… visit the dragons on Komodo Island …

… and we’re pleased to report that everyone made it back safely on board. Dragons can grow to be 9 feet long and 300+ pounds; they’re cunning and very quick when pursuing food. Their sense of smell is acute; passengers taking the tour had to swear off perfume, deodorant, insect repellent and anything else with an odor (they even suggested you not bathe that morning). Dragons are particularly alert to the smell of blood so no one with a cut or scrape of any type was allowed to participate.

I have to confess - we wussied out and took the tour of the village rather than the trek through the jungle to see the dragons up close and personal. But our friends Lee and Troy did the trek and they said there was one incident with a huge and aggressive dragon which turned and charged a woman in their group. The fearless tour guide (armed only with a long and slender forked stick, see below) grabbed the dragon by his substantial tail and saved the woman from a vicious bite or worse. The guide’s hands were torn by the scales on the tail, and covered with a yucky green substance, but he appeared otherwise to be OK. There are more than 1000 dragons on the island, and although they mostly hang out in the uninhabited parts of the island, they occasionally visit the villages. A small boy had been bitten a year ago in the village we visited and died from the wounds. The dragon photo was taken by Lee and Troy Harden. That’s Troy with the tour guide and his “weapon.”

   

As you can see below, they allowed the passengers to get pretty close to the dragons. Lee and Troy were in FRONT of the dragons when they began to get agitated and started to charge (below, right).

   

Our biggest challenge was the logistics involved in getting to the village. First we tendered from the ship to the pier. Then 8-9 of us at a time boarded a small launch to be taken to a larger boat that would hold all 25 of us.

   

Above is the launch and the “Mother Ship” (all wood). As we approached the village, vendors appeared in dugout canoes selling pearls and wood carvings. Fortunately there was a dock at the village, which was very poor, and seemed to be about 90% children. The tour guide blames this population explosion on the lack of other things to do in the villages at night! There is a school in the village but education is not compulsory, so attendance is spotty.

      

   

Note the multiple satellite dishes in the last photo!

Indonesia is the hottest, most humid place I’ve ever visited. Back on the larger boat after the village visit, I documented Frank’s sweaty state.

    

Our next stop was a quick break for snorkeling and swimming on reefs close to a pink beach. Unfortunately we didn’t realize this was part of the trip so we hadn’t worn our suits and were unprepared to dive in. It looked so inviting! By the time folks finished swimming and we made all the necessary boat transfers, it was nearly an hour and a half beyond the posted time for the last tender to the ship. They were anxiously awaiting our return – and we were glad to be back in air conditioning!