Day 11 - Flores Island

We hired a boat ride from a native man to the island of Flores where there is a hike back through the headlands and beaches to a coast that is - well this.  Sadly it took us so long to get to this spot we could go no further as we knew it was even longer to return as we would no longer be able to wade the small river that was not approaching high tide.  It did take longer, lots of thick woods and a footpath that has as many downed logs, slippery mostly steps on wood and things to gauge yourself on as you can imagine.  It took forever.  But the whole thing a lovely adventure and one we will do again with a pack for one or even two overnights.  We found someone with a radio who called in a boat to take us back - there is no cell phone no wifi - really guys, this country is not what we are all accustomed to.  Which is what makes it so so special.

The extra is walking down the road with our native escort to the head of the trail and that was helpful as nothing is marked out like most of us are accustomed to.  We would have NEVER found it.  He regaled us with stories of all his troubles and then asked for a donation.  Okay fine.  The whole island is a native island and I have also shown you the village.  Pretty rough in some ways, but rich in culture and community.  One usually does feel a sense of not belonging - well we don't as tourists. 

Another interesting fact, the native people who live here, Ahouset, have been found by anthropologists to have been in this region for 10,000 years, right back to the last ice age.  Staggering, the same blood lines in the same location.