After a day of dragons and diving, it was time for something different.  An early morning pod of Fraser’s dolphins escorted us into the harbor at Maumere on the island of Flores.  From here, it was time to board some colorful local buses and head off into the hills for a cultural visit to a traditional village. Our day was filled with smiling faces and excitement as we explored a fairly remote part of Indonesia.

As we entered the village, we were greeted by the school children in their finest uniforms. After a warm welcome including some local “spirits” we walked a short distance where we were treated to an amazing dance.   A man was lifted onto a tall pole and rhythmically swayed back and forth. Music continued to entertain us as other dances were performed.

Weaving of ikats is one of the traditional practices of this part of Indonesia and we not only had the opportunity to see how they are made but many of us purchased some of high quality. Here, they still weave in the traditional manner using locally grown cotton and natural dyes, which is becoming more and more rare in our modern world.  We also learned about the many different local crops that were being grown including cloves and betel nut. Some of us even tried betel nut and certainly enjoyed it.

All too soon, it was time to be escorted back to the buses by the musicians and our descent back to the ship.  After a brief stop at the local market we boarded the National Geographic Orion and headed out on our way to Banda and many more exciting discoveries.