photo from the guide!

We spotted this one creeping through the woods and gave him his space because he was young and obviously on the hunt.

This poor komodo deer had obviously met a dragon sometime in his past but lived to tell his tale...his little nose was hanging by a piece of skin.

As we hopped on the dinghy to get back to our boat, we found one last guest on the beach!

The very best part of living on the boat was that every time we moved to a new place, all we had to do was rest and relax.  We all took multiple, blissful naps every day.

Our second stop for the day was Karang Makasar, otherwise known as Manta Point.  We jumped in the open water anxious to spot some mantas for the first time.  It was deep but really clear.

The first time we spotted one was a moment I won't forget - these guys are incredible!

They seem to just float by effortlessly.  I'd say many of them were about 6 feet wide but we saw a few guys that had to be more like 10 feet in wingspan.

The current was really strong so the boat would drop us off, we would float with the current until we didn't see any more, then we'd hop back in the boat and watch the surface of the water for new mantas coming by.  Most were swimming into the current so we would meet them face to face.

A black shadow at the surface with little wingtips breaking the water meant it was time to jump in and go again!

Such an amazing experience!  We have snorkeled several places hoping to see them in years past but this was the first time it worked out.

The open water snorkeling was quite a workout so we were ready to take a little break.  Nearby, the kids had spotted a tiny sandy island and asked if we could stop there.  The nice part about having a private boat was that it was on our schedule!

We claimed it as Kirkham Island - Population: 4 (for about half an hour until a few other boats joined us)

At the end was an even smaller island.  The kids were happy to claim that they have likely visited the smallest island in Indonesia.

Total paradise!

Such perfect water...

Our final stop of the day was Gili Laba, off the northern coast of Komodo Island.  I loved these coves because we could just jump off the boat and swim or snorkel to our hearts' content.  It was the most populated place we visited our entire trip, and we ended up moving one cove over to spend the night...not because of the noise and lights from the other boats, but because the crew wanted better cell service to text their friends :)

Later in the afternoon, Shawn took us up to the best overlook to catch the sunset and enjoy the views.

We saw lots of Komodo deer grazing around.

Alex and Shawn had lots of fun taking pictures together.  It took several tries but Alex finally managed to get in a panoramic picture three times!

Enjoying our last evening on the islands.

The view over Komodo only got better as the sun went down.

 

We got great views of Sangeang, the volcanic island we'd seen from the plane.  It's apparently pretty active and I enjoyed seeing the smoke rising from the peak.

What a gorgeous evening!  Such a perfect final sunset for our trip.  By this point, we'd experienced everything we had hoped to see and do, so whatever else lay ahead was just icing on the cake.