APRIL IN FLORES

Indonesia is made up of over 17,000 islands, around 6,000 of which are inhabited.  From east to west, Indonesia is about 400 miles longer than the continental United States.  It takes some time – and effort – to get to those other islands from Jakarta, which is pretty far west on the Island of Java.  But back in April, when Mike and Debbie, our friends from Portland, sent us their itinerary for their epic tour of Indonesia, we decided to meet them on the island of Flores, about 1,000 miles east of Jakarta.  We met up in Labuan Bajo, a coastal town on the west coast of Flores (and which I’ll write about in my next blog).  From there, we took a short flight to Ende in central Flores.  And then from there, it was about a 90 minute car ride to our destination for the next couple days, Kelimutu National Park.  (See what I mean about time and effort?)

Stopping to stretch our legs on the car ride from the Ende airport to our lodge outside Kelimutu National Park.

The scenery along the way did not disappoint.

The distance from any major population center meant that Kelimutu National Park, and the ecolodge where we stayed, blissfully were not overrun with people.  The main attraction in the park is a trio of volcanic lakes that range in color from black to turquoise blue.  Hiking up to the top of the park to look over the lakes as the sun rises was supposed to be a beautiful, awe-inspiring spectacle.  So we had an early dinner at the lodge, arranged to have some boxed breakfasts ready for us to take with us the next morning, and made arrangements with our guide for a very early departure.  We planned to do an early hike to the summit viewpoint (with the use of flashlights to see the trail), wait for the glorious sunrise, and then do some birdwatching on the way back down.

The view from the porch of our bungalow at the ecolodge.

Alas, when we woke up the next morning (or middle of the night, really), we were socked in with clouds and drizzle.  Undeterred, we packed up and headed to the park and started to make the ascent.  It only took about an hour to get to the top, where the drizzle persisted… but so did we.  Finally, as the sky started turning from dark grey to light grey, we realized the sun was up… but it was not going to make an appearance.  Maybe later, said our guide.  We also couldn’t see any of the volcanic lakes.  While the guardrails suggested there was… something… on the other side, the clouds had settled in the craters, so all was saw was a perspectiveless wall of white.   So we hiked back down to wait it out... and get coffee.

We waited patiently at the viewpoint at the top.  Alas, the glorious sunrise eluded us.

We tried to do some birdwatching along the way back to the parking lot.  While we heard a lot of birds, and saw a couple, they were mostly as elusive as the sun.  So, back in the parking area, we sought shelter from the drizzle under the tarps of a make-shift concession area, bought some coffee from one of the proprietors, played some cards, and looked forward to our boxed breakfast… which turned out to include a hard-boiled egg, a piece of white bread, and a banana. 

We spent probably 45 minutes trying to track this bird that was making a racket and sounded like he was RIGHT... THERE. But no.

It felt like walking through Jurassic Park.  Fortunately we didn't see any dinosaurs either.

 

Heading back down to wait it out.

Seeking shelter under an orange tarp back at the concessions near the parking lot.

At last!  The sun started to break through the clouds, so we made the ascent… again… to see what we hadn’t been able to see the first time.  And it was worth the wait. 

This lake was a dark greenish-black...

...while these two were a spectacular turquoise blue.

You'd never know it had been completely socked in with clouds only moments earlier.

Definitely worth the wait... and 2x round trip hike.

We were pretty much the only people in the park, but we couldn't take our backpacks off...

...because these jerks were EVERYWHERE (if you look closely at the photo with the dark green lake, you'll see what I mean) and would grab anything they could.

The next day proved to be even drizzlier than the first, so we were glad we had waited it out to see the lakes the day prior.  We took a trip to a local village to get a sense of the traditional way of life – or the traditional way life had been.  The “village” had actually burned down several years prior and been rebuilt recently to show what traditional buildings and houses looked like.  But from what we could tell, no one was actually living there.  There were some old-timers who showed us around, but it felt a little Colonial Williamsburg-Meets-Indonesia, complete with entrance fee and loaner traditional garb to wear while walking around. 

Don't mistake Mike and Andrew for some locals.

One of the village elders showing us around.

The (recreated) traditional village.  The structures are typical and unique to this part of Flores island.

In between, we spent some lazy hours at the ecolodge, which had about a dozen bungalows tucked into a river valley.  And the river was paying off given all the rain.  The lodge and the national park were both at a bit of elevation, so the temperatures were pleasant… if not downright cool for these thin-blooded Jakartans.  April in Flores proved to be a welcome escape from the concrete jungle – in the actual jungle – and a memorable reunion with good friends from home.

Andrew and I tried to do a hike around the lodge property.  Alas the rain had washed out the trail on the other side of this "bridge."

Feeling peckish after our hard-boiled egg and bread breakfast, we found this cafe for a yummy lunch.  Debbie and Mike have visited us at every post we've been overseas.  It has been amazing to have these great friends and familiar faces everywhere we go.