Roadtrip Flores Stage 4 - Maumere

Unfortunately, I was once again woken up by the roosters here. Daniela is cleverer than me, she puts earplugs in her ears in the evening and sleeps peacefully until I wake her up at some point. I always tell her about the noise and she just says she doesn't notice any of it. Well, how nice :-)

We had to leave early today because we wanted to go up Mount Kelimutu. There are 3 crater lakes there. If you leave too late, there is a high chance that clouds will form and obstruct the view of the lakes.

On the way up, we met a teacher from Java who constantly wanted to take photos with us. It eventually annoyed me, but even Daniela said that we would never make it to the top this way. After a flight of stairs, she was a bit out of breath and we left her behind... grinning.

When we arrived, the view of the lakes impressed us immensely. It was GIGANTIC. They looked like they were painted. We felt like jumping into them because the water was so turquoise. We took numerous photos and enjoyed the view for a long time. There were also some locals on the observation deck who offered food. A woman who sold there had a slingshot lying next to her, and I asked her what she needed it for. For the monkeys. Wow, I thought that was really mean. She shoots stones at the monkeys when they come too close to her stall. Stupid cow. Eventually, it was time to go down and back to the car, what a pity.

Afterwards, we drove to Koka Beach. It is surrounded by numerous coconut plantations. The beach was already fantastic, if it weren't for all the rubbish. Unfortunately, the locals don't care about it. The children simply throw their chip bags or empty cups into nature. It's crazy. Here I can also mention that I am quite shocked by the conditions in which the people live here. It is unimaginable for us. In small bamboo huts with pit latrines, if at all. You could say that many people really live in filth here and they don't care that there is plastic waste lying around. It's unbelievable. Well, after finding a great seashell, we continued to Maumere. Here we have a fantastic resort on the beach. Our bungalow is absolutely amazing, with a sea view, an open-air bathroom, a hammock on the terrace, and it is beautifully furnished.

This is where our road trip on the island of Flores ends. I found it exhausting to spend so many hours in the car and drive through so many winding roads. Flores doesn't have the same charm as Bali for me. Of course, I found the rice terraces and the crater lakes incredibly impressive to look at, but the living conditions on the island are quite shocking in some regions.

Now we are enjoying 3 days of beach and sea again. Surely we will also go on the occasional snorkeling trip.

Best regards from us :-)