Today we feel free, because it’s our day off! After a busy week living onboard, looking for mantas with SCUBA diving and learning about R, today it’s time to relax, release our our body of nitrogen, and explore Flores.

We visited Rangko Cave. From our house in Kaper it took us only 30 minutes by motorbike. But then we need to continue our journey just a little bit further. A 20 minute boat ride costs IDR 100,000 per person for a roundtrip, plus a small “Goa Rangko” entrance ticket of IDR 20,000 for local people and IDR 50,000 for tourists.

Rangko cave is an amazing place. It’s like a hidden, blue private pool surrounded by stalactite ornaments. This cave is not a dark and scary place, and there are bats inside. But we must remember safety first, as the path can be very slippery.

We learned that the perfect time to visit Rangko cave is between 12 and 2 pm because the sunlight shine into the cave through a hole.

When we arrived the place was so crowded. This month is still high season for tourism and Rangko cave is a popular place to visit. 

It was great to see that people have created a few basic rules to help maintain the sustainability of this beautiful place. Simple things such as always putting your trash in the bin, keeping the water clean for swimming, and not climbing on or breaking the stalagmites will ensure this remains a great place to visit.

After a day off to recharge our batteries and explore the area, we are ready to face the week ahead!