Komodo Island

 This was our furthest east point of our journey Komodo Island is remote, and unless you're on a cruise that's stopping there, it's not easy to get to. And it's a National Park, so entry is restricted and you must be with a guide. It's a lovely approach to the island group of volcanic islands with rugged terrain, and what looks like beautiful sandy beaches. We anchored sometime after 10am, and by 11am the tenders started taking groups to the island. The tender takes you to a very long pier with steep steps to get from the tender to the pier. There is a handrail, new this year. We walked to the Ranger station, and our group set off with a guide, a park ranger and several guards armed with forked sticks Komodo Dragons can move fast, and they have a venomous bite, so it's best to keep well clear. However they only eat about once a month, and the ones we saw looked pretty quiet, but alert

We had about 2 hours walking through the forest, and saw about 6 Dragons of various sizes (they are actually a type of lizard) . They are very prehistoric looking, and blend in well to their environment. We also saw a nest for the eggs. There were many birds in the trees, and some wild orchids. At the end we came out to the beach again, and a last Komodo sighting. There was a kind of marketplace set up with all sorts of souvenirs for sale. It was hot and humid, with a very brief light rain shower. Luckily it was overcast today so a little cooler, and we didn't have the rain like yesterday! As we were getting in to our tender we saw a deer walking along the beach, with a small Komodo dragon seeming to be tracking it.

Unfortunately Ian wasn't feeling well and missed the tour. The rest of us enjoyed it. Back on the Westerdam a light lunch, beer and swim were in order. And this evening was the Morimoto pop-up dinner, a Morimoto menu served in the Pinnacle Grill 1 night on the voyage. I had a Fresh Tuna Pizza and Shrimp Three ways. Excellent, very innovative food.














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