We’ve spent the past four days at sea, surveying the manta sites in Komodo National Park and meeting some amazing marine creatures. Today it was time for a break. A chance for the nitrogen that has accumulated in our bodies due to repetitive diving to disappear, and a chance for us to recharge!

Today was also a chance to think back on our amazing experiences over the past week. We’ve learned about diving with manta rays, survey formations, and how to take manta ID photos. We’ve enhanced our diving skills, experienced underwater currents, and of course seen the great underwater environments of Komodo National Park.

MantaWatch team during the manta expedition this year!

Today we decided to explore Flores, and we traveled northeast to Rangko Cave. To visit Rangko Cave, you must first take a car from Labuan Bajo to Lancang, about 45 minutes away. From Lancang, we continued by fishing boat, sailing 20 minutes to the beach near Rangko Cave. From here, it was just a short 10 minute trek to the cave.

Rangko Cave, Flores, Indonesia.

Rangko Cave is a giant hole in the limestone rocks, with a seawater pool inside. The cave is amazing, and the clear water was a very fresh place to swim after the long journey. It is just like swimming in an indoor pool, but with stalactites hanging above your head. The pool is quite deep – around 7-9 meters – and the surrounding rocks are a little slippery, so you must be careful if you visit. But otherwise, this was a fantastic place to visit on our day off, and a real adventure. We are all recharged and ready to see what week two has in store for us.

Rangko Cave underwater