Komodo Island, Indonesia: Yep, this is the home of the famous Komodo Dragons. The island is an Indonesian National Park, which the other DrC is checking out as I write this.
She has pictures to share and you can find them on her blog which lives at cruztalkingtwo.blogspot.com. I planned to go with her but developed a sore hip which makes walking difficult - not sure how or why - and had to stay aboard.
Later ... She's back with good pix of Komodo's carnivorous land lizards. They're less armored than crocs and gators, but taller and nearly as long. They both hiss and growl.
I am surprised the hillsides here are relatively barren, not at all the tropical jungle I expected. That's twice I've been caught off-guard by less-than-lush greenery in these swampy climes. Again, as on New Caledonia, we hear there's been a drought.
This was a tender port, meaning pax had to go ashore in the ship's boats. We anchored in protected waters amid a cluster of islands, I could see 8-10 from my chair topside.
Indonesia has the entire gamut of island sizes, from very large (Borneo, Java) to tiny, they number in the thousands. Next stop, Bali.
Later still ... Komodo was a half-day stop. We've cruised all afternoon alongside an unending string of islands, several in sight at all times. Such a large collection of islands makes for a very water-borne culture, many distinctive interisland watercraft that you wouldn't take into the wide open seas.
