Maumere to Moni

We spent several days at Lena 2 relaxing, snorkelling, and listening to people who had traveled from the direction we were going--finding out what there was to see, and how best to accomplish our goals. Tips and tricks are often traded between fellow travellers to make the journey go as smooth as possible.

Often we witnessed local life take place in a simple manner with basic tools--homemade spear gun powered by bicycle inner tube, boards cut with chain saw and chalk line, fishing with dugout canoes and nets, a boat with a gasoline engine similar to a rototiller engine with the output shaft coupled directly to an enclosed drive shaft at the end of which is attached a propellor.  Suspend this motor from the side of the boat with a loop of rope to keep the shaft suspended and off you go. No reverse, and only manual speed control, but it gets the job done.

Craig and Patt described traveling the length of Flores Island as traveling on the spine of a snake.  That is a very apt description. The roads are quite good in most places but in order to cross this volcanic island the road follows the spines of hills as it gains and loses altitude.   Steep switch backs are used as the road goes up or down steep volcanic hills and mountains. After awhile, these switchbacks became quite nauseating. We travelled over 1000 km to get from Maumere to Labaun Bajo on the western coast.
Our first stop on our way west was Moni where getting up at 4:00AM, and driving up as far as the car can go gets you to the start of a half hour walk to the summit of a extinct volcano and three different coloured lakes. These lakes are sacred to the people who lived in this area . The aqua-coloured lake was the resting place for the spirits of children, the olive green lake was for the spirits of good people, and dark teal blue lake was reserved for the dark spirits.  The magic of the sunrise as the sky lightened, and colours of tangerine and russet turned to daylight won't be soon forgotten. Our driver then took us back to our lodgings in Moni going past rice paddies and villages we had missed in the dark. We stopped for our breakfast, and left for our next stop.  The waterfalls and landscape vistas were breathtakingly beautiful. Frequent stops were made to take pictures of distant villages, and volcanoes shrouded in clouds. Our progress along the snake slowed to a crawl as we stopped to take in the vistas unfolding before our eyes.  Our next stop will bring us to Bajawa--traditional villages and a homestay at one of them.