Sweet sunrise, kayak, and funky travel day

Our day started off with a sweet sunrise. Today's plan was mostly about getting from Gili Gede on Lombok to Labuan Bajo on Flores. This would involve a boat, taxi, bus, plane(x2), and another taxi. It would take most of the day to get there.

Sunrise from Gili Gede with Rinjani to the left

But first, before traveling (and breakfast), we zipped out for a kayak. The kayaks that we used were tanks - definitely good for stability in the ocean Even though the conditions were calm.

A boat full of people going to work and school

Breakfast at our lodging included French toast, homemade bread, a banana crepe, fresh fruit, coffee, and hot chocolate - yum

Loading up the boat to take us to the mainland

The crew at Alam Karang

Marie, the owner, waving goodbye to our boat

People get around using all sorts of different transportation here

At the airport leaving Lombok

It's not a very big plane

We were happy to get off this plane. There were passengers who were clearly sick all around us. Plus, the landing was pretty rough.

Arriving by plane at the Bali Airport

Yes! An avocado "juice"

Noodle soup in the Bali Airport

Plates filled with fresh flowers were all over the Bali Airport. This was in the women's bathroom.

The plane from Bali to Flores. It was 2.5 hours delayed, but people seemed to just roll with it. I think this is fairly typical for flight travel in Indonesia.

Our hotel room in Labuan Bajo 

The view at night of the harbor from our hotel room

After experiencing a little bit of Indonesian "elastic" time, We were happy to arrive at our hotel. It was in the middle of the main strip, so we could walk everywhere. Unfortunately, this also meant there was a bunch of noise from the nightlife (and Muslim prayers). For part of the night, it felt like we were inside of a nightclub. It helped a little bit to wear earplugs to bed. This was quite a change from the quiet island life of Gili Gede.

Going beneath the surface in the Southern Gilis

The plan for the day was snorkeling at different islands in the Southern Gilis. The islands are surrounded by coral reefs, so there is lots to explore. Plus, the ocean is calm so it is easy. 

We greeted the day with a sunrise - we could watch it rise right from our bed (but of course we didn't). It was a different kind of beautiful to see the sunrise with Rinjani as opposed to on Rinjani. And, it definitely was much more relaxing.

Snorkeling among the coral

We had a yummy breakfast (including banana crepes) then headed out for snorkeling. We shared the snorkeling trip with a great couple from Marseilles, France (Elvira and Kevin). They were super psyched to snorkel as much as possible which was awesome. When the guide asked us if we wanted to hang out on the beach, we all agreed that we wanted to maximize the snorkeling.

There were 3 spots at which we snorkeled and they were all different. The first spot was a mix of cool fish and corals - and we saw a morey eel. The second spot there were several sea turtles, loads of fish, and coral. The third spot has sea horses and gorgeous coral that you could see super close up. The 4 of us wanted to snorkel so much that we tired out the guide who ended up waiting on the beach for us to eventually get out of the water - he looked very cold. Soon, word will get out among the guiding community to never take us on as customers.

Coral love 💕

Cool sea star

So many fish!

This sea horse wrapped its tail around my finger - so cool!

These sea stars were so blue!

A sea turtle 

Beautiful coral

One of the many islands in the southern Gilis

Cute guy on the boat

Kara finishing up snorkeling - check out the crystal clear water!

A fishing boat

Dan communicating with some local fishermen

Three fisherman fit on this tiny boat

Kara chillin' in a perch in a tree on a deserted island

A group photo with Elvira and Kevin

Our snorkeling boat arriving back at our lodging

Lunch at our lodging

After lunch and our snorkeling trip, we went back out for some more snorkeling action just off the beach from our lodging. It turns out that, even on a super quiet island, I am not very good at sitting still. Poor Dan. Snorkeling just outside of our lodge, we saw sea turtles, puffer fish, lots of other fish, and beautiful coral.

A cool puffer fish

Checking out some coral

Lots of coral

A sea turtle

Lots of fish

We had a delicious dinner at the restaurant next door and then headed to bed.

Mmmm...fried bananas and ice cream