An Exorcism and Manta Rays 6

We left for the Komodo Island National Park before breakfast, and managed to see some of the larger lizards during our hike.   Again we travelled with a ranger and a second guide and were kept about four meters from the lizards.  A couple of us were gawking at other animals and almost stepped on the tail of a sleeping lizard.  Our guide gave us warning before we actually came too close.    These lizards are members of the monitor lizards.  During our hike, Claire (Steven's cycling partner) was curious about the intelligence of these lizards. She asked the question several times; and finally, the ranger heard her.  He said they are quite intelligent and used their ability to ambush their prey.  Just then, Steven gave Claire a nudge from behind causing Clair to jump. She turned and spoke his name chidingly, and laughed.  Meanwhile, the remainder of the group chuckled.

Then it was a short boat ride back to the captain's home for breakfast.  While we were waiting for our boat crew, we heard a lot of commotion in the house next door.  A couple of our fellow travellers went over after asking our hostess for permission.  A thirteen year old youth was inhabited with a bad spirit.  He was being held down by some of the villagers while the Imam tried to exorcise the demon.  The boy yelled and flailed about, and the Imam prayed over the boy to get rid of the demon.  This is a Muslim community and whether you believe in the devil or not, the sound of  the yelling was unnerving.  

Our boat crew took us back to the boat where we commenced to go out to Manta Ray Point.  This is an area out in the ocean where manta rays congregate.  We jumped into the water, and swam to the back of the boat.  The boat crew had tied a long rope to the boat, and let it out at the back.  The swimmers then grabbed onto this rope and were towed while snorkelling over this area looking for this large winged fish. We spotted several before we climbed back on board. 

On the way back to Labuan Bajo, we stopped off at Kanawa Island thinking we would spend some time on an island paradise--reading, writing, walking, snorkelling and napping.  We got a little cabin, bought some bintang (beer), and sat on our veranda  enjoying the soft sound of the ocean, the sun, and our beer.  Next morning, we travelled back to Labuan Bajo, and stayed for a couple of days arranging a flight to Bali, getting haircuts, and working on our blog.   The haircuts included head and shoulder massages so we felt quite pampered.   Steven and Claire are continuing their cycling tour to Jakarta while we are travelling to Bali.  We wish them well in their travels.