Lombok to Flores by boat (or when dragons prove to be the least of your worries)

Sailing from Cartagena to Panama was one of the highlight's of our year in Latin America, so when we heard about boats traveling between Lombok and Flores, we decided to sail our second sea and get in on the Indonesian version of life aboard. 

About a week before we were due to depart, another tourist vessel sunk off the coast of Sumbawa Besar, stranding 20 odd tourists (and leading ultimately to the presumed death of two Spanish men) and casting serious aspersions on Indonesia's already questionable maritime safety record. 

We weren't exactly feeling confident about our choice- especially after trying to contact the company for about a week and hearing nothing but conspicuous silence. But after asking around, we learned that Kencana Adventures was NOT in fact the one that had sunk (apparently they just have shit customer relations skills) and our cruise would depart as scheduled.

Everyone else on our boat had of course heard about the accident, so there was much checking of lifejackets, life boats and general equipment once we got on board. We left Labuan Lombok on Thursday afternoon, sailing east for our first overnight stop near the island of Gili Bola. 

Sailing is so beautiful when the water is calm, it comes as quite a shock to realize just how horrendous is becomes when the weather picks up. On the afternoon of the second day we were chilling at the stern (oops- bow) of the boat, playing cards and drinking beers, when it became apparent that the waves were getting bigger, the sky getting darker, and everybody's faces getting paler. By 6pm the ship was pitching and rolling badly, a lot of people had progressed from white to green and jokes about shipwrecks were no longer funny. Dinner was hastily served (and eaten by a few) and then the crew set about strapping everything that moved down, handing out sea-sickness pills and helping staggering tourists onto their mats for what proved to be an insanely long night. 

The one positive thing about sea-sickness is that it makes it impossible to think about anything apart from just how wretched you feel. So while the few people who weren't sick were terrified, I was just miserable. The crew spent all night on watch and were clearly concerned; two of them were actually sick as well which made me feel less like a pathetic land-lubber. 

At one point the French girl beside me told me she was going to get life jackets and grabbed one for me as well. Water was sloshing in over the sides of the lower deck. Still, the whole thing felt kind of surreal and like I said...intense nausea has its benefits. 

When morning finally broke in the morning, we were all looking pretty fragile. The sea had subsided somewhat and we were in sight of land. Shipwreck jokes were back on the table. Banana pancakes were gingerly forced down. We were afloat. The worst was over. Life was good. 

We sailed into the glassy waters surrounding Gili Laba and disembarked for a hike up to a lookout point. Dry land felt really, really good beneath our feet and the views were stupendous enough to wipe out memories of the previous night.

That afternoon we continued to Komodo Island, home to the eponymous Dragon. Although they're impressively huge, the dragons were also practically comatose so we didn't get a sense of just how frightening they can be...that is, until a guide showed us a photo of another guide who had his leg bitten by one. Cue gradual backing away from comatose dragons.

Maintaining the recommended 7m distance from Komodo!

After dragon hunting we sailed to a beautiful, sheltered bay where we enjoyed an almost motionless nights sleep under the stars...bliss.

Hiking on Rinca Island

We woke up bright and early on our last morning and headed off to Rinca Island, home to more Komodo Dragons (which are apparently more aggressive than on Komodo proper) and even more spectacular views.

Then it was time for more snorkeling at yet another gorgeous deserted beach....and sailing the final leg to Labuanbajo where we all disembarked in time for a fast shower and a sunset celebratory beer in town.

But not before we all said a huge thank you to the awesome crew from Kencana- not only did they keep us alive, but they fed us, caught us squid and probably even held a few people's hair back as they threw up overboard. In short, they totally earned their tip.  Thanks!!!