The island of Flores is so breathtakingly wild, raw and real that It’s no wonder that the locals are devout Christians. It would be easy to believe in God when you are surrounded by such beauty. Common sense would imply that a skilled artist had carefully crafted the landscapes.
Now we do not want this to turn into a competition. There is already too much rivalry in travel tales tall and true. “I remember Bali in the 70’s” is good but trumped by “I went through Timor, mate, when it was Portugese…”.
But does everyone have a “you would not believe it but…” story? Here is ours.
About time to catch up on things, as we wait in Kupang [Indonesian Timor] for a ferry this afternoon to the next island, Flores [volcanos and Komodo dragons await us!!].
Our trip aboard the Kathryn Bay was wonderful fun…. except while we were vomiting. Captain Lino and his crew of 12 treated us as special guests. We were the first passengers they have carried. Kathryn Flynn [after whom the ship is named] would be proud of the spirit they carry on board. I first met the Flynns in about 1983, and over the years it was always a thrill to catch up with them in Darwin or in Melbourne. Tragically Kathryn contracted MND and all too recently died. Her spirit lives on, in many ways - one of them by sailing the high seas! A large photo of her watches over the bridge as she keeps an eye on things aboard the ship named after her. Read the rest of this entry »
The East Timorese are such beautiful, striking people. They have a pronounced facial structure, high cheekbones and their smile is intoxicating and infectious. The constant white flashes from the Timorese immediately makes one feel welcome. After all that they’ve gone through you have to admire their ability to smile with such warmth and be so welcoming.
The other night over dinner we learnt that illegal cockfights were a popular source of entertainment in Dili. So of course, we organised to go. The cockfights are one of the only sources of entertainment in very poor Timor Leste. Average annual wage is only around $1000US and at these fights there can be thousands of dollars bet on a single fight (that only lasts 30-45 seconds).  Read the rest of this entry »