The Seas of Flores, Indonesia
In the morning after some very mediocre hotel breakfast with a view of the sea, we took a mini van to the harbor as for today, we’re going to get on board to the phinisi boat(Traditional Indonesian sailing ship originating from South Sulawesi) we rented out for 2 nights from Cajoma Indonesia.
We set out at about 9am and got to the port in no time. We waited for about 5 minutes before taking a motor boat to the main boat, because the main boat can be posted up directly at the port.
As we entered the cabin, we were greeted with fresh welcome drinks. I think it was just fresh fruit juice(I don’t remember, it’s been three years.) In the cabin, we sat in the main area of the boat, the dining room which also served as a lounge, where we were greeted by the staff, who then gave us a rundown and briefing about the activities we were about to be doing during our stay.
Not much really happened then, so fast forward, we went to our rooms. I stayed in a three bed bedroom with two of the other dudes, who are also my friends. The room isn’t particularly big, but very tidy and just “nice.” Entering the room also showed us, what a beautiful view we had just in-front of our beds.
So right after settling in of course I did some exploring around the deck. From the bow of the ship to the main steering room. I saw the steering wheel, the compass, and the depth level meter.
Once we got to explore the whole area, we were served a good lunch, mostly seafood clearly. Melting in our mouths, the food felt very refreshing which ultimately gave us a charge to hike up a hill under the scorching sun, but then gave us a beautiful view point of the opposite island. The cyan water transitioning into the deep blue , creating a stunning gradient that complements the verdant hills and tranquil anchored boats. The peaceful atmosphere is framed by the lush green of the landscape and the dramatic, cloudy sky overhead.
Being on board, that gave us access to the sea 24/7, which also meant… we went snorkeling. A LOT. We could jump in the water two to three times a day in different spots. At first we were obligated to wear our life vests, yet feeling held back and couldn’t “free dive” I found it kind of boring. So I asked the guide if I could just take the life vest of, and naturally he asked whether or not I can swim, I replied yes and he said “Ok, just hold on to this rope.”
As I held on the rope I tried to go deep into the water, free diving essentially, checking out the corals up close. At some certain places the coral and the underwater view wasn’t that grand, just a few corals which were unsaturated in color with some fish swimming around, and sand.
So after the first snorkeling session, we went back on board to take shelter from the scorching sun, it was about 12-1pm at this point. So we showered and got changed, did a bit of photo session on deck.
Soon sunset came around, and the sky started glowing a bright, rich, smooth yellow. We watched the sunset on deck as we approached Kalong Island to watch the bats and nocturnal airborne animals set of.
Beautiful isn’t it? Our world as a raw , away from humans modernizations. Where the birds flock and fly in the sky, the sun gently touch anything in its path.
So at about 6pm, we stopped moving, and there they started to emerge from the trees of the island, at first it was just one, then five, then 15 maybe, and before you know it, the sky was swarming with bats flying, setting out to go hunt their meals. They all started from one area and all headed to the same direction. We watched in awe, while eating cup noodles trying to warm ourselves from the plunge we did earlier before.
As we had our dinner the sun had sunken into the horizon, sky was black, yet not dark. Stars, they lit up the sky, glimmering as it were a black canvas that had glitter on it. So once I finished dinner I went out, climbed the ladders to the top part of the boat. Admiring once again the natural beauties that unfolded in-front of my eyes.
I felt like a pirate in One Piece (Anime), sailing through the dark of the seas with friends and family guided by nothing but the stars. Suddenly some friends also came up, feeling bored we started to do some karaoke. Singing old songs which I didn’t mind truly as some of the old songs actually hit hard.
We didn’t sing for long, at about 10pm we went back to our rooms because we had to wake up the next day to catch the sunrise on Padar Island.
😍😍😍