After our adventures with the forest people, we headed off for a couple days of trekking with some dragons.
Hmm, not quite.
Umm, sort of....
I'm talking about these dragons:
Yep, we were going out to check out Komodo Dragons. Off we went!
We flew into Labuan Bajo and since the best time to view the dragons is in the morning, we went straight to Flores harbor and out to Rinca island.
Wait, Rinca? What about Komodo island? Allow me to explain:
Rinca is a small (ish) island near Komodo island and is very similar to it in that it is most known for the presence of Komodo Dragons. But it is different in a very important way: it is less known and less visited than Komodo island, which makes it an excellent place to see the dragons in the wild. Plus, from Flores it's a much shorter trip to to Rinca than it is to Komodo.
The red path on the map shows approximately the path we took. As you can see Komodo Island is much further. After a lovely boat ride (the ocean was glassy & calm), we started our dragon trek.
We weren't exactly sure what to expect, but we were hoping to see some dragons. All I really knew was that the dragons can get quite big, and can be deadly. That and I know James Bond threw a bad guy to a dragon in Macau. SKYYYYFAAAALLLLLLLL!!!
All joking aside, the dragons are very impressive. They are the largest living species of lizard, and can grow to a length of 3 meters (~10 ft.) and a weight of up to 150 lbs. Plus (and most interestingly in my opinion), they have toxic saliva. They have 2 glands in their lower jaw that secrete several different toxic proteins that are known to cause the following: inhibition of blood clotting, lowering of blood pressure, muscle paralysis, and induction of hypothermia. Basically, if Komodo bites you, it's going to ruin your weekend. But it's not always lethal. Our guide told us he has actually been bitten more than once and was still alive to talk about it. So, while they are extremely dangerous creatures, apparently you can survive a bite if you're able to get treatment immediately. We weren't planning on putting that theory to test.
Speaking of our guide, a quick note. You'd think the guides would be armed with some kind of dragon repellent or something to protect against any aggressive dragons. You'd be wrong. The guides have a stick. Seriously.
I can see how it might be useful to fend off a dragon for a bit, but even the guide said that it would be basically useless if the dragon did decide to attack. Armed with this confidence-bolstering knowledge, we started our trek.
For the first hour or so, we saw lots of beautiful scenery that both Gloria and I thought looked a lot like Southern California, but no dragons.
We did come across a few spots where some buffalo had rooted around in a mud pit, and we saw a deer. Even at the nesting area we didn't see anything. But, as we approached the end of our trek, we saw something.
We found a dragon friend! This one was just hanging out about 10 ft. off the side of the path. It wasn't moving around much and was pretty much just laying around (which is pretty typical in the afternoon heat).
Another 10 minutes down the path and we came back into camp, and.... wow!
These were laying all around one particular building in camp. Turns out that's the kitchen, and the dragons can smell the food cooking. This was so crazy to me. Take a look at this.
If you look closely you can see 4 dragons on the right, and another 2 under the building on the left, which happens to be right where the stairs are. It seems so nuts to me. People walk in and out of the kitchen all day, just a few feet away from a whole mess of dragons. But, that's just part of daily life here.
We made it out without any dragon attacks and hopped on the boat to our hotel. We were in for a treat. The skies had the perfect blend of clouds and clear sky to give us another spectacular sunset.
Our hotel was also really cool. It's built into the hillside and is only accessible by boat. We actually had to hop out of the boat a bit offshore due to low tide.
We had great views of the ocean from our balcony.
I also shot another (very brief) time lapse. Still don't have the settings quite figured out. Too dark at the end and had to adjust everything up, which made the beginning too bright. Ah well, slowly but surely I'm getting better at it.
Hmm, not quite.
I'm talking about these dragons:
Yep, we were going out to check out Komodo Dragons. Off we went!
 |
| Despite the small plane, this was the smoothest flight we had the entire trip |
 |
| Captain Gloria leading the way! |
Wait, Rinca? What about Komodo island? Allow me to explain:
Rinca is a small (ish) island near Komodo island and is very similar to it in that it is most known for the presence of Komodo Dragons. But it is different in a very important way: it is less known and less visited than Komodo island, which makes it an excellent place to see the dragons in the wild. Plus, from Flores it's a much shorter trip to to Rinca than it is to Komodo.
We weren't exactly sure what to expect, but we were hoping to see some dragons. All I really knew was that the dragons can get quite big, and can be deadly. That and I know James Bond threw a bad guy to a dragon in Macau. SKYYYYFAAAALLLLLLLL!!!
All joking aside, the dragons are very impressive. They are the largest living species of lizard, and can grow to a length of 3 meters (~10 ft.) and a weight of up to 150 lbs. Plus (and most interestingly in my opinion), they have toxic saliva. They have 2 glands in their lower jaw that secrete several different toxic proteins that are known to cause the following: inhibition of blood clotting, lowering of blood pressure, muscle paralysis, and induction of hypothermia. Basically, if Komodo bites you, it's going to ruin your weekend. But it's not always lethal. Our guide told us he has actually been bitten more than once and was still alive to talk about it. So, while they are extremely dangerous creatures, apparently you can survive a bite if you're able to get treatment immediately. We weren't planning on putting that theory to test.
Speaking of our guide, a quick note. You'd think the guides would be armed with some kind of dragon repellent or something to protect against any aggressive dragons. You'd be wrong. The guides have a stick. Seriously.
 |
| This is my dragon stick and I'm not afraid to use it! |
For the first hour or so, we saw lots of beautiful scenery that both Gloria and I thought looked a lot like Southern California, but no dragons.
We did come across a few spots where some buffalo had rooted around in a mud pit, and we saw a deer. Even at the nesting area we didn't see anything. But, as we approached the end of our trek, we saw something.
 |
| Boom! Dragon! |
We found a dragon friend! This one was just hanging out about 10 ft. off the side of the path. It wasn't moving around much and was pretty much just laying around (which is pretty typical in the afternoon heat).
 |
| It's a dragon! |
These were laying all around one particular building in camp. Turns out that's the kitchen, and the dragons can smell the food cooking. This was so crazy to me. Take a look at this.
If you look closely you can see 4 dragons on the right, and another 2 under the building on the left, which happens to be right where the stairs are. It seems so nuts to me. People walk in and out of the kitchen all day, just a few feet away from a whole mess of dragons. But, that's just part of daily life here.
We made it out without any dragon attacks and hopped on the boat to our hotel. We were in for a treat. The skies had the perfect blend of clouds and clear sky to give us another spectacular sunset.
Our hotel was also really cool. It's built into the hillside and is only accessible by boat. We actually had to hop out of the boat a bit offshore due to low tide.
We had great views of the ocean from our balcony.
 |
| The light at sunset was this really cool blueish-purple |
Gloria also made friends with the hotel owners' baby. Pardon the blurry pic, but it shows the joy in the moment.
On day 2, we headed back to Rinca again. This time we left at 6 AM so we could be there in the morning when the dragons are generally more active. Unfortunately my leg injury wasn't appreciating all the walking we had been doing, and I wasn't able to go on the trek. So I stayed on the boat while Gloria, Miriam, and Sven hiked the island again, and our efforts to get up early were rewarded. There were more dragons in the wild, and they were much more active.
 |
| This one was by a maintenance shed |
 |
| At the dragon nest |
They also came across a big buffalo, who was not thrilled to see them.
 |
| This is my mud hole! |
But the real thrill came a few minutes later. They came upon a boulder, and on top of the boulder was this:
 |
| It's so cute & cuddly! |
That is a huge dragon. It was one of the 3 meter, yes it will eat you, higher on the food chain than us varieties of dragon. Crazy. This thing is huge, and the guide was in front of it getting a good picture. Insane.
After the dragon trek, it was time for some snorkeling.
This region is known for great snorkeling, and it didn't disappoint. Beautiful sunlight, tons of coral, and thousands of fish.
This region is known for great snorkeling, and it didn't disappoint. Beautiful sunlight, tons of coral, and thousands of fish.
And with that, our dragon hunting adventures came to close. That makes 2 animals on this trip that only exist in the places we saw them. So damn cool!
After Komodo, Gloria unfortunately had to go back to Jakarta and go back to work. Meanwhile, Sven, Miriam, and I headed up to Bunaken Island in North Sulawesi for some world class diving. Those details coming up in part 3...
After Komodo, Gloria unfortunately had to go back to Jakarta and go back to work. Meanwhile, Sven, Miriam, and I headed up to Bunaken Island in North Sulawesi for some world class diving. Those details coming up in part 3...
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