After an uneventful overnight sail from West Timor, the crew of Amandla arrived safely in the town of Kalabahi, Alor and joined the other boats in the anchorage for sundowners on MV Atlantis. (Click here for ‘August Part I’ to read about our time in West Timor).
The next day, we were introduced to Itha Peni (+62 823 4055 2732), a wonderful local tourism official who would be our guide throughout our stay in Kalabahi.
Itha took incredibly good care of us sorting out data plans, arranging dinners in town, helping us provision and finding a doctor for a minor treatment.
On 5 August, we went out on the first of two snorkels/dives on Alor’s Pantar Straight and saw the best coral reefs we have since The Tuamotus. With the exception of a few local fishermen, we had the pristine reefs all to ourselves.
We opted to snorkel/dive Alor with Thomas (+62 813 3964 8148), a dive master and owner of Alor-Dive given his extensive knowledge of the area and his ability to navigate the VERY strong currents.
In between our two days with Alor-Dive, Adriano, Fabio, and I accompanied a few other boats on an organized tour of local villages while The Captain remained on board fixing things ☹.
The first visit was to Kabola where we met the Monbang Tribe who notably once wore clothing made out of bark. The greeted us with a welcome dance and then shared several of their crafts with us such as fire making, home building, stone carving, and manufacturing bark clothing.
The second visit was to Kampung where we met members of the Takpala Abui tribe.
The highlights for me included a tour of one of the multi-story homes made from bamboo and palm leaves…
and seeing my first Moko Drum. Used in rituals and generally required as part of a bridal dowery in Alor, these drums are in short supply, and must often be borrowed or mortgaged.
The formal Alor welcome ceremony for the Sail Indonesia Rally Fleet was held on 9 August with dancing and gift giving during the day followed by a dinner in the evening.
After posing for many selfies at the request of local girls, Fabio and his father Adriano sadly departed Alor on 10 August.
Given a tip from Thomas of Alor-Dive, The Captain and I headed off to the uninhabited, volcanic island of Komba / Batu Tara. There was lots of smoke but sadly (or possibly luckily) the lava was not flowing while we were anchored there for three days.
From Komba, we headed to the Sea World anchorage on Flores, via North Hading and hired Afram (+62 821 4617 8540) to drive us and the crew of SY Tiger Lilly to the tri-color volcanic lakes at Kelimutu. We set out on Indonesia’s Independence Day (August 17) and came across many towns celebrating along our way.
After a 3-hour drive (with many stops for pictures) we arrived at Kelimutu. Rising to 1,639 m, Kelimutu is believed to be the abode of spirits and to have a very powerful force of nature.
The color of the lakes is always changing as a result of chemical reactions from minerals contained in the lake, perhaps triggered by volcanic gas.
There were several macaque monkeys about which made the experience just that much more awesome.
From Sea World, we sailed to Labuan Bajo via Bari to purchase Komodo National Park tickets and provision. Linda Takko (+62 811 447 657) owner of Komodo Cruises was the go-to provider for us and many others in the fleet that sought clean fuel, water, engine parts and/or general assistance.
After a few more repairs, we left Labuan Bajo for Komodo National Park on 23 August. We opted to visit the famous Komodo Dragons on Rinca rather than Komodo Island.
From the house dragons (fed nearby the ranger station to ensure all tourists see a few dragons regardless of how deeply they choose to explore the island) to those feeding on feral water buffalo captures far in the interior, we were not disappointed.
For Cardinal Guzman’s The Changing Seasons
Accompanied by our knowledgeable local naturalist guide, Sofiana, we set off with the crew of SY Tiger Lilly in search of dragons. Sofiana carried a long forked stick to protect us from dragon attacks.
The dragon thinks the stick is the forked tongue of another animal. However, the stick will not be enough to detract an angry dragon or one drawn to the smell of blood.
Dragons infest their prey with the bacteria in their bite and feast on their prey after they succumb to the poison. In brief spurts, dragons can reach speeds of 20k per hour but when we saw them they were moving slowly.
More dangerous on the island are the snakes with the green pit viper holding the ‘most dangerous’ title. We managed to avoid encountering these asps, much to the disappointment / relief of those in our touring party.
Komodo National Park is not limited to dragons!
We spent time in several anchorages exploring the extensive underwater paradise of Komodo National Park, swimming with mantas, turtles, and a variety of colorful fish and anemones.
On 28 August, we left Komodo National Park and bid farewell to East Nusa Tenggara, our home for the month of August. Westward Ho!
Submitted for Cardinal Guzman’s The Changing Seasons and for the Daily Post Weekly Photo Challenge: Mirror
It’s amazing to try to perceive that you’ve experienced in a short time what some would in their entire lifetime. And I say, let the dragons be slow and the sleeping lava sleep!! 😮
??? Indeed Manja. This morning we are sailing along the ma coast of Bali with an eye toward Gunung Agung. The fishing fleet is coming in with their multi-colored sails. I hope their catch was bountiful. Sending you lots of love fromthe Bali Sea ⛵️✨
Just Wow! So enjoying your adventures.
Ahoy there Sol. Thank you for sailing along with us virtually. How are your plans to sail off into the sunset coming along?
Wow, you guys are having the most intense and memorable experiences right now. Having local guides and help from the rally organizers/supporters seems to really help to get the most of your time in Eastern Indonesia. These photos are incredible, Lisa!! Thanks for sharing.
What a fabulous month! Sailing along with you through photos is such a treat. 🙂
I hope I live a long, long time, but if I died tomorrow, I would die happy. Thank you for sailing along with me Lisa.
What a wonderful adventure you and your Captain are having, Lisa! Your wildlife photos are so awesome. I remember my dad telling me about the Komodo Dragons. I didn’t realise how huge they are. 😯
Given how much I love your wildlife captures your compliment means a lot Sylvia. I hope you make your way to Komodo some day. Would love to see your captures.
Love this post!! The photos, and in particular the portraits, are terrific! (The woman in the purple hijab is such a fabulous shot as is the one of the woman in front of her house.)
The houses made from bamboo and palm leaves are so beautiful and so “environmentally friendly.” (We saw something similar in Central Viet Nam and also Northern Thailand, but very different designs from each other.
The fish amd anemones are stunning! What a treat!
The tribal prople are so interesting. It’s great to see how proud the artist is of his beautiful sculpture. Love the bark clothing of the Mongang tribe. So cool….!
What an adventure!
Peta
??? Thank you for all of your kind compliments Peta and for hanging out with me here.
Such a beautiful post, Lisa! We almost made it here. Komodo National Park was on our travel plan of September. Unfortunately, we had to cancel our trip. Thanks for sharing these wonderful captures of life on the island. Looks like we missed quite a bit! 🙂
I am so very sorry to hear that you had to cancel your trip and am very hopeful you will be able to reschedule in the future. Komodo was magical. Thank you for sharing the dragons with me here ?
Wow! is all I can say…and maybe yikes to the Dragons! & Love the colour of the water in the volcano’s and i loved the turquoise blue and gold dresses of the dancers! The Coral reefs were spectacular!! Sail Safe to your next adventure!! <3 T.
? Thank you for all the love Teresa! Indonesia just keeps on delivering. We are sailing up the east coast of Bali today. The Captain is on watch and giving me a bit of time to catch up on blogging. Life is good ⛵️
Wow! What an adventure! I love your write up on your Indonesian trip.
I thoroughly agree with Manja. You have achieved so much in such a short period of time.
Is there a book in the pipe line? How long are you going to be in Asia?
??? Thank you for your lovely compliment! Its been quite a whirlwind with all there is to see and do in this great country. We are sailing up the east coast of Bali today toward Lovina where we will have our visas renewed over the next week. Plan is to travel Indonesia through the end of October and then onward to Singapore/Malaysia. The amount of time we will spend there depends on whether I can find work and the results of the Captain’s CT scans. I would love to write a book someday but need to improve my writing style first. Hopefully practice will make perfect overtime.
Perhaps we will meet in Asia. At the moment, I still have hurdles to overcome?.
Bali, heh! Ok, I’ll get the pop corn ready for the next write up?.
I look forward to your overcoming your hurdles and heading on over to Asia. It would be great to meet in person ??
??
truly amazing!!
I am delighted you think so Aletta! Indonesia has so much awesome on offer it is hard not to have an amazing time here.
Wow again! You don’t want to mess with the Komodo Dragons!! Probably not with the Green Pit Viper either! Was it scary to be around the Komodo Dragons?
The snorkeling looks more peaceful. Wonderful adventures.
Surprisingly,I was not scared to be around the Komodo Dragons (or the snakes I didn’t see). Perhaps it is because our guide Sofiana seemed so absolutely calm (as long was we stayed close and didn’t wander off). Or perhaps I have this silly belief that they would cordon off the dragons like at a zoo if there was really a danger. Luckily, I didn’t read this article about a few deaths before heading into Rinca ??.
‘”Gone are the days of goofing around with the lizards, poking their tails, hugging their backs and running in front of them, pretending they’re being chased”, said Muhamad Saleh, who has worked with the animals since 1987.’
Wow, just wow. The people, the creatures, the nature of Alor to Komodo National Park. The locals seem so nice, going out of their way to show you around and making sure all of you are comfortable. Amazing to hear that there is data and wifi over there too 🙂 Lol at Fabio being a hit with the local ladies. He certainly looks like a charming guy and I am sure he is.
Love that shot of the monkey and the lake – it must have been Mr Wobbles’ friend and he came to say hi to you 🙂 Looking to hearing about your next adventure x
? Thank you for your ‘wows’. Indonesia has been pretty spectacular so far. The locals are incredibly nice and do go out of their way to make sure we have a great time. And their kindness is really genuine. We are lucky to have affordable data when we are in town. The Captain prefers to hang out in anchorages with only a reef and a palm tree so sometimes I have to without Internet for a few days to a week but that is okay. Fabio is a really nice and super smart guy. We loved having him visit! We are sailing in Bali now and have seen lots of monkeys here. Tell Mr Wobbles that we are headed to Kalimantan (Borneo) in early October where we will get to see Orangutans. I bet he would enjoy hanging out with them too!
Beautiful ship’s wheel. Stunning photograph of bright blue fish above red anemones. So interesting to see how people live along side such wild life as the Komodo dragons.
Ahoy Diane! Thanks for your visit.
The artisan sells his wheels to local boaters to helm their ships. Master craftsmanship in solid wood.
It is totally cool how people live among the dragons. There have been a few incidents in the press, but for the most part, the dragons leave the people alone.
Delighted you liked the photograph of the fish swimming in the anemone. Am trying to develop my underwater skills and have found that the pictures only turn out well if I get up really, really close. A bit of a challenge since I haven’t yet worked out the courage to dive (I only snorkel) but this particular reef was quite shallow.
Lisa I am so astounded by everything you have posted I am left speechless. A most unusual state of affairs. The stunning lake, the ‘dragons’, the spectacular snorkeling and diving, the genuine warmth of the people. All so marvelous. I should very much love to be a stowaway!
Oh how I would love to have you and Dave stowaway on Amandla ? (always welcome!). Thank you for your very generous compliment on the post. Indonesia continues to be awesome. Traveling Bali right now savoring life!
What a feast of life and colour. I loved the markets and the expression on the face of the komodo dragon at sunrise, who clearly does not approve of conversation at breakfast time.
Thank you for considering my post a ‘feast’. I loved the expression on that dragon’s face as well – Luckily their looks can’t kill as their bite does.
Those dragons are formidable! I can’t imagine having one come at me 20k per hour (short spurts, or not). YIKES! I had no idea how they poisoned their prey. Stunning photos, especially the ones of the turtle and the blue fish against the orange (coral?)!
Formidable indeed ?. Luckily none of them charged us! Thank you for your lovely compliment on the photos. The blue fish is swimming in an sea anemone . The largest one I have every seen – HUGE.
I am truly loving your posts Lisa! Your photography is stunning and wow what a unique place and culture. Can’t wait to read your next post!
? Thank you so much for your kind compliments Nicole. I hope that your travels bring you to Indonesia someday. You would LOVE it. We are in Bali right now and it is magical.
Astounding. I used the Komodo dragon once in a novel. But never saw any. This is all like going back in time, rihgt? 🙂
#Prehistoric ?
Tell me more about your Komodo novel!
Where to begin …? The breadth of what you are seeing (and showing us in this post alone) is staggering. I have a sick fascination with komodo dragons; I am absolutely terrified by their appearance and the stories I’ve read and heard, but I have that drawn-to-a-car-accident need to look at them and scream. (Haha – my husband is not enjoying my reading this evening.) The people’s faces are so lovely – kind, warm, and attractive. My faves are the woman in the hijab at the market and the boy behind the ladder. And the beautiful sea creatures are a nice reprieve after the wretched dragons! 🙂 SO much wonderfulness here – I can’t believe what experiences you are having – and your ability to share it is so great!
Ahoy from Bali Lexie! Indonesia has continued to be a wonderful adventure full of welcoming smiles in the month of September. But still, nothing has topped the visit with those Komodo Dragons. I have shared your ‘sick fascination’ with them for many years and seeing them in person was a dream come true…that thank goodness, didn’t turn into a nightmare come true. I felt very safe among them with our guide Sofiana. Luckily I didn’t read this article before our visit or I might have been a bit more freaked out ?. Wish you’d been here to share it with me. Thanks for sharing it with me virtually. Hug.
Amazing shots under and over!! Love those kimodo dragons. I need one to scare the yapping dogs away 😉
? The yapping dogs would be lucky to outrun the dragons and avoid their deadly bite! Delighted that you found these shots amazing Terri. Indonesia is a dream!
Incredible! By the time I get to the end of your post I’m so bowled over I’ve forgotten half the things I wanted to say! 🙂 🙂 But I remember smiling at the Captain, sprawled on the prow, and admiring those amazing bamboo houses, and the volcano and the fish with orange background! Super stuff, Lisa! Safe and happy travels 🙂
Thank you so much Jo. Indonesia has so much awesome going on that I thought my head was going to explode in August. We are in Bali now which is just magical. Loving every moment!
Wow, excellent captured. So impressive… 🙂
? Thank you Drake! Can’t miss in Indonesia! This place is magical ??❤️
Looks like you’re enjoying the islands! That shot of the purple/blue fish against the red coral–GAWD!! You had to buy tickets to Komodo in Labuanbajo? The shots of the dragons give me chills. Make me want to return. Hey, on Kelimutu, are there three lakes, is one still red?
I ❤️ Indonesia Mr Badfish. From Timor to Bali this place has just been amazing. Thought of you when I drank my first Kopi Luwak! and think of you whenever I meet someone named Made….which happens often in Bali.
When we were in Kelimutu, one lake was blue, one was blue green, and one was blue green with yellow. They change colors often so I guess it is the luck of the draw what one will see on any given day.
The required tickets for Komodo National Park and where to buy them remains a mystery to me, but here is our story. In LBJ, we bought the following for every day that we were in the park 1) Watercraft Admission (SY Amandla’s Park Pass) Rp 100,000 – we were told we could only buy this in LBJ. I do not know if that is factual. 2) Visitor Admission Rp 150,000 per person 3) Snorkeling Pass – Rp 15,000 per person. When we got to Rinca, we were required to buy the following for the day as well: 1) Local Admission Attractions Ticket Rp 50,000 per person 2) Hiking / Trekking Rp 5,000 per person 3) Nature Tourism Wildlife Observation Rp 10,000 per person. Worth every Rupiah!
Thank you for your compliment on the fish photo. He was swimming in a HUGE anemone!
Hug.
Incredible! I Like it
Thank you for you visit and comment Itah! We are so enjoying our time in Indoensia. Thank you for being part of it.
Thank You for adding my photo. It make me feel great, and thanks for trust me be your guide during in Alor.. Have a nice tour.. 🙂
You look fantastic in that photo Itha. Thank you for making our time in Alor so wonderful. We miss you!
Miss you too.. Hope we can meet again..
What a privilege to be on this journey with you. But I am glad I can see the komodo dragons from the safety of my sitting room!
The privilege is mine to have you sail with me Ann! Thank you ?
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Lisa, I love seeing the world through your eyes and your lens. You are so fortunate to experience so many sights that mere tourists would never see. Although I think I could live without seeing those snakes! The dragons are the stuff of legends- it is almost impossible to believe that they are real. They certainly look scarily real- especially with the water buffalo! Happy sailing and I look forward to further adventures!
Thank you for hanging out with me Michele! Are you back from Ireland?
I am fortunate indeed. Those dragons are #prehistoric! Had dreamed of seeing them for years! Luckily they were more interested in the water buffalo than us ?
Komodos look amazing. saw a couple at a zoo a few years ago. Seeing in this manner would be even better. I love the bright coral color also.
Thank you Karen! Sorry for my delay in responding. I did not receive an alert that you had left a comment and just noticed it here now. Hope you are doing super well!
Hi Lisa, I’m back here again. This post is well documented of Komodos. What a special adventure you had!
Thank you for taking us there!
Glad to have you back onboard Amy! Komodo National Park is an incredibly special place to visit. Am lucky to have experienced it.
[…] http://lisadorenfest.com/2016/09/04/august-part-ii-alor-to-komodo-national-park/ […]
That’s a BIG dragon!
Luckily he didn’t want to have me for lunch ??
This is a truly picturesque and lively national park, Lisa! I would love to go there soon!
I so hope you do! It was just marvelous. Actually, I really hope you can swing a multi-week tour through Indonesia – I know you’ve been to Bali but I am not sure if you’ve had the opportunity to visit elsewhere. My favorite place that we’ve sailed through thus far!
What an amazing welcome you guys got from the tribes… The dragons I would skip, especially now that you told us there are dangerous snakes as well…
Indonesia was probably the most welcoming country we ever sailed. We felt like rock-stars on every island that we visited. I can not wait to return and to explore the place even more deeply. Amazing to think how close we got to those Dragons 😱