Selamat siang semua!
Good day everybody!
Welcome to FBI (aka Flores Beautiful Island) 🌺
Day 1 (October 16)- Ende to Moni
Melina, Palesa and I met at the airport at 4am for a 5:45am flight! We flew to Kupang and had an hour layover there. When we arrived in Ende we were picked up by driver/guide. We couldn’t remember his name so we called him Komodo. Stopped and picked up take away for lunch and went to a little river area for a picnic. Komodo had fresh fruit for us and we ate our local meal by the river. After lunch we started the drive from Ende to Moni. We stopped a few times along the way to look at rice fields and whatnot. We went to a traditional village for the Lio tribe. (we kept calling this the Moni Traditional village but I don't think that was the actual name.) We were invited into one of the main houses and had some coffee and local tea cakes. After the village we drove to the little town and checked in to our homestay. The homestay wasn’t the nicest, but it could have been worse (and they did get worse as the trip continued😝)… we went to dinner at a place next to the home stay- we all had burgers and fries. We made a friend named Oky who was also staying at our homestay. After dinner we went back and went to bed- we were exhausted after an early morning and long day & had another early morning the next day.
Melina, Palesa and I met at the airport at 4am for a 5:45am flight! We flew to Kupang and had an hour layover there. When we arrived in Ende we were picked up by driver/guide. We couldn’t remember his name so we called him Komodo. Stopped and picked up take away for lunch and went to a little river area for a picnic. Komodo had fresh fruit for us and we ate our local meal by the river. After lunch we started the drive from Ende to Moni. We stopped a few times along the way to look at rice fields and whatnot. We went to a traditional village for the Lio tribe. (we kept calling this the Moni Traditional village but I don't think that was the actual name.) We were invited into one of the main houses and had some coffee and local tea cakes. After the village we drove to the little town and checked in to our homestay. The homestay wasn’t the nicest, but it could have been worse (and they did get worse as the trip continued😝)… we went to dinner at a place next to the home stay- we all had burgers and fries. We made a friend named Oky who was also staying at our homestay. After dinner we went back and went to bed- we were exhausted after an early morning and long day & had another early morning the next day.
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Day 2 (October 17)- Moni to Bajawa
We woke up at 3:30am so that we could leave the homestay by 4am to go to Kilimutu. This “hike” was MUCH easier than our previous volcano hike at Ijen. It rained on us most of the way to the top, but luckily we had borrowed umbrellas from the local ladies selling coffee in the parking lot. Since it was raining we couldn’t really see the sunrise over the crater lake, but it was still beautiful. We headed back to the homestay and had breakfast- some sort of banana pancake thing and fresh fruit. After breakfast we packed up and started the drive to Bajawa. To get there we had to go back through Ende and stopped at the local market to stretch our legs. We drove a few more hours and stopped at the “Blue Stone beach”. It was overcast but the beach was still beautiful and filled with tons of blue stones of all shapes and sizes. We had a seafood lunch by the beach and then enjoyed some chill time by the ocean. It’s was calming and much needed. After lunch we started the rest of the drive to Bajawa. We checked in to our homestay (this was the worst of them all with mold on the ceiling/walls), picked up takeaway (fried chicken and nasi goreng) and headed to a natural hot spring. Since it was night time we were the only ones there. It was cool but a little creepy to be there alone. We headed back to the homestay, took showers and crashed 😴 thankfully we didn’t have to be up super early the next morning.
At the top of Kilimutu, waiting to see if the clouds cleared
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Day 3 (October 18) Bajawa to Aimere
When we woke up we packed up and had breakfast at the homestay- this time was toast with a skillet potato omelet thing. We headed to the Ogi waterfall! It was a 20min walk (basically flat the whole way) from the car park. We walked along rice fields and saw lots of various fruits (papaya, cashew, berries, pumpkins). After the waterfall we headed back to the hot springs so we could see it and take pictures in the daylight (we didn’t get in this time). After we took pics we went to Bena Traditional Village. This one was set up as more of a tourist destination- we paid an entrance fee, signed a guest book and the villagers were selling some of their homemade/handwoven crafts. They were all beautiful and I bought a small one 🤪. From there we drove to Aimere- a beach town. We checked into our homestay (this time on the beach) and explored a bit! The beach was beautiful but again it was overcast, so we just walked around and enjoyed listening to the waves crash! We headed “in to town” for dinner (there wasn’t much of a town & the restaurant was on the side of the main road). The food was delicious and freshly cooked! Our driver knew the owner/chef so we stayed and chatted for awhile before heading back and going to sleep.
When we woke up we packed up and had breakfast at the homestay- this time was toast with a skillet potato omelet thing. We headed to the Ogi waterfall! It was a 20min walk (basically flat the whole way) from the car park. We walked along rice fields and saw lots of various fruits (papaya, cashew, berries, pumpkins). After the waterfall we headed back to the hot springs so we could see it and take pictures in the daylight (we didn’t get in this time). After we took pics we went to Bena Traditional Village. This one was set up as more of a tourist destination- we paid an entrance fee, signed a guest book and the villagers were selling some of their homemade/handwoven crafts. They were all beautiful and I bought a small one 🤪. From there we drove to Aimere- a beach town. We checked into our homestay (this time on the beach) and explored a bit! The beach was beautiful but again it was overcast, so we just walked around and enjoyed listening to the waves crash! We headed “in to town” for dinner (there wasn’t much of a town & the restaurant was on the side of the main road). The food was delicious and freshly cooked! Our driver knew the owner/chef so we stayed and chatted for awhile before heading back and going to sleep.
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Day 4 (October 19) Aimere to Ruteng
We got to sleep in slightly and had a leisurely morning at the homestay. Palesa and Melina went for a walk after breakfast and I sat and read for awhile. It was very peaceful and relaxing. Mid-morning we headed to our final traditional village- Belaraghi. It was beautiful to see, but this one had a different feeling to me. While the others had kind of had a touristy feel, this one felt more homey to me. So I stayed by the car and just observed the village from a distance while Melina and Palesa went to explore. We continued the drive to Ruteng and stopped to have lunch in Ndora. After lunch we made some pit stops to view rice fields and Ranamese Lake. We even saw some monkey friends along the way. When we made it to Ruteng we headed to the local market that was still in full swing. It was cool to see all the fruit and veggies that people were selling. Although the meat just sitting out with flies all over kinda grossed me out. After the market we went to our homestay to freshen up before going to dinner. We went to a more western style restaurant (were were craving burgers after lots of local food) for dinner.
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Day 5 (October 20) Ruteng to Labuan Bajo
We woke up around 8am to get ready. Breakfast at the homestay again- this time fresh fruit, toast and eggs. Once we were ready we headed out and went to a city view point. It was here we realized that Flores island has more churches than mosques. There was lots of Jesus and Mary statues around Ruteng… the drive this day was the most “sickening”- very twisty turney roads (our driver called them spaghetti roads) up and down two mountains/volcanoes all while it POURED down rain.. We were supposed to stop for lunch but all of us felt a little nauseous, so we just got snacks and sodas instead. We reached the spider web rice field and got lucky with a break in the rain. This one had a little hike- it’s was definitely a hike, but was only 25ish min to the top. After the rice field, it continued to pour as we made our way to Labuan Bajo. When we arrived our driver asked where we wanted to eat- we picked Italian and he took us to a DELICIOUS place! Melina and Palesa split a pizza and I had tortellini which was amazing! After linner (it was like 4:30ish) we went to our homestay and said goodbye to Komodo (our driver). We all freshened up and had a very chill evening as we got ready for our boat tour the next day!
We woke up around 8am to get ready. Breakfast at the homestay again- this time fresh fruit, toast and eggs. Once we were ready we headed out and went to a city view point. It was here we realized that Flores island has more churches than mosques. There was lots of Jesus and Mary statues around Ruteng… the drive this day was the most “sickening”- very twisty turney roads (our driver called them spaghetti roads) up and down two mountains/volcanoes all while it POURED down rain.. We were supposed to stop for lunch but all of us felt a little nauseous, so we just got snacks and sodas instead. We reached the spider web rice field and got lucky with a break in the rain. This one had a little hike- it’s was definitely a hike, but was only 25ish min to the top. After the rice field, it continued to pour as we made our way to Labuan Bajo. When we arrived our driver asked where we wanted to eat- we picked Italian and he took us to a DELICIOUS place! Melina and Palesa split a pizza and I had tortellini which was amazing! After linner (it was like 4:30ish) we went to our homestay and said goodbye to Komodo (our driver). We all freshened up and had a very chill evening as we got ready for our boat tour the next day!
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Day 6 ( October 21)- LBJ to Boat
We woke up and got ready for the boat! We were picked up at 9am and headed to the harbor. We were able to leave most of our luggage behind at the homestay and just take “what we needed”. When we got in the boat we were shown our room- underneath in the front of the boat. Literally just one big bed and an AC🤪. Once everybody was on board (18 total) were were given a briefing and set sail. We went for about 45min and then stopped at Kelor island. We hung out at the beach and snorkeled. The water was beautiful but most of the coral had died. We had about 2 hours there before we set sail for the next place- Manjarite. At Manjarite we jumped off the boat and went snorkeling again. So many bright colorful fish! I saw Angel fish, rainbow fish, a lion fish and a puffer fish. One person on our boat saw a turtle… after awhile everybody got back on board and we headed to see the flying foxes (aka bats) leave to hunt for the night. This reminded me of Carlsbad caverns in New Mexico. The sunset was beautiful so it was worth it. After we watched the bats, the boat set sail for Padar- it took about 3 hours, and most people were asleep (myself included) before we arrived there. Which was fine because we weren’t getting off until the morning anyway…. Food for the day on the boat: fruit & donuts for breakfast. Fried fish, rice, noodles & spicy veggies for lunch. Shrimp (spicy and non), chicken, rice and veggies for dinner. Fried bananas with chocolate and cheese for snack in the mid afternoon.
Statue at the harbor
Bon voyage!
Jumping off the boat! So much fun!
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Day 7 (October 22)- Boat to LBJ
Everybody woke up at 4:00am to get off the boat at Padar island. The sun was already rising with beautiful colors. To get to the top of the island and see all 3 beaches (pink, black & white) you had to climb 815ish stairs- I made it about 200 🤪 and enjoyed the view from there. On the way down to the dock 3 wild deer wondered on to the beach- they obviously did this often and they weren’t scared by all the people. Once everybody was back on the boat the chef had breakfast ready- fried rice, eggs, fruit, and french fries. Everybody ate and just kind of chilled until we reached Komodo Island National Park! The water here was SOOO blue and we could see turtles and lots of fish by the pier; We even saw some dolphins along the way! As we got off the boat and walked on to the island we could already see the dragons!! We met with rangers and had a briefing to keep us safe. We got lucky to see about 10 dragons in total with one even wandering around and then posing so we could take pictures! Don’t worry we were about 5ft behind and had multiple rangers with sticks surrounding us just in case. After K.N.P. we headed to the pink beach! It was beautiful!! Although not as pink as I was expecting based on pictures I’ve seen. I enjoyed snorkeling around and saw some pretty fish! (This was the only time I used my GoPro (wish I would have taken it for the other snorkeling spots too). After the pink beach we started the journey back to Labuan Bajo. We made a stop at turtle point, but I didn’t see any turtles 😖. We arrived back in LBJ around 7pm. The boat company took us back to our homestay where we checked in and hit the showers. Palesa and Melina headed out to dinner, I stayed to shower and sleep. I was sound asleep before 9pm 😴. Woke up and chatted with the girls when they got back and then we all went to sleep before our flight the next morning.
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Day 8 (October 23) LBJ to Surabaya
Our flight left LBJ at 10am, we had a direct flight to Surabaya and I was home by 11:45am! Unpacked, started laundry and took a nap! Haha We had a great trip and are looking forward to our trip over Christmas!… while on this trip I read 3.5 books 🤪 it was nice to get back into my reading groove after not wanting to read for a few weeks.
Our flight left LBJ at 10am, we had a direct flight to Surabaya and I was home by 11:45am! Unpacked, started laundry and took a nap! Haha We had a great trip and are looking forward to our trip over Christmas!… while on this trip I read 3.5 books 🤪 it was nice to get back into my reading groove after not wanting to read for a few weeks.
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Adios for now,
Margaret💛
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Fantastic photos! Thanks for sharing. Keep them coming. Merry Christmas.
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