Morning in the Bay, Flores Island - Indonesia Flores Island is the starting point for most diving adventures in the Komodo Island area. The small hilltop airport has sporadically scheduled daily flights, and the harbor is filled with fishing boats, day boats for snorkeling trips, and double masted wooden schooners for live-aboard dive trips. Just recently, Flores also became notable for its paleontology studies, where as a small skeleton was discovered - that of a previously unknown hominid species, Homo floresiensis. These diminutive upright beings have been named 'hobbits' and appear to have stood only one meter tall. From almost any small room on the hillside, you can sip javanese coffee and watch the sun rise over the wakening bay.

Manta Ray, Karang Makassar - Indonesia Power and grace - it is the only way to describe the ghost-like passage of a reef manta. While not as large as its gigantic cousin, the oceanic manta (with a 28 foot wingspan), these smaller reef mantas (18 foot wingspan) seem equally majestic as they glide past coral heads - their mouths open wide, flying into the current, looking right at you as they pass - they look right into your mask.

The Sinking Sun - Indonesia In the evening we climbed the hill to the top of Pungo Island, or 'Pearl Island' and watched the sun set over distant islands. On the opposite side of this tiny island is the pearl farm, where men walk the white sand beach 24 hours a day, keeping watchful eyes on the labyrinth of nets and strings and buoys that lie just offshore.