Jurassic Park and the dragons.
The man at the airport check-in counter in Denpasar asked to weigh my bag - and then me. Together on the luggage scale. I placed the large book I was reading on the counter when he handed it to me and said, “that too”. It was then it dawned on me that the plane was going to be very small. Probably far smaller than my comfort level. There were only 12 seats – all with window views – and I wondered if it really mattered which one I chose. Turns out it was important and had already been considered by the staff in order to keep the flight balanced and level. Soon after our bumpy take-off we were over the water and fear began to dissipate as the sea views appeared. Each island below looked like paradise. The water a spectacular turquoise lapping onto the glistening white sand beaches. Breathtaking.
Soon we were to land on the smallest strip I believed possible. I recall being grateful that it was paved, as the roads to the port of Labuan Bajo were not. Turns out learning to pronounce Labuan Bajo is nearly as difficult as the flight. Most tourists are in Labuan Bajo to arrange a private boat for any desired itinerary around the archipelago and typically include variations to include scuba, snorkeling, and Komodo dragons. Most try to do this in small groups of two to four people to save costs and enjoy the company on your journey. After locating some lovely companions, we were invited to inspect the small boat which was to be home for the following three nights, plot out our dragon-seeking-snorkeling-adventure, and settle costs directly with the boat owner.
The snorkeling and pristine white sandy beaches did not disappoint, but we really came for the dragons. They live only on two islands, Rinca and Komodo. Better viewing is found on Rinca and the island is far prettier than what we saw of Komodo. When we described the island as Jurassic Park our guide turned to me and asked, “that’s in your country, right?” Seeing he was crushed when told it wasn’t a real place, I hardly recovered by adding, “as far as I know…”
Unlike many animals, the dragons are not endearing. They are ghastly ugly and can kill you with one nibble. Seems there is some debate if that’s due to the many strains of bacteria in their mouths or not. No matter, they bite their victims (water buffalo, deer, chickens, other dragons, etc) and wait for the poison to take over. Death is certain, but the timeframe depends on the victims size. After a brief overview about how to escape should one run after you (willy-nilly and never a straight line unless it’s up a tree), we were allowed to get surprisingly close – the only thing between us a stick held by our guides. When in motion, they are mesmerizing to watch walk as their legs move at a forty-five degree angle from their body. Relieved not to see any run – at least in our direction – it was equally thrilling and scary.
Back to the safety of our one room boat – from where we did everything. Snorkeled from the boat. Ate on the boat. Slept on the boat. It was incredibly unglamorous and magical.
10/2006