Flores
The Land of Flowers

...or The Land of the Tube People, as I came to affectionately refer to it during my holiday there in May.

There are a few things synonymous with the island of Flores in Indonesia: the textiles, the flowers, and of course, the tri-coloured lakes.

My 'Tube People' reference has to do with the textiles and the temperature! After two years of living in coastal Indonesia (average temperatures easily over 30C during the day), I found it COLD in Flores (albeit not unhappily so!). Of course, I was mostly visiting the mountainous areas... because that is where my friend Sigit, another CUSO volunteer, lives! But it's not just me, and my newly-adapted coastal blood, Flores really is quite chilly! So... people use their fabulous thick, tightly woven sarongs as full-body wear to keep them warm.




Getting to Flores was an adventure in itself... because there are no direct flights to Bajawa (the small town in the central mountains where Sigit lives), I spent an enjoyable overnight in Kupang, West Timor. Next morning, bright and early, I report for my flight to Bajawa, with only a handful of other people... because that's all the plane can seat; we're flying in a small twin-engine with a 1-2 seating configuration! It was really windy, and the pilots were struggling to keep us steady... I think they were quite stressed, as they were smoking throughout the entire flight - no kidding!



There is only a curtain between the cockpit and the cabin... there was no doubt... I'm just not sure they didn't open their windows to ash as well!? Anyway, after THE craziest landing I've ever had (which entailed a literal hop, skip and jump, as well as breaking SIDEWAYS down the runway!) we deplaned... I swear I saw the captain kiss the ground!



Straight from the plane we visited the natural Mengeruda hot springs, which were perfectly relaxing after the hair-raising flight! (The beer Sigit brought helped as well!)


I was lucky to visit Sigit at a time when he had lots of field work to do; he works in Eco-tourism for the Ngada Regency, so his 'work' was my 'vacation'! We spent a lot of time on his motorcycle, blackie...



... and I really experienced WHY Flores is called 'the cape of flowers'; it honestly feels like you're driving through a gigantic wildflower garden!







I got to see an amazingly-varied amount of the island considering I was there for less than a week!


We went to Aimere on the South Coast...





Riung and the Seventeen Islands Marine Park on the North Coast...






The traditional village of Bene...



... and I made a side trip to some of the traditional weaving villages, and had lovely visits with the ladies...

I also got on the road at 4 am for a solo motorbike ride up to Kelimutu National Park, the home of the tri-coloured lakes... when I got there my hands were frozen around the handlebars and had to be pried off... luckily the hike up warmed me up, and there was a gentleman at the peak serving tea... aaahhh.



Visiting the lakes was a religious experience in itself, but of course, to top it off, I was joined mid-morning by a group of nuns and a priest (who also happen to be working in Sorong). I actually spent the entire morning up at the lookout, just hangin', reading, visiting with the unique characters that happened my way, and enjoying the colour changes as the sun rose higher in the sky... by the time I left, the middle lake appeared to be an opaque, chalky robin's egg blue.



I chose the perfect moment to come down from the summit, because it was about to be turned from my peaceful respite into a MAJOR party! As it turns out it was the continuation of a religious holiday and it included a 'pilgrimage' of sorts to this lake. So, as I was getting ready to leave....



I was also lucky enough to meet Sigit's good friends Mama Mia and Pak Lawrence; at their house I was introduced to the Florenese tradition called 'nalo' (the gathering, eating, drinking, and discussion of friends and family). Nalo inevitably involves 'moke'. I thoroughly enjoyed both the Nalo and the MOKE!


Moke is actually a mildly(?) alcoholic. It comes directly from a specific species of palm tree (below), and with no distillation or processing whatsoever it is a cloudy whitish liquid. It has a very unique, possibly acquired, taste!



Traditional ceremony in Narualsdkjf


I got stranded in Flores for an extra night by a plane breakdown (as Martin says, better before take-off than somewhere over the Flores Sea!)... but made the best of it, and went wandering around Ende, finding myself in my favourite situation... the market...


... and like almost everywhere else I've been in Indonesia, I am a bit of a star, gathering a fan club wherever I go... oh dear, what a let down it will be to be back home in Canada where I'm just another regular Canadian! haha!