Flores Island and the Komodo Dragon

Ahoy!

I really liked our time on Flores Island. I had so much fun snorkeling. It was the first time I wore fins and a mask other than my swimming goggles. My Daddy showed me how to do it.  My favorite fish that I saw was black and yellow. We looked it up on the computer and learned that it is called a “Moorish Idol”.  I also really liked the blue tang, which is the type of fish similar to Dory.

My favorite thing that we did when we were in Flores was going on the pirate ship and snorkeling. I was told that the pirate ship is called a phinisi. It is a big wooden boat that is super cool. It was my favorite and I liked to pretend to shoot canons. The guys who worked on the boat were really friendly.

Going Over the Diving Plan

My Dad went diving three times and I would sit with him when the dive instructor would talk about the diving plan. He would bring out a big white board with a drawing of the reef and what fish they would see. One time they let me come on the dingy with my Dad and the dive instructor.  I liked watching Dad jump in the water with his scuba tank at the same time as the other guys. It was super mega cool.

Welcoming my Dad back to the Phinisi After a Dive

One of the islands we went snorkeling at had a big net on the beach with lots of little fish on it. They told us that the fisherman would dry these fish on this island and then bring it back to the main island to sell to the people who lived in the mountain. If the wind blew towards us, it would smell stinky.

The Giant Komodo Dragon!

We went to see the giant Komodo dragon on Rinca Island.  I was a bit nervous but it made me happy when the park ranger let me hold his stick. It is long with a big v shape at the end that is used to put the Komodo Dragon’s neck in if it gets close to us. My Mom and Dad were not convinced that the stick would keep us safe and so they said I had to stay close by them or the park ranger.  Mom would hold Julia because my sister isn’t afraid of animals and would get too close to the dragons.  She also likes to scream and yell “dinosaur rooooar!!”

Practicing our Stick Skills

We saw many Komodo dragons but they mostly were laying down. When we did see one walk it was big and slow. I learned that it can move faster if it wants to, even up to 13mph!

On our last day we went to see a cave called Batu Cermin. The taxi driver picked us up and brought his four year old son named Michael with us because my parents asked him to. Michael and I sat in the back seat on the way to the cave and laughed a lot. Michael speaks Bahasa but is learning English. I don’t speak any Bahasa. We ran and had fun exploring the cave. We taught each other to play some fun games. I liked him.

Batu Cermin Cave

My friend Michael and I 

I liked our room at the hotel because it was like our own small house. It had an outside bathtub in the back that Julia and I loved to take bubble baths in. It was really fun to put the bubbles on each other’s faces. We also had our own pool and we played in it every day. Next to our room was the watersport area and they had a play house and a play car for us. I loved it when the guys would push Julia and I in the car.

Our Outdoor Bathtub

                                    

Flores was fun!

What I learned to say in Bahasa:

1.  Fish is ikan

2.   Boat is Perahu

3.     I like that fish is……saya suka ikan itu

Komodo Dragon fun facts:

1.     They can briefly run up to 13mph!

2.     They can kill large animals, even a water buffalo with their venomous bite.  It takes a few days for the animal to die, but the dragons have a good sense of smell to find it.

3.     They have a super long forked tongue like a snake to taste the air

Three Facts about Flores:

1.      The name of the island comes from the Portuguese for “flowers”

2.     The majority of people on the island are Roman Catholic Christians, whereas most other Indonesians are Muslim

3.     Is just one of over 17,500 islands that make up Indonesia

What Kids my Age Will Like About Flores:

1.     Visiting the Komodo Dragon

2.     Seeing the Batu Cermin cave

3.     Snorkeling!

4.     Going on a boat ride

Our Phinisi For the Day

We Saw Amazing Fish!

Talking with one of our Guides

Snorkeling!

Snorkeling Spot