After a few days in Wakatobi National Park, we departed and made our way toward our final destination: Labuan Bajo, the port city of Komodo National Park. The conditions were relatively calm and we finally got to use the spinnaker which had been taking up a lot of space in the salon. Instead of going directly to Labuan Bajo, we were able to make one overnight stop along the way to catch up on some rest before completing the final stretch.
As our miles counted down, my anxiety also seemed to subside, knowing the amount of things that could go wrong was dwindling. I began to get nostalgic about the trip, especially getting to spend so much time with Joni over the past weeks knowing she would be returning to Belgium, having no idea when I would see her again. I was also sad knowing that this could potentially be my last overnight passage, maybe ever. Suddenly, I forgot everything I didn’t like about sailing and was flooded with gratitude for all the experiences it had given me. My only wish is that I had enjoyed it more, without letting the anxiety get in the way so much.
By sunrise, we could see the outline of the approaching landmass and the tens of large liveaboard ships anchored nearby. To avoid the crowd, Kevin picked a quiet bay near the outskirts of town and we dropped anchor near one other cruising catamaran. After our late morning naps, we spent the day cleaning and packing in preparation for flying out soon.
The next day we rented a driver to take us into town for a day of good coffee, food, and pampering. I was surprised to find the main street lined with cute restaurants, coffee shops, and dive operators. Labuan Bajo was much more Westernized than Sorong and I found joy in the sudden availability of healthy food options. We sat at a boutique digital nomad hangout for the afternoon, eating smoothie bowls, and Kevin and I got massages for just $10 USD per hour. That night, we ate at a restaurant called The Happy Banana which, a bit contrary to the name, served excellent sushi and poke bowls.
The next day, Joni and I packed our bags and Kevin dropped us off onshore for the airport transfer. Joni had a long flight ahead of her, back home, and I would be flying to Singapore for a short visa run. I had already been in Indonesia nearly 60 days and I was legally required to depart the country. Since I was enjoying my time on SV Kismet (other than the passage making) and I didn’t have any other plans, I decided to depart for three days then return and do more diving and sailing in Komodo. All of the sailing from here to Bali would be day hops.
We made our way to the airport and I said goodbye to Joni during our layover in Jakarta, then boarded my flight to Singapore. I spent the next three days running around the city which was easy to do on public transit. Singapore is a civil engineering dream city and I am a huge fan, having been a few times before. It seemed that anywhere I needed to go was a short bus or subway ride away and I never had to wait more than 5 minutes or walk more than two blocks to get anywhere.
I had a list of things that Kevin needed on the boat plus picked up a few items both of us would enjoy, like pickled mango, sriracha sauce, and some Mexican products I found at a specialty import store. Having just brought a backpack with a weekend’s worth of clothes, I picked up a cardboard box that I could use as my carry-on and filled it up with some other unnecessary items like new bathing suits, dive booties, and some neoprene leggings.
Unfortunately, Singapore is quite an expensive place to stay and I spent $40 sleeping in a pod hostel room with 10 other people. The food is also comparable to American pricing and I spent too much money eating anything resembling Mexican food. After three days, I was ready to head back to Indonesia and made my way to the airport. Little did I know, I would not be returning to Indonesia.
