After just under three weeks I had finally arrived at my final and consequently favorite stop in Indonesia: Flores. It is realistically the farthest east feasible getting to without flying, and it reflects (and rewards) that with a remote and rugged feel. There’s a lot of ground to cover for one post- about 220 miles and 5 days.
The journey can be roughly divided into three main highlights: Mt. Kelimutu, the village of Bena and the landscapes of pretty much the entire eastern third of the island. There were a few other smaller attractions mixed in to help break up the monotony of, you know, driving along endless hairpin bending roads cut into the sides of jungle-covered volcanoes….
Lingko spiderweb fields near Ruteng, Flores. The design of these fields is historically very significant. In a nutshell, land was not owned, but rather divided by size based on the capacity of the family to work the land. A circle is a really convenient shape to divide land. A ceremonial pole (symbolizing male and female, because fertility of everything was probably the most important thing back then) was set in the center of the circle, and marks were made defining the dimensions of a wedge. All they had to do was simply make a line perpendicular to the pole and the perimeter, and an area was unarguably defined.These are stills for producing Arak, the local “whiskey” of Indonesia. It’s made using just about anything that will ferment (so usually rice) and tastes a little like…watery, bad tequila? It’s usually a full 80 proof though (at least) so you have to be careful! Trust me on this one..Fermenting rice…I think…Bena is a true stone-age village that hasn’t changed much in the last 1,200 years. Stone structures like this were everywhere. One can only imagine the things they have seen…Dried nuts are one of the primary products of the village.Also, lots of textiles crafted by the very old and very young.Playing soccer with some of the kids. Not sure what they thought was so funny…The religious beliefs of the village are a hybrid blend of elemental spirit worship and as indicated by the statue, Christianity.Many of the songs he played were recognizable from church…I have to admit, not what I was expecting!The view from the highest point of the village.Because it was midday when we visited, the village was occupied by the elderly and children, as everyone else is out working the fields. This is true for all the villages I’ve seen so far on my trip.Mount Inerie, a geologically active volcano, looms above the village. The locals believe God lives atop this mountain and protects them. And I’m guessing every couple hundred years they think He gets really angry with them…..We stopped at a blue beach. I think this one speaks for itself.Remainder of the boat trip-turned-Flores crew! It was an early morning hike to Kelimutu….Mt. Kelimutu is a set of three volcano craters famous for sporadically changing colors including blue, green, black, red and white. This is caused by various bacteria-mineral interactions from fumaroles below the surface, but ancient tribesmen had a different explanation. The lakes are thought to be the resting place of souls. One for old people, one for “young men and maidens” and one for evil spirits. Here are two of them at sunrise.The third black one was in front of me. Sadly it doesn’t get much love, but I thought it was beautiful too, in its own way…So here’s some love.
The rice patties in eastern Flores were the ones I had been searching for! They really do wonders for the soul.
Wouldn’t it be nice to build a little cottage on the edge of this rice patti and visit it every now and then when life says “I need a break”? Ahhhhhh…. Really neat.
potravels 
Wouldn’t it be nice to build a little cottage on the edge of this rice patti and visit it every now and then when life says “I need a break”? Ahhhhhh…. Really neat.
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