Our first step was a gorgeous panoramic point. We had to walk up a bunch of steps to get to the top of the island, but I don't think it was as bad as the waterfall.
From there we went to Komodo Island to see the Komodo dragons! There are a few islands that have dragons, the ones I remember are Komodo Island as well as Rinca Island. We only went to Komodo Island. There are a couple guides on the island, and we trekked through the forest to find some dragons.
The first dragon we went after involved us speed walking off the path in an attempt to see it. It was well hidden in the bushes and the only way we could see it was when it was walking. This was a treat because they are cold-blooded creatures, so they will most likely be basking in the sun instead of walking, so that was very cool.
The next thing we saw was a dragon laying down close to the middle of the path. We were disheartened to hear that it was dying, and as soon as it died, other Komodo dragons would come in and eat it. These creatures are quite scary. Even from birth they start eating each other. Also, the small dragons are able to climb up trees, they can run up to 12 mph (20 km/h), and our tour guide has seen them swimming from island to island.
We were lucky enough to see a couple more dragons within the shrubs in the forest. It was very neat! They're huge.
We thought we were done with seeing dragons and took a stop at the cafe on the island, but then our nature guide pointed out a dragon that was sitting under the stairs. We were able to get some really cool pictures with it!
After that, we went to the pink beach to do some snorkeling. It's honestly not that pink, near the water you can see it's more pink, but it's not a vibrant pink. It's mostly sand with some flecks of pink.
Here's an FYI for those who want to come here, there isn't a bathroom at the pink beach. So, you may want to wear your swimsuit underneath your normal clothes, so you don't need to try and figure out how to change under a towel.
From there we went to find manta rays. Our tour guide hadn't seen a manta ray since around spring time, so it was amazing to get to see them. They are huge, majestic creatures that fly around in the water. Honestly, this was one of the coolest moments in the entire trip. We were somewhat in the middle of the ocean, so there were a lot of waves that were a little frightening.
After we saw the manta rays, we hopped back into the boat to try and find some sea turtles. Most of them were sitting on the ocean floor, so if you're like me and can't see without glasses, it's hard to see them. We were able to see a couple swimming up to the surface, so that was really cool as well.
And with that, we headed back to Labuan Bajo. Here's a note from me, make sure you dry off and put on some clothes, because later that evening I caught a cold which plagued me for the rest of the trip. We finished the day by watching the sunset on the water. It was also very pretty.
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