Eureka! We made it ….. Hello Komodo!! 98 days to go

We were up early today for the sail into our first international port Komodo.  For us, it is our third time but opted to go ashore anyway as we wanted to share the experience with my sister who had not been before.  Many others decided to stay on the ship.

Village of Flores where many of the guides live.

Long pier that takes you to the entrance of the National Park

I had a group of 24 and we did the usual walking trail that included the waterhole where dragons can always be found and the climb up to Sulphur Hill where we enjoyed a lovely vista of the harbour and the ship. 

Lunch..... the Timor Deer,  dragons only eat around 12 times a year

Then it was down to board the boat that would take us to Pink Beach.

I was disappointed with the boat supplied by our company as it was one of the first things I checked before booking for so many people…  So you can imagine how cross I was when our operator asked if he could add extra people to our already very small boat….  It was a resounding no from me…..

Nothing like the picture he sent me.....

Apart from that we still had an enjoyable trip to the beach…  Once over there you are shuttled to the beach by a smaller dingy.  The beach is lovely and clean and the water is crystal clear.  Many enjoyed the small coral reefs and the tropical fish that inhabit them…. The water was refreshing and once in it was lovely to just float around.

Not as pink as the photoshopped photos, but as you walk along the shore you can see the pink hue as the waves rolled in and out.

Then it was time to jump back into our tinnies and head back on board to enjoy a local lunch…. Lunch was an array of local cuisine, with lovely flavours and unusual textures, and if I could as for anything it would be for the food to have been hotter (temperature that is).

When we arrive back the tender queue was horrendous, and many complained that they stood for over 2 hours in the sun to head back to the ship.  We looked at the line and we looked at our watches and knew that the 3pm last tender, was a figment of Princess’s imagination.   The end of the line nearly reached the market, so that is where we headed…  Then decided to sit and enjoy a Bintang in the shade until the queue was reduced to an acceptable length.

The intended subject of my photo was the carved dragons in the foreground, then when I finished I realise I captured the lovely lady in the background.

Well earned!

Nup that line was not going down

There was a ship in town, so  the locals came to sell their wares and the kids had fun frolicking in the water

Back on the last tender and the official sail away time that had come and gone, we headed to our back deck and debriefed with our friends until finally the engines roared and we started to move out of the bay.

Tonight was an exceptionally beautiful sunset….

We had the most amazing Sunset this evening

Are we there yet … 99 days to go

Ditto, Ditto, Ditto…..

And today's highlight, we decided to have lunch in Sabatini’s which transforms into Alfredo’s Pizzaria during the day. Even though we were a large group we found service a little slow considering we were the first table in and by looking around us, the last table to eat.  The pizzas were good but they were missing our favourite Calzone from the menu.

Enjoyed the sun out the back as we passed some of the small islands of Timor and Indonesia on our way to Komodo.

Another good show in the Princess Theatre, Erwin G Urbi, born in Hawaii, but lives in England…  A lot of the performers currently on the ship have had several shows.  This would be due to the fact that between Brisbane and Singapore, there is not much opportunity for change over.