Hello, Mr. Dragon

1-3 September 2010
Because Indonesia consists of over 17,000 islands, it would be a shame if we didn't even attempt to explore a few of them by boat. So, after arriving on Flores Island and the shockingly trash-ridden beach town of Labuan Bajo we arranged to charter (ahem) a boat for three days to take us to Komodo Island, Rinca Island, and at least a handful of others. On this fancy, and frankly over budget, excursion we would see Komodo dragons in the wild, snorkel 2+ times a day, and enjoy some serious leisure time (just in case we weren't already relaxed enough).

Arriving at the dock off the main (and only) street in downtown Labuan Bajo, we were greeted with a sight that only Dr. Seuss or maybe a few other seasoned travelers that we know would not bat an eye at. The dock was missing boards (more than 10 in some spots), slopping to the left here, the right there, and generally a laughable sight. We were assured that it was perfectly safe and led (sometimes by hand) to our boat about 50 feet away. With a dock like this, what kind of boat would you expect that we had chartered? Once on the mid sized tug-like boat, we were lead to our tidy cabin (simple bunk beds), told that we would be leaving shortly and that we should take a seat on the park like benches that took up most of the space on the bow of the boat. There aren't many who can say that they have spent the majority of three days sitting on a park bench, but Nick and I can now join those proud few.

We soon arrived at our first of many snorkeling spots alongside one of the many tiny islands in between Flores and Komodo. This spot, like all of the snorkeling we did on this particular trip, was totally amazing. The reefs were amazingly intact and full of every color you could ever imagine. Seriously, pick a color any color - we dare you! Our favorite spot of the trip was definitely "Pink Beach", named thus because a red coral species washes ashore and mixes with the sand, turning it a dainty pink color. Pink sand beach!! I could hardly believe my eyes. These diverse coral rich sites are hard to explain. We took our Panasonic "underwater" camera with us on once and got some great photos - check out the Picasa album.


As an aside our "waterproof to 10 feet deep, shockproof" Panasonic Lumix did not survive it's second underwater foray and has yet to turn on (and it's not the battery). If you have a suggestion for a good point and shoot camera with video and maybe underwater possibilities let us know ASAP.

The other half of our trip was spent trekking on Komodo and Rinca Islands for a chance to see Komodo dragons!!! We were lucky to see them at both Komodo and Rinca-- and boy are they big! They can grow up to around 3m, live up to 70 years, and weigh about 100kg. Oh yeah, and they can run between 15 and 20 km per hour. If you are ever in a sticky situation with a Komodo, climb a tree and climb it fast! It's poison and bacteria ridden saliva won't kill you for about five days, so you will probably have time to get to a hospital. Probably.

On these palm studded islands we encountered probably around twenty dragons, all doing pretty much the same thing - resting (or pretending to rest as our guides warned). We were led by young rangers with long forked sticks to protect us from an approaching dragon. You wonder what kind of protection a long stick might have on a 100kg hungry dragon? Surprisingly, one touch from this stick and a dragon is completely demoralized - he looks away away, closes his eyes, and in some cases actually skulks away in shame (or the perception of shame). It comes to my mind that this tool could be useful to young women in bars.


Nicks love of photography certainly peaked the interest of a few of these dragons. While we maintained a safe distance, Nicks "get on the ground" approach for perspective purposes (I imagine) puts him into a size class that appealed to many of the dragons. They would start smelling the air with their forked tongues, get up off their bellies, and start moving towards us - I mean Nick- at a slow yet deliberate pace. Lucky for us, our rangers were well trained and expertly wielded their forked stick.

After three days of floating in the Flores Sea, snorkeling in pristine coral reefs, observing amazing and unique wildlife, and pretending not to notice the thousands of cockroaches on our boat, we were saltily ready for a shower and a more comfortable bed. While a little rough around the edges, we compare our experiences here in Komodo National Park to the Galapagos Islands. Some of you may know that Darwin's contemporary and co-discoverer of the the theory of evolution developed many of his ideas exploring the Indonesian Archipelago. Looking out at this beautiful bay studded with islands thinking about Darwin and Wallace, endemism and evolution, Komodo Dragons and marine iguanas comparing Komodo and the Galapagos seems appropriate.