Leaving the tourist hive of Labuanbajo where money talks, and tourism is the people’s livelihood, I returned to normality. I returned to ‘Hello Mister,’ and ‘where you go?’. I returned to thumbs up and people smiling and cheering. Yes, it was steep, but not as bad as I had expected. No pushing the bike today.
First sunrise of Flores
The road climbed to 1000m, winding its way to amazing views over the island.
The road was steep
View from above
I had a short break visiting a lovely family for tea. They have hosted cyclists before, and there is a young German guy there teaching English at the local school.
A short break with this family
After returning to almost sea-level, the next climb was back up to 1000m. This climb was quite gentle (for Flores), and I was able to make it almost to the top before sunset. A lovely family invited me in to their home for dinner and a bed. The people here are so friendly and caring.
The Christian house
My host family
The boat from Sumbawa was quite uneventful, but beautiful, crossing deep blue water with flying fish everywhere, and beautiful pointed islands on the horizon.
The boat to Flores
arctic-cycler.com 
Such a lucky place to be. A shame the Indonesian Government left so much devastation there when Timor Este gained governance. I would like to be there.
You mean in Flores? I didn’t realise the government did much here when Timor Leste gained independence..