It was in Labuan Bajo, a small port town on the island of Flores and gateway to the Komodo National Park, that our adventure continued.
We started with a three-day liveaboard to explore the park along the water. From the first evening, the spectacle was already incredible: at sunset, thousands of bats left the mangroves to take flight. Seeing all these silhouettes crossing the sky at the same time was quite a magical moment.
The next day, wake up at 4 a.m. to reach Padar Island before sunrise. After a short hike, we discovered one of the most famous panoramas in Indonesia, with its three bays surrounded by barren hills. The place is magnificent, although its popularity inevitably attracts many visitors. Fortunately, the island is large enough to be able to get away and fully enjoy the scenery.
We then discovered Pink Beach, recognizable by its pink hue created by tiny red fragments coming from corals mixed with white sand.
The day continued with the famous Komodo dragons. Observing them up close was necessarily special: these immense lizards, which can exceed three meters, only live naturally in this region of the world. On the other hand, the visit left us a little mixed. The hike, announced as lasting two hours, was actually quite short, with a lot of time devoted to explanations and photos. We felt more like an organized meeting than a real wild exploration. An interesting experience to do once, but one that we probably wouldn't do again.
We also snorkeled at Manta Point. Despite its name, we didn't see any mantas this time, but the spectacle was incredible: thousands of fish, turtles, sharks and this sensation of evolving in the middle of a huge natural aquarium.
But beyond the landscapes and animals, it is also the encounters that marked this stage. We shared the adventure with several travellers, including a group of South Africans with whom we had a great time.
Our best encounter remains this Indonesian mother in her fifties, who came to travel with her daughter in her country of origin. Now based in the Netherlands, she immediately touched us with her humor, her open-mindedness and her kindness. In a few hours, she had become our travel mom.
Little anecdote: it was the first time we did a liveaboard, mainly because Séb had always been seasick. But after all the boat trips we did in the Philippines, it seems that he is now immune.
After this break on the water, we finished our discovery of Komodo with several dives around the park. And here again, the place impressed us: numerous mantas, sharks, turtles, colorful reefs and exceptional underwater life. The currents, sometimes powerful, make the dives even richer and attract incredible marine diversity.
Komodo was a mix of incredible landscapes, exceptional marine life and above all great encounters. A unique stopover, with its perfect moments and its small disappointments, but which will inevitably remain among the great memories of our trip.
