Condensed update

Hi guys, I'm currently killing some time in Flores near the island of Komodo. I spent the night on Komodo the night before last and saw an amazing ten dragons! I'm trying to upload the photos to face book as we speak along with the pictures from Bali island. I'm just going to condense some of my journal writing here with a short into to each. Some of My Journal writing is mostly imagery and impressions and I think of it more like a painting. I hope that when you read it you can feel some of what I felt experiencing this amazing place.

The night before at paradise restaurant after sunset-

Somewhere out there in this archipelago in the direction of the sleeping sun is the island of Komodo. There the dragon waits for me. In the morning, I'm boarding some kind of rickety craft, tested by time. I know that it will be comical but i'm doing it anyway with Nick from Sweden my new friend who has been to so many of the same places as me that I swear that we must be related.

Later, after arriving at the island on a four hour boat ride we decided in the heat of the day to visit Komodo village and afterward do our first hike around the island.

In Komodo village, children's laughter fills the air. Hello's echo from young and old. They all want their pictures taken.. Many of the curious touch and rub my skin to feel my tattoos. Fishing boats of many sizes crowd the harbor with lines out tied to anchors. Big eyed children carry komodo dragon carvings and pearl necklaces for cheap but they know how to bargain and first ask for pens and pencils. News of Obama has reached even here. Near the Mosque someone gives me a thumbs up to my president. Houses sit on stilts and children sing and play games in the shade while hiding from the afternoon sun. The smell of drying fish fills the air. Everyone smiles. there is so much life here.

After a jungle hike-

The Jungle is Alive! Wild boars, hairy necks, shrieking and snorting, fattened and careless, they sound like monsters sometimes when challenged by movement-
They are monster food. Timid deer travel in herds and sometimes dangerously alone. Velvet antlers, childrens eyes, shiny nostrils- spies of the jungle. In the distant plains and hilltops, Water buffalo graze sun fried grass. Geckos, blue and green, jumping or falling from trees. Fast like a flash gordon travelling in spurts. Chicken, Jungle chicken, Protected by law- Fruit of the land for the king only, Clack and flap wings on palm frawns and bushes like the dove and quail- just slower and less mobile. Snakes of all colors and types fill the bushy green bushes and trees. Eagles nest at the apex of natural living pillars somewhere and listen like I do to the symphony of ever present and changing jungle sounds. The drum beat of this island is legendary here and constant as it is real. Shaped like a dinosaur, living in a place where fantasy and reality meet fascinations and nightmares. His head is bigger than mine, his mouth seeps so much saliva and poison that it sticks to the ground when he looks up to notice me with eyes that question my position in the food chain in a place where he knows that he is the ultimate evil and can do no wrong. His shoulders arch and rotate prominence between front and hind while he walks only with a purpose- Swaying his massive muscular whip weapon tail. She is rare, she is precious, she is a marvel and an animal jewel to our planet. It is Komodo.

Komodo at night after an amazing day- Sounds of the Jungle at night.

Sounds of Komodo at night, Crickets steadily chirp so much that the night air rings like a quiet car alarm under atomically lit sky light full of stars and stars behind them. Waves in the bay froth in moonlight but it's dark where I sit. Bushes shake, A dragon hisses somewhere like a cobra not far from me. Wild boar shreik when they get too close to each other. They sound like monsters. Deer tred cautiously and light because they are everywhere. Lizards feast on ants and small bugs while arboreal snakes sneak sleakily through trees. The temperature drops to a cool 80 degrees. Park rangers laugh in the distance playing cards. A boat putters by close enough to the beach that I can hear someone singing a love song to the ocean breeze and it's time for bed. Tomorrow, I'll be part of that jungle.

Nick and I were by the way the only two visitors to the island of komodo. It's the slow season and most tourists go to the island of Rincha where the terrain is easier for hiking and it's easy to see dragons because they hang out near the ranger station. Before coming here we both agreed that we had to see dragons at Komodo no matter what it took. After our first amazing day of seeing 6 dragons and one tremendous monster (check the video of him walking over my camera out on Facebook) we took the longest, hardest hike on the island. The ranger said that he only did it twice last yr. I wasn't prepared for what the island had in store for me. Here are my afterthoughts.

The hike-
Sandled feet, one scarred from surgery, screws and metal aching inside- Both feet aching and worn and chafe to flesh like saddles too tight. Legs pushing limits, muscles like chewed cheap bubblegum. Sweat rains from my insides like a broken hearted cloud- The scenery amazes me thoughfrom up here and It pushes me in forward ascent, Climbing, crawling through bushes and on dewy, mossy rocks worn by time and few feet like mine past every shade of jungle, plains, hilltop grass, palms (some not surviving the heat so well like me), Tree and earth at 55 degrees to the peak. I should be in better shape but I'm not yet. My heart thumps hard in my chest and neck, I can feel my pulse finding a rhythm with my gasping breath and feet on rubber on changing ground. The sun rises to prominence, taking aim at me like a battleship in space shooting laser beams at my forehead and shoulders. Birds laugh. All the other animals take shelter in the shade. I spot a Komodo under green umbrella at distant hillside disinterested in my foggy gaze. I drink hot water from my pack and hide too, watching him and recharging my soul and will. The peak is nearer now. The thought is conception for my rebirth. Only one more kilometer to go. Few bushes survive here, fewer trees manage the heat. The surface I hike eases to burnt , yellow grass and slippery pebbles. My legs have no more bushes to fight. My body slicker now, skin coated with days of beer and water and pollen. I am tarred and feathered from every plant and flower. Arms and legs like bees feet. My head buzzes. Something like poison drips into my eye from my forehead. I move, still pushing and climbing. An encouraging breeze calls me closer to the top where in moments I will remember the reason of my origin. Moments pass and I pause, breathless, golden skin now shining in the sun- eyes wide open, heart filled with the passion of a thousand loves. Hair on my arms and the back of my neck stand erect pointing at the light of my spotlight. The Terrain of three hours climb looks up at me now peacefully. The breeze continues in full panorama. Smaller mountains hold the water below like an offering bowl to their make and those like myself who have come to visit him. Every bush, every tree, every patch of jungle, every rock, hillside and animal hiding in the terrain of this life filled place is part of the most beautiful painting that took millions of years to create. I'm thank full for the life my parents gave me and what I've done with it and am humbled in the presence of such wondrous beauty.