We're continuing to cruise the north coast of Flores, as we have for the last 300 miles. An amazing island: arid volcanic interior with a lush tropical fringe. Obvious signs of volcanic activity, with the odd fumarole easily visible.

From Maumere we took a trip into the interior - left at 0400 to catch the dawn on Kalimutu - three crater-lakes, each a different colour: one a fantastic emerald green. An interesting trip back through rural mountainous Flores. Primitive villages, wonderful wildlife, hotsprings, etc.

The wild life along the coast has been unbelievable - leaping tuna, a myriad of flying fish, loads of dolphins, and even a pod of whales, all basking on the surface in the afternoon sun. Surprised theydidn't have Raybans. We even saw what looked like a WW2 mine, till Jofrik got close and realised it was the bloated distended body of a pig that had been dead for about a month, with it's legs sticking out!

This evening we are anchored in a beautiful, protected sound, with absolutely still water. The sea is crystal clear, and you can't actually land on the coast in the dingy because of the coral. The jungle comes right down to the water's edge, and this afternoon we saw a troup of about 20 long-tailed monkeys, gambolling on the beach. At any minute I expected Johnny Weismuller to drag Jane out of the forest!

We'll spend the day here tomorrow, and will probably visit the village (kampong) along the shore, which is built up on stilts. Tomorrow night we finally leave Flores, and move on to Rinca, one of only two islands in the world where you see the Komodo dragons.

We expect to reach Lombok and Bali on the 22nd, and will probably spend a week there, before starting to head north, towards Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.

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