This morning, waking up in Labuan Bajo, our bodies still swaying and rocking after four days on a boat, we try and work out what we will do four our last few days. We have flights booked on Thursday morning back to bali. All we hope is that they are still running and there is no disruption from the volcanic eruption that happened a few days ago in the east of Flores.
Some googling on the internet and asking in local tour kiosks has given us some options.
Like most taxis you go in here, our nice driver from yesterday’s ride from the boat, insistent that we have his WhatsApp number. This morning he’s keen that we use his services and we’ve been messaging how much it would cost for the four of us to travel a couple of hundred miles inland. He’s quoted us just over £100. That’s £50/day for him to drive four of us around. However this is on the top end of Jonny and Alice’s budget.
A helpful article on the internet gives some information about a company running busses along the whole length of the island. So we use WhatsApp first they tell us they have space. Then they tell us they don’t. Sensing language misunderstanding,I suggest that we go to the shop and book face to face. Duly Juliet and I set off up a steep path from our guest house up towards the airport. It’s slippy and hot going in the humid air. Just as we pass the airport the rain starts. Umbrellas up we arrive at the travel agency damp from the rain to find there are a number of busses running and they have space. It’s £8.57 for super premium class. So we are now booked on the 8:00am bus to Ruteng tomorrow. It promises to be an interesting ride in to the heart and soul of Flores.
On the way back, the rain still pouring down, I say to Juliet, “shall we get a local bus?” She’s all up for it. So less than a minute later we’ve flagged down one of the tiny mini busses. As we peer in the window a woman with perfect English enquires “can I help you?” Surprised we tell her where we are going and for less than £1 we agree the price for the ride back into town to our guest house.
Her name is Mila, she’s here to celebrate Ramadan with her husband and his family. She’s an English teacher. Juliet and I smile and tell her of our English teacher friend Seda in Turkey and how she helped us nearly a year ago when we broke down on the side of the road in Denizli. We swap WhatsApp numbers and enjoy the experience of talking in the back of a local mini bus.
Being helped by English teachers is becoming a theme and we wonder whether we can start connecting them up as we travel. Teacher Twinning.
Later in the evening and the rain was falling. The pavement wet slippy and the air humid we ventured down to the port. There are fish sellers where you get the Indonesian equivalent of fish and chips. Here is bbq’d fish and rice. You choose the fish you want and barter a bit on price. Once agreed they cook the fish over coconut husk fired bbqs and within a few minutes you have a delicious supper.
We tried a couple of different stalls. The first overcooked the snapper. So while it was tasty it was quite tough. At the second stall we had another snapper and something else. The something else was exquisite.
