Day 33
Was.... another travel day. A more civilised 12.00 pick up, for a 15.15 flight, which was late, and we'd done so well with the reliability of our flights. Lost an hour, on arrival in Labuan Bajo, again, no wonder I'm confused, nobody to collect us, but a nice taxi driver called the hotel and he was on his way.
A small beach resort, called Luwansa, seems ok, but it's dark, so we'll go and get a light dinner, Brian has to eat something, after nothing last night and a very small breakfast, and a milkshake and cookie at the airport, healthy living or what?
It's December, the carols are playing and the staff are all wearing festive 'deely boppers' it's going to be a long December for them!
Day 34
We went and lay on some sun loungers, in the shade. Though I obviously wasn't as in the shade as I thought and have some slight red patches, but nothing too bad.
We read, did puzzles and talked to the little black cat from next door. Went in the pool, not like us at all!
We did however leave the resort for dinner, the beer had been very expensive, and there seems to be a good little coffee shop/bar just over the road. We had a nice couple of beers and some food, though we were the only ones there, and we did have to keep interrupting the staff from washing their mopeds!
Day 35
Our last booked trip, and our only shared one, which could be good, or could be bad. Will they be old, young, English speaking? We were finally collected about an hour after we'd started waiting, though fortunately we were in the lobby of the hotel, not in the sun like some, or like Elena and Jaime, brother and sister from Spain, though she is now Australian and currently lives in Jakarta with her husband and 5 year old son, who were collected on-time, from their hotel 2 minutes walk away from the harbour to do the full tour of Labuan Bajo collecting 7 other people, including us, finally getting to the harbour an hour later.
The harbour terminal was mayhem, if we all end up on the correct boat it'll be a miracle. We didn't end up with all from the bus, but did end up with Elena (41) and Jaime (31), David and his wife, (late 20's) both Indonesian and from Jakarta, and two Chinese girls (mid 20's). From another bus we were then joined by a couple of guys from Malaysia (25 and 41) and six 25 year olds from Ireland who have been backpacking since September.
We were the oldest, but at least everyone spoke English to some extent. Along with Jeffrey the main guide, a photographer, Tarsi our driver a trainee guide and at least half a dozen boat crew there were a lot of us in a relatively small space. All our cabins were ensuite though and had AC so we were ok. Not so sure about the guides and crew they had one bathroom and the outdoor shower and appeared to sleep all over the boat.
The first afternoon was all about snorkeling, I think we did three, after a fab lunch. It has all blurred into one though, and as they tweaked the itinerary to try and make the best of disturbed water after the storm that came through, I can't even work out where we should have gone!
Snorkelling experience ranged from not really being able to swim, never having snorkelled and full on divers, so the first one was really an assessment I think. The swimwear choices were also interesting, Brian, me, the two Malaysians, completely covered up, the Spaniards and Indonesians in shorts and t shirt, and the Irish and Chinese in the smallest bikinis imaginable!
We enjoyed it, though the visibility wasn't great. I have to say I think the guides did a good job, there were at least two guests wearing lifejackets who had one to one support. The next snorkel was the one I wanted though. Maybe Manta Rays, I so want that. "They go against the current, and you will have no choice but to go with it" we were told, and OMG they were right. The boat pottered along with spotters on the front, now they said, so I did, first in and straight away there was a ray, no, two, no four. I had to remember to breathe. And then they were gone, or rather we were, there was no fighting that current, we all managed to stay together until we were picked up by the boat a really long way from where we started. When they said we were going again I was so happy.
Back into the boat to the start of the drift, again I was first in, but nothing to see this time, till coming out of the gloom, the eerie shape of a manta ray, they are big, about 3m across and entirely unbothered by us. I called Brian who came with the camera, and that's when my recollection gets a bit vague. I know I was with three manta rays, for a really long time, swimming yes, but not having to overly exert, and they were just staying there, below me. I was aware of David, from Jakarta, one of the poor swimmers calling to me, that "ma'am, I think we should go", looked up, and it was just he and I, and the three rays, with everyone else having been taken a long way off with the current. We must have just hit a dead spot in the water, but how lucky were we? Brian said he tried to come back to us but couldn't manage it, so no pictures, but I have memories. It also meant we could buy a manta fridge magnet, we can only buy if we see is our rule, just got to get him home without breaking his tail!
I'm sure there was a third, but it was completely forgettable. Last stop was a sandbank in the middle of the ocean, but not just us, lots of other boats too, and we've already done it, but it is a weird experience.
Back to the boat, beer and snacks, which from now on will be referred to as snakes as we were all sure that's what we were being told was on the bar. I think we were all a bit disappointed to only find fried banana! Lovely dinner and early night. We were going to be up at 04.00 for sunrise!
Day 36
A good night sleep, surprisingly, as I'd spent some time on every evening visit to the cabin killing the cockroaches that ran about when you moved anything. Never saw one on the bed, so chose not to think about it.
Fast asleep when the alarm went off, quick cup of coffee and piece of toast before going ashore to do a little hike to the top of Padar Island to watch sunrise. It did rise, we took pictures, and identified the view from the 50,000 IDR note, and checked in, from the summit having got WiFi for our flight back to Jakarta. No two seats together, but I'm sure we'll survive.
Breakfast and move to pink beach, which had the same pink tinge as the sandbank had had, before moving on to, for most people, the point of the trip, Komodo Island to look for dragons. We landed after the cruise ship, but fortunately our guide whisked us round two groups so we arrived at the watering hole alone. It felt a bit contrived, but there were 5 Komodo dragons waiting to be photographed. We had all had our photos done before the other two groups turned up, hurrah!
We ambled through the 'jungle' and did manage to catch another 4 dragons of various sizes which was fabulous.
Lunch and then an afternoon to relax while the boat moved. We got to our destination in time for those that wanted to to jump off the top deck of the boat, before going out for a snorkel. I had no wish to jump from the top, but when Jeffrey called me Mama, for the umpteenth time and dared me to jump from the lower deck I did. I know I am old enough to be mama, but being called Mama by everyone except the European's is all a bit depressing! The visibility on the snorkel left a lot to be desired, so silly video was taken instead. I just hope we do get another chance, so this isn't the last one!
The reason for mooring where we were, along with all the other boats, was the departure, at dusk , from the mangroves of the flying foxes. It was a great sight, not one you get every day with the crossword, beer and snakes (spring rolls today)
We moved to our sleeping spot before dinner, which again was a great meal, culminating in cake. It transpired it was David's 30th birthday, so singing, dancing and lots of well wishes. The singing and dancing looked set to continue long after we and the Spaniards had gone to bed, so we were quite surprised when it went quiet just before 22.00. It transpired that the 'young' people, including David, but not his wife, had been taken ashore to the beach with half the crew, and the loud speaker! They'd come back after midnight, but the Irish had then continued, on the top deck, till 04.00 ISH apparently. Does that mean they were up for 24 hours?
Day 37
It may have been them all going to bed at 04.30, or it may just be normal waking time, but I was dozing till about 05.30 when I sat bolt upright in bed having realised that when we'd left the house I wanted the car keys moving from their usual place, on the shelf, in plain sight, and I had absolutely no idea where they were. There seemed little point lying in bed worrying about this, but there was no point in staying in bed, I was awake, so I went out on deck. A cup of coffee sitting on the bowsprit looking at the islands in the peace and quiet, was a lovely start to the day. Brian came and joined me a short while later, and we were ready for our trip to the island for a short hike, and snorkelling with the baby sharks at 07.00. Or was it 07.30? Or was it 08.00? We were unaware of the late bedtime of the Irish and Chinese, and obviously some of the guides, but just after 8.00 the rest of us got a bit ansty and said we wanted to go ashore. So off we went to the beach, not realising that the others had been there the night before. I do think they disturbed the peace and tranquility of the local cat though who couldn't even open its eyes till about 10.30
The hike was short, but steep, but the view was pretty. Wait a bit for the tide, then snorkel off the beach looking for baby sharks. Bearing in mind the number of people and the shallowness of the water it was a better finish than the last one yesterday, though we didn't see any sharks, not until we were coming out and there was one little one swimming around, minding its own business in the lagoon.
Back to the boat, should have been 10.00, but the Indonesians were out snorkelling and struggling to get back, nobody's told them it would be quicker and easier to swim in the very shallow water, they tried walking over the coral, not good for anyone! Time shouldn't matter, except we had been promised docking at 11.00 as we and the Spanish had flights at 13.50. I was getting a little bit twitchy.
We arrived at the harbour at 11.30 after a final great meal, showered and wet clothes shoved into our bags. It's a real shame, disembarkation, as well as initial collection were a complete shambles. The rest of the trip had been so good. We'd had good company from the Spaniards, we can't work out what Elena does. She is now Australian, and married to an Australian. She works at the embassy which is huge apparently, they do a lot with Indonesia. Her posting is only 3 to 3.5 years, but if this, the first 10 months were spent with intensive Indonesian lessons. 4 hours tutoring in the morning and 4 hours self study in the afternoon. That's a huge investment for a relatively short posting.
The Irish guys had all been great fun, and a pleasure to be around. I'd spent a long time talking to Donal, the chief organiser. They are a bunch of school friends who had been saving for this trip since COVID, and were loving it. No cross words and lots of great experiences.
All in all a good trip to end on.
Our flight was half an hour late which was surprising, this was Garuda, more expensive, and in theory more reliable. The Batik one leaving at the same time had been on time but it didn't matter, and we'd even arrived at the airport in time to get them to change our seats so we could be next to each other.
Last beer at the hotel, just as well, £8 a pint, but as Brian had found 500,000 IDR in his bag when he'd looked for the ticket for the luggage we'd left here, that just about covered it!
Day 38
We are checked in, we've used the pool, packed as much as we can, before having a last shower before our 18.00 transfer to the airport.
We tried to make the most of our last breakfast, though it is still odd to us that breakfast foods are the same as every other foods. Today I had some fruit, some beef soup, some fried noodles with chicken, some spaghetti with chilli and garlic, and some bread and butter pudding! Porridge is going to be such a let down when we get home!
We've also been very thorough, unpacking completely so we could shake out our bags to ensure no cockroaches from the boat, before photographing and listing everything we brought and how much we wore it. Brian took an awful lot of persuasion to even contemplate travelling with only cabin baggage, but is an absolute convert. It really has made things easy.
Next blog, on the other side with our impressions of Indonesia.
