We are gradually making our way westwards along the north coast of the long island of Flores, and spent a few nights anchored off the very low key Sea World Resort. It is run by a German priest and consists of a dozen wooden cabins with terraces onto the beach, a bar and a restaurant. All very clean and efficient as you would expect. On Saturday night there was a beach BBQ with fish kebabs cooked on a wood fire on the beach, and an excellent buffet. Best meal so far. The place also got high marks from us as there were taps everywhere for washing sand off feet and watering the plants. Not drinking water, but we could fill up jerry cans very easily to use for washing.
A couple of dinghies ran into trouble heading back to their boats from the beach in the dark as a fishing net had been put out between beach and boats and they ran straight into it. Large sums were demanded for a new net, and much negotiation took place. We were all quite sure that the net had been put there for the purpose, it was extremely unlikely they would catch any fish in that narrow strip of water. Nets are always a hazard, one boat ran into one yesterday out at sea; the floats were made of cut up bits of flip flops so were nearly invisible!
One of the must-visit places on Flores is Keli Mutu; three volcanic crater lakes close to each other and different colours. As clouds descend on the peaks during the morning and stay there most of the day it's important to arrive early so we arranged a car with driver for 5 of us, and set off at 4.30am. The first hour was dark so we just hoped that we had a good driver on the very winding road. As dawn cam up motor bike traffic increased, and dogs, goats and cows were wandering around. The locals were wrapped in their ikat blankets in the cool air.
For us, the journey up into the mountains was more interesting and worthwhile than the craters. There were hillsides of paddy fields, each small terrace surrounded by mud walls; water for the fields ran in concrete channels down the side of the road, and was used for laundry by the women, with the bushes covered with clothes drying in the sun. Pigs (mostly the small Vietnamese type) had made comfortable mud pools to keep themselves cool, definitely happy pigs. Cocoa seeds, betel nut and coconut were laid out to dry along the edge of the tarmac.
The craters can be visited via a path from the car parking area. Our old Lonely Planet Guide says that you can walk around the edge of a couple of them, but things are much stricter now, and officials with loud hailers call to anyone leaving the official route. The water changes colour from time to time, at the moment there is one bright turquoise, one a greeny turquoise and one a dark blackish green. In the past they have been red, blue, or cafe au lait. All due to the minerals welling up in them. They are an important religious and cultural site for the local people, and many myths about them. We were lucky that we were there on the day when the local elders process up the path to bless the lakes. It only happens every few years, and a large group of elderly men dressed in their traditional finery was assembling when we came down, and music with drums and metal gongs was playing.
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