February 27, 2024 Komodo National Park, Indonesia, Day 69 of 138 We are at the half way point

I can't believe it, but we have reached the half way point of our World Cruise. I  read the blogs from last year, and  I was surprised to learn the cruisers were surprised to reach this point so quick. I have to agree with them. It in some ways seems like we have just started. 

Today was an unique experience. We went ashore to view the Komodo Dragons. This is not a usual tourist spot, that is all we get to see at this stop. There are people who live on the island, but we only see our guides and the Dragons, and Dragons we did see.

The dragons were hard to see as they camouflage themselves extremely well. They were hanging out in the shade of trees, or under the walkway we were observing them from. It was hot today mid 80's, but the humidity was probably matching that temperature. This is not an easy tourist spot. We feel very fortunate we made this stop. It is a once in a lifetime experience.

From the sign to the right we learned over a short distance, a Komodo Dragon can run up to 18 mph.

The Komodo's can swim, but they don't like to swim. They live up to 55 - 60 years. The are solitary creatures from birth. Babies hatch and live in trees for the first 3 - 4 years. On this island the male to female ratio is 1 female to 3 males. They fight to breed the females.

 

They said the little one to the right was about 10 years old. None of the Komodos we saw had reached their full length.

These are the tools used by the staff to keep the Komodo Dragons away from them when they are working around the dragons.

We saw bald eagles flying around the area. They are a predator of the young Komodo dragons. Other groups saw a water buffalo and a Kuku burro bird. The water buffalo is on the menu for Komodo dragons, along with wild horses, and wild deer. They bite their victim and leave behind a bacteria that eventually kills the animal. The dragons gather to eat the animal where they fall bones and all.

Our night ended with great music from our Viking Sky Sea Six band with our vocalists. We were rocking to the music. They send us back to our rooms smiling, singing, with a spring in our step.