Living Life to its Fullest: 11/2/10 – Komodo Island, Indonesia

Today was a good day. We anchored offshore of Komodo Island early this morning. This stop was unique in the fact that we were once again tendered, but more so because all those going ashore were doing so as a part of the ship’s one offered shore excursion. We were going ashore to visit Komodo National Park to see the famed Komodo dragons. Now, just to clarify, these are not truly “dragons,” rather huge monitor lizards. Also, of interesting note, something that I’ve learned this trip is that dragons in Asia are always depicted without wings. While Western dragons seem to be of the flying variety. I’m not sure why this is, but I thought it was worth noting. In fact, I have also learned that a person can tell if a depicted dragon is Chinese, Japanese, or Korean by counting the number of toes on each foot. If you’re curious, you’ll have to some research on your own to figure out which one has how many toes, because I can’t remember at the moment.

Anyway, our tour was the 3^rd group and was scheduled to go ashore at 9:15 a.m. We loaded on the tender and boated over to a dock on the island. There we met our guide, and his two assistants (who were locals armed with long sticks with two branches at the end, forming a small ‘V’). The ranger showed us the large trail map of the National Park and pointed out the 2 km trail that we would be walking during our tour. They also warned us that dragon sightings are not guaranteed (but no worries because we saw plenty). For the most part, Komodo Dragons are quite docile, but I guess if they are hungry, they can be dangerous. In fact, we were warned that anyone who had an open wound or was a woman on her menstrual cycle was allowed ashore.

The walk was nice and slow, with many stops along the way, which included a narrative by our guide. It was hot, hot, hot today on the island. About half way through, we came to a group of Komodo dragons at “the watering hole.” Even though everything seemed pretty dry, it appears that the Park Service pipes in fresh water to this point not only to provide the creatures with water, but also to increase the likelihood of seeing them. At this location, we saw two smaller dragons (3-4 ft. long) and 4 larger ones (6-10 ft. long). They were neat to see and experience in the wild, but overall not very exciting. They just lie there, and move their head around every now and then. As I said, I enjoyed the experience of seeing them in their natural environment, but will be fine with seeing them in a zoo from now on. But, hey, how many of you can say you’ve seen a Komodo dragon in the wild?

After taking photos and spending about 30 minutes at the watering hole, we headed on around the loop trail. At the end, our guide showed us an abandoned dragon nest and directed us to a place where another dragon was being monitored. We went over behind the café and watched that dragon for a bit. Then, we headed back to the dock, which required going through a market that had been set up by the locals for the day. That was definitely an experience in and of itself. These people knew they had a monopoly, as was evidenced by the high prices of goods. They wanted $1 for a postcard with a Komodo Dragon on it, whereas most ports they’ve been 10 or 12 postcards for $1. Their t-shirts started at $20 and the cheapest I heard that someone got one for was $12. I did give in and get some postcards (2 for $1) and a couple of small wood carved Komodo Dragon figurines (I paid $4 for one and $5 for the other). After surviving the marketplace, my mother and I walked the beach for a little bit collecting shells and taking photos. Then, we headed back to the ship. We set sail at 1:30 p.m. I watched as we sailed away and then went in the pool to cool off before dinner. It was a good, but hot, day on Komodo Island, Indonesia.

A little more about the locals: there is a small village on the island of about 1500 people. The kids were wanting my pen “for school” when they saw it. I gave it to one of them, and wish I had many more. You see, this island is pretty remote, and definitely no Wal-mart around the corner. So, commodities like soap and pens are in high demand, yet limited supply. The dragons outnumber the people on the island.

Also, we set our clocks ahead 30 minutes tonight in preparation for our arrival in Darwin. It’s odd to be so many hours and 30 minutes off of other places in the world. I haven’t gotten any good explanation for why the center of Australia is on a half hour time zone, but it is. I think there’s someplace up in Canada that does this as well.