I have only been on Flores for 6 days but it already feels like I've been here for a whole month. I have fallen in love with it here already and can see why there's a small group of westerners here who will never move back to their home countries.
It is shockingly beautiful, the island is huge with an insane amount of natural resources, the people are SO nice and welcoming, and we are surrounded by water.
I spent my first few days here getting associated with town. That wasn't too difficult as town is really just one main street along the water. It's very easy to navigate and has all the things you need to live comfortably.
Labuan Bajo, my home base for now, caters to many western tourists and locals alike. Labuan Bajo is the base for people who travel to Flores to go diving or to visit Komodo Island. Because of that, there are plenty of western ammenities such as a bakery, espresso, an amazing italian restaurant, and most everyone speaks English. There are also plenty of local ammenities, such as open air fish and veggie market, late night gerobaks (food carts), warungs, small stores (tokos), and plenty of mosquitos.
On Friday, I got to get out of town for the day and go exploring. I hired an ojek driver (scooter driver) and we went to a local waterfall. The drive there was a beautiful, windy, and steep drive through the middle of the island. There is lots of road construction going on and if OSHA caught wind of the way the do things here, there would be a shit storm. The roads of Indonesia are not for the faint of heart.
After turning off the main road onto a very, very bumpy country road, we drove scooter past water buffalo and villages to arrive at a trailhead. With a guide, the 3 of us hiked through jungle, rice fields, and rivers until we arrived at a very idealic waterfall. I then paid Rp 5,000 for a chicken to be sacrificed later for the waterfall to remain safe for the nearby village.
We went swimming in the deep, cool pool beneath the waterfall until we were too tired to swim anymore. Our guide took pictures of me and my driver in front of the waterfall, but when we returned to town we found that he hadn't actually taken the pictures, he just gave us a thumbs up each time he thought he did. Turns out, he doesn't know how to use cameras.
The next day I finally got to go to Repi to meet the people and see the beach where I will be living, Panta Hera. Panta Hera is Manggarai for Turtle Beach. In Bahasa Indonesia it translates as Pantai Penyu. The people of Repi speak Bahasa and Manggarai. What luck, I get to learn ANOTHER language! This time, the new one isn't written, only spoken.
The drive was long and hard on the behind. It was so beautiful and rewarding though. You have to drive through the mountains to the other side of the island. I am certain I have never been on a more gorgeous drive. Everybody you see is also very excited to see you because Westerners don't frequent that part of the island. You receive a 'Hello Mister!!!'(despite your gender) from all adults and squeals and shrieks of excitement from hoards of children that so badly want to give you high fives while you're speeding along the roads.
The people of Repi are so sweet and the children are adorable. Everybody is jacked up on coffee and nobody goes swimming even though they live on a beach. Crazy! They are mountain people that moved down and ended up next to the beach. But they don't fish or swim. They are missing out.
We walked along the beach and found a few turtle carcasses, which means the turtles are certainly around. I got to see the cliff on which my house will soon be built and got to go to the far end of the road to a nearby town along an extremely bumpy coastal road.
All of it was magical and we get to go back in a couple of days.
For now I am in Labuan Bajo doing footwork for later but I am very excited to start staying on the beach.
It is shockingly beautiful, the island is huge with an insane amount of natural resources, the people are SO nice and welcoming, and we are surrounded by water.
I spent my first few days here getting associated with town. That wasn't too difficult as town is really just one main street along the water. It's very easy to navigate and has all the things you need to live comfortably.
Labuan Bajo, my home base for now, caters to many western tourists and locals alike. Labuan Bajo is the base for people who travel to Flores to go diving or to visit Komodo Island. Because of that, there are plenty of western ammenities such as a bakery, espresso, an amazing italian restaurant, and most everyone speaks English. There are also plenty of local ammenities, such as open air fish and veggie market, late night gerobaks (food carts), warungs, small stores (tokos), and plenty of mosquitos.
On Friday, I got to get out of town for the day and go exploring. I hired an ojek driver (scooter driver) and we went to a local waterfall. The drive there was a beautiful, windy, and steep drive through the middle of the island. There is lots of road construction going on and if OSHA caught wind of the way the do things here, there would be a shit storm. The roads of Indonesia are not for the faint of heart.
After turning off the main road onto a very, very bumpy country road, we drove scooter past water buffalo and villages to arrive at a trailhead. With a guide, the 3 of us hiked through jungle, rice fields, and rivers until we arrived at a very idealic waterfall. I then paid Rp 5,000 for a chicken to be sacrificed later for the waterfall to remain safe for the nearby village.
We went swimming in the deep, cool pool beneath the waterfall until we were too tired to swim anymore. Our guide took pictures of me and my driver in front of the waterfall, but when we returned to town we found that he hadn't actually taken the pictures, he just gave us a thumbs up each time he thought he did. Turns out, he doesn't know how to use cameras.
The next day I finally got to go to Repi to meet the people and see the beach where I will be living, Panta Hera. Panta Hera is Manggarai for Turtle Beach. In Bahasa Indonesia it translates as Pantai Penyu. The people of Repi speak Bahasa and Manggarai. What luck, I get to learn ANOTHER language! This time, the new one isn't written, only spoken.
The drive was long and hard on the behind. It was so beautiful and rewarding though. You have to drive through the mountains to the other side of the island. I am certain I have never been on a more gorgeous drive. Everybody you see is also very excited to see you because Westerners don't frequent that part of the island. You receive a 'Hello Mister!!!'(despite your gender) from all adults and squeals and shrieks of excitement from hoards of children that so badly want to give you high fives while you're speeding along the roads.
The people of Repi are so sweet and the children are adorable. Everybody is jacked up on coffee and nobody goes swimming even though they live on a beach. Crazy! They are mountain people that moved down and ended up next to the beach. But they don't fish or swim. They are missing out.
We walked along the beach and found a few turtle carcasses, which means the turtles are certainly around. I got to see the cliff on which my house will soon be built and got to go to the far end of the road to a nearby town along an extremely bumpy coastal road.
All of it was magical and we get to go back in a couple of days.
For now I am in Labuan Bajo doing footwork for later but I am very excited to start staying on the beach.