On the Marcopolo Blue from Lombok to Flores

Although it was explicitly stated that one should be at the meeting point in Senggigi by 9:15 AM at the latest to ensure the boat tour could start on time at 9:30 AM, we ultimately didn't leave until around noon. I was already wondering how the company planned to get guests from the Gilis or Kuta Lombok to Senggigi by 9:30 AM, as there were pickup options mentioned during the booking. But even though Indocruis is based in Germany, this boat tour apparently operates on Indonesian time, which means very flexible time indications. So, with almost a 3-hour delay, the boat tour began with a...? Right: 3-hour bus ride across the island to Lombok. Why didn't we just meet there?!

By around 3 PM, the actual boat tour did start, and a few other boats set sail with us. The mattresses on the deck were quickly distributed, and the first briefing was held. The plan for the first day: Arrival at Kenawa Island, a small island off Sumbawa, to enjoy the sunset there. Two hours later, we reached the destination, took the dinghy to the island, and after a short hike, we arrived at the Sunset Point. Unfortunately, it was a bit cloudy, which meant the sun disappeared into the clouds rather than the water, but you can't control the weather, and it was still very beautiful.

Back on the boat, we faced a long night ride, as we wanted to be at 6 AM in front of Tolo Kalo in the bay of West Nusa Tenggara to swim with whale sharks. At the briefing at 7 AM the next morning, it became clear to all of us that we were still quite far from our destination, as the boat's motor had reportedly broken down during the night. Since then, we had only been plodding along at 4-5 knots instead of the intended 9-10 knots. By the time we finally arrived around 10 AM, we had already had breakfast and had the two remaining whale sharks all to ourselves. In that moment, two things became clear to me:

1. The whale sharks are there because they are being fed. It had already been a tradition among fishermen to simply toss the bycatch into the water, which attracts the whale sharks, before these tourist boat tours started. However, this did make the experience feel a bit less charming.
2. Fortunately, we were late, and the other boats were already heading to the next stop! With the 25 people on our boat, the water was already incredibly crowded. It's hard to imagine how it would have been if 20-30 additional people from five more boats had been in the water at the same time, trying to take photos of and with the whale sharks.

For me, snorkeling with the whale sharks was still a fantastic and unforgettable experience! On one hand, there's the scientific assurance that they primarily feed on plankton and small fish, so humans are not on the menu. On the other hand, it is still a bit frightening when a whale shark swims directly towards you with its mouth open and only changes course at the last moment. You have to experience it.

For the remainder of the day and the next, we were just occupied with boating, occasionally spinning around just for ourselves for two hours, and even had to pass by Manta Point, where all the other boats had gathered so guests could snorkel with the mantas. Otherwise, we wouldn't have made it on time for sunset at Pink Beach on Padar Island. That was really unfortunate. However, we had the Pink Beach all to ourselves for snorkeling and sunset as the other boats had been there the previous evening. The Pink Beach is not just named so; it actually has pink sand and is one of only 2 beaches with pink sand in all of Indonesia. While snorkeling, I saw beautiful corals and two turtles.

Overnight, we sailed around Padar Island to watch the sunrise from the 3-Beaches Lookout the next morning. This was the only section of the boat tour where the sea became a bit rougher, and at least half of the people on board got seasick. I had no issues; I was able not just to eat my dinner but also keep it down and then sleep like a baby.

To my surprise, our captain managed to sail around the island during the night, and the little hike to the Lookout Point started at 5:30 AM the next morning. All the boats anchored in the bay overnight could only mean one thing, and at sunrise, the island was just as overcrowded as the sunrise at Gunung Batur on Bali. The sunrise was beautiful; however, all the boats in the east were anchored and their lights marred the view a bit. Therefore, I liked the view of the three beaches much better after the sun had risen. It would have been nicer if we had made it there by sunset (though presumably, it would have been just as crowded then).

The next stop was Rinca Island, where we visited the Komodo dragons. We actually wanted to go to Komodo Island, but due to our delay, that was not possible. In this case, it was probably the better option anyway, as I later heard from people on other boats that Komodo Island was totally overcrowded and the Komodos were lying around lethargically, looking as if they had been drugged for tourists to take photos with them.

We were the only guests on Rinca Island again, led around by five rangers, and we also had the opportunity at the end to take photos with one of the Komodo dragons. Unfortunately, not all of us, because when a small herd of buffalo approached, it fled. But that's just how nature plays out, and that's how it should be. By the way, Komodos are cannibals, which is why the freshly hatched Komodos must hide in trees until they are 1-2 years old so they are not simply eaten by their peers.

Unfortunately, we didn't have time for the small museum afterwards because we wanted to snorkel at two more spots before we headed to our final destination, the harbor of Labuan Bajo. The first spot wasn’t very convincing, but the second one was much better: baby sharks, baby stingrays, a moray eel, a wall of fish, and beautiful corals. That was truly amazing! With the sunset, we had to return to the boat and finally arrived at the harbor of Labuan Bajo around 7 PM. This gave us an impressive 5 hours delay, but we completed the cruise with all the promised destinations.

All in all, it was a really nice experience, the people were super friendly, and I would definitely do it again. Just at a different place, to experience something new, and not with Indocruis/Travel Wise. Too many things went wrong on board, independent of the motor, which I won't mention here...