Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
The next morning we were on a flight to Labuan Bajo, Flores. The approach to the airport topped Bali as we defended into the lush mountainous forests only punctuated by the odd rice paddy small holding. The airstrip carved into the mountainside with only a small concrete building for a terminal, we stood and watched as our luggage was carted directly to a small hole in the wall ready for collection. After having done little to no research we were quickly talked into a local guys car who happened (as is always the case!) to also have a boat. We were first dropped at some very basic accommodation and then driven to his shack to be wrangled into booking a 2 day boat trip around Komodo and the surrounding islands. We eventually parted with our cash and got promised a wake up call and pick up at 7:00am the following morning. The wake up call came but regrettably the boat was cancelled due to bad weather.
Suitably disappointed we went in search of an accommodation upgrade and found the other end of the town was fair more developed and accommodating to tourists. Accommodation sorted we quickly made our way across the road to the recently opened Blue Marlin Dive Centre. Having been told of the world class diving we were keen to get back in the water even if the warnings were "only experienced divers may apply", this is due to the very strong and unpredictable currents that exist around the islands. As the oceans make the way through the maze of islands and undulating sea beds the water is tunnelled, swirled and ripped in vast currents meaning an amateur diver could find themselves suddenly sucked under 200 metres and spat out to see in a matter of seconds. Having been given a briefing of the dive sites we left Blue marlin bubbling with excitement and desperately hoping the weather would subside. A chance meeting with our tour man left us disappointed that our boat trip was again cancelled for the following day. Uncharacteristically we managed easily to get a full refund from our tour man and ran straight to the dive centre to book a days diving.
- comments