08′ 50S by 121′ 30.8E – Flores Islands was conquered by the Portuguese prior to being taken over by the Dutch, hence the name. Flores, like Timor, has a large Christian population as a result of Portuguese missionary efforts. Before the Portuguese arrived, the natives of Flores had already been conquered by the kingdom of a nearby island, Sulawesi. The natives of Flores comprise five separate cultural groups that did not have a lot of interaction with one another due to the rugged terrain that made travel between areas extremely difficult.

The island of Flores came into view several hours before we arrived. At first it reminded us of the Marquesas, with large, dramatic volcanic mountains, the highest of the peaks enshrouded in mist. But as we got closer we saw that, while green with a lot of vegetation, the mountains are not nearly as lush as the Marquesas. Ende is a port town on the south side of the island with 80,000 inhabitants. It is nestled in a bay protected by a peninsula that juts out. As we rounded the peninsula, we were amazing to see that there was a smoking volcano next to us on the shore. The highest peak wasn’t the one smoking, it was a smaller peak only half the size, maybe 500 feet tall. The smoke has a yellowish tint. There are yellow stains around the crest from the sulfur and a jagged line of reddish looking dirt with no vegetation that runs down the face, likely from where lava once flowed down.

Once we rounded the corner we could see Ende clearly. From the distance it looked like a sprawl of low buildings in the foothills beneath the sheer cliffs. The beaches are black sand.

As we were anchoring, prayer time started. The Islamic mosques chant prayers over a loudspeaker five time a day, the first one being at 04:30. Even though most of Flores is Christian, there are quite a few Muslims in Ende. In Kupang we had vaguely heard the chanting in the distance.

We got Kosmos situated and took the dinghy over to the nearby pier. There was a crowd of young boys jumping off the pier into the water, then running up the stairs to do it again. As we approached, all the boys on the dock congregated around the staircase and stared at us. As we pulled up and got out, a few of the boys excitedly practiced their English on us and did back flips off the pier into the water to show off for us. They all wanted their picture taken.

Where we landed, the pier has an enormous hole in the concrete in the middle that a person could easily fall through. There was a crew of workers re-doing the cement farther along the pier. They all stared at us, too, and a few waved.

As we walked up the street, everyone stared at us. There were a lot of women wearing the telltale Muslim head covers. In Kupang there were a handful, and there is a much bigger percentage here. Several people tried to talk to us, but the language barrier made communication difficult. We were headed to Hotel Ihklas, and when we said the name, the locals had all pointed up a hill. Several told both of us to get on the back of their scooter so they could take us. While we often see three and four people piled on the scooters out here, we declined the offer, figuring it was safer to walk.

After a couple minutes of walking, three teenage boys approached us. They spoke English and were obviously elated at being able to practice on native English speakers. Several of their peers joined the group, and soon we had a crowd around us. They look like they may be from a Catholic school and they all speak good English. They instructed us to hop on a bemo as it would be a long walk.

We found our destination and booked a tour for tomorrow. We were hoping to get a late lunch there, too, but the kitchen was closed. The owner is the best English speaker we have encountered yet, and we had a nice chat with him. He says we are the first private yacht that has been to Ende in the last five months. Everyone we have spoken to is upset about the decline in tourism. They are angry at the terrorists that destroyed their source of income with the bombings and angry at the government for making matters worse by tightening visa guidelines and time allowances. The locals are so grateful to every tourist that comes to visit them and go out of their way to make sure we are safe and have a good time. There is even a tourism police department that keeps an eye on tourists to make sure they are safe.

We hopped a bemo back down the hill. Ende also feels very third world. Most of the buildings are middle of the road, with few mansions and few shanties, so it feels less extreme than Kupang. There isn’t as much trash around and the streets are narrower.

We ate at a Chinese restaurant recommended in Lonely Planet. We got dishes we knew we liked from Chinese food at home. The food was excellent.

Back at the pier, the crowd of boys was still there, the work crew was still slaving away, and a few pedestrians were loitering about. It was 1800 (6:00 pm), so we were surprised they were still working. The boys called out to us as we passed, then again congregated around the stairs to watch us get in the dinghy and go. We realized every single person on the pier was gaping at us, watching us until we were all the way back at Kosmos.

And, as an FYI, we are pleased to report Eric’s eye is completely healed.