Where in the World is Pat?

PADAR ISLAND , one of the other 3 major islands in Komodo National Park is stunning and unihabited with a walking trail of over 800 steps to the summit, for these amazing views.

KOMODO VILLAGE is a small, mainly fishing family population of just 300 to 350 households. It sits on the east end of Komodo Island within the National Park and is a unique community where locals coexist alongside the native Komodo Dragons.

KOMODO ISLAND NATIONAL PARK in Indonesia was an unexpected rare twist on this voyage. We had no idea that we would be able to anchor right in the heart of this National Park for 3 days. The National Park is comprised of 3 major islands & 26 smaller ones and is home to the legendary Komodo Dragons! We were suppose to anchor at the coastal town of Labuan Bajo and shuttle into the Park. But hours before docking, the Port Agents directed us to anchor right in the heart of the Park. Captain Val made it possible for our tour vendors, to pull right up to the Odyssey , so we had super easy access to our tours saving us lots of logistics and time.

We met up with the Ship in Timor Leste or East Timor, one of the youngest countries in the World . This sovereign state just gained their independence on May 20, 2002 from prior Portuguese rule (1515 until 1975) and Indonesian occupation (1975 until 1999). The Ship was anchored off the coastal town of Dili, the capital city with a population of roughly 1.4 million.

I know people laugh when I say we took a vacation from the Ship , they view this whole amazing voyage as a vacation! But the reality is the Ship is my home now, and almost everybody loves a vacation away from home, to unwind and recharge! So my life on the Odyssey, is not that different. I really appreciated my two weeks away at Eco Cove Resort , on Yeben Island in Raja Ampat, Indonesia !

I got to do 14 dives and 5 snorkel trips over our two weeks at Eco Cove Resort. I feel much more confident and comfortable diving, practice does truly help! Eco has these t-shirts that list all their Resort excursions - we made a nice dent in all of them and it's hard to pick a favorite!

Friday nights at Eco Cove Resort are sunset excursion time. All the guest are taken over to tiny Yeben Rock Island. This time the tde ws coming in quickly and alot of the island was already covered by water but that didn't dampen our party! We had a cooler of beer this time too! We also have become feriendly with the 2 families that were there sharing with us.

Eco Cove Resort in Raja Ampat - Oh what a wonderful place! I have truly loved my time here! Sharing it all with wonderful friends, made it even better. Here's some highlights above and below the water.

If you have been following along, you know I really hoped to see an active Octopus here, swimming through the water. What I didn't specify is what size the Octopus would be in that wish! Here in Raja Ampat we have noticed that our dive masters and guides are really focused on the tinest creatures, in these huge oceans. They carrying writing boards to tell us what we are looking at, because we are talking things the size of a finger tip! So I did technically get my dream of seeing an Octopus in flight! Meet the rare and deadly (their sting can kill you in 3 minutes) Blue Ringed Octopus ! He is the small purple and yellow dotted piece cling to the corals below (on the bottom right). You would think just another coral - until you see him move in videos below. Enjoy!