Today was the day.  Today was the day I departed for the Komodo dragons.  I have always wanted to see them and this trip is a life long dream for me.  So yesterday I paid for a 2 day/1 night boat tour and I thought I was going to be one of several or many guests.  To my surprise I chartered this boat all for myself over the next 2 days.



Getting to the boat was a little challenging.  The dock was in need of some slight repairs.



Yes.  I actually had to cross that dock with all my bags to board the boat.  The beginning of the dock is slanted sideways quite a bit.  Then you get to the above section where you have to walk across planks that feel like they are going to break.  Especially with the weight of myself and the bags.  Then you have to climb the dock like a ladder.  Somehow I managed to get on the boat without getting wet or losing my bags.  Komodo dragons are found on 3 islands in Indonesia.  I will be seeing 2 of the 3 islands.  Today we are going to Rinca's Komodo National Park.  The trip should take about 3 hours from Labuan Bajo to Rinca.  Along the way I was treated to many gorgeous views.  I saw too many islands to count and tons of pretty coastline.  I was basically floating down the sea surrounded by islands at all times and the water was many different beautiful shades of blue with green shades near the beaches.  The terrain can range from green with forests to rocky and barren.  Here is a typical patch of land.



A few of the islands had villages on the coast.  Now these people live in about a remote place as possible.



There are no roads or cars on some of these islands.  They use boats to get around.  In fact I was told that there is a bus boat.  It goes from the small villages to a nearby larger town.  After a few wonderful hours I finally made it to Rinca.



I went on a 1 hour trek with a park ranger.  This is a nest used by dragons to lay eggs.



The ranger told me that adults dragons will eat anything including other smaller dragons or even their own eggs.  Then we came upon this dragon digging up a nest hoping to find some eggs.



Unfortunately this would be the only dragon I saw out on the trek.  You can't predict or control nature and I knew this.  So I was just glad to have seen a dragon at all.  However I did get to see a few more dragons at the rangers village.  The rangers have a little village where they live and they have a common kitchen.  A group of dragons like to hangout under the kitchen because they can smell the food.  They are still wild animals, but it not quite the same as seeing them in nature.  So I was really glad when I same the dragon digging up the nest.  Not only was it in the wild, but it was active.



I was told they stopped feeding the dragons in 1995 because they feared they would get dependent on humans for food and not know how to hunt to survive.  Here is a close-up of the kitchen group.



Aren't they just adorable?  It took all of my might to not just walk up and hug one.  Dogs, cats, and pandas are all cute, but I love reptiles.  If these guys weren't poisonous I would love to be lying there with them.  Resting my head on one of them like it was a pillow.  As I was leaving the park I ran into a few more dragons resting under other buildings, but I also found this little one.



Apparently the younger dragons spend a lot of time in the trees to avoid being eaten by the adult dragons which are now too heavy to climb trees.  This is why they tell you to always check the trees as you walk around the park.  This little one climbed all around the tree then came down and ran off.



What a great day and it is not even over yet.  Next we headed to Kalong to see the flying foxes come out at dusk.  Along the way we stopped at a beach, but because I was a little sick from the cold AC on the train to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia I decided not to swim.  I didn't want to get sicker especially since I was going to be sleeping on the deck of the boat.  While waiting at the beach a short rain came by and left us a present.



I was also treated to a beautiful sunset.



As soon as the sun went behind the mountains the flying foxes came out.  Here is a swarm of them flying around.



Flying foxes are basically bats.  They live in the trees pictures during the day.  You can hear them making noise all day long.  Then at dusk they leave the trees to go eat and they come back at dawn.  It was amazing to sit there with a hot tea just enjoying the sights and sounds of nature.  I ate lunch and dinner on the boat today.  We had fresh catch fish that was fried and prepared with a sweet and sour sauce.  We also had veggies, noodles, rice, eggs, cucumbers, and pineapple.  They were both quite a feast.  These meals were better than many meals I have had traveling.  After dinner it was bed time.  Here is my spot on deck.



Having the boat to myself I didn't have to share the deck with anyone.  It was perfect.  Luckily they put up the tarps at night because it rained heavily for about 5 minutes and I could feel the water lightly hitting me on the head.  Good thing it stopped after a few minutes.  Last thing I needed was to be hit by rain all night.  I was already coughing a good amount.  I have to admit I didn't sleep very well, if at all.  The captain and his mate chain smoked the entire trip so once they put the tarps up I could smell the smoke a little bit.  They also talked very loudly for many hours after lights out.  Also I don't think the sheets or pillow have ever been washed before.  You know you are in trouble when the person preparing your bed has to smell things 2 or 3 times.  The bedding smelled a little stale and old.  It was also kind of sticky, but that might have just been me because with the humidity I am basically just a ball of grease at all times.  In the end that was just a small price to pay for one of the most amazing experiences of my life and I still have one more day.