We arrived in Lubuan Bajo on Monday after a very pleasant anchorage at Inca village the night before on Flores Island. As we have headed south we have had some of the most enjoyable sailing so far in our trip. Flat seas and light winds allowed us to give the spinnaker a good workout without having to resort to using the engine. For the final sail south from Bone Rate Is., we opted for a very early morning start rather than an overnight sail, as there are many unlit floating bamboo fishing pontoons miles out to sea. They are very hard to spot even with a full moon. On the previous overnight passage to Bone Rate Is we spotted a few of these platforms only metres off our beam, so we were on full alert! Lubuan Bajo is a reasonable sized city on the very western tip of Flores Is. It is quite an untidy place with much rubbish lying around, but is the main hopping off point for tourists keen to visit the Komodo Islands as well as being a popular area for diving. We spotted many backpackers around town and for once we weren't the only westerners in town! However, it is a reasonable place to reprovision for food, especially fruit/ vegetables and chicken(freshly plucked) all found at a huge traditional market about 3kms out of the town. There are a few upmarket hotels and lodges around the waterfront, and we enjoyed a delicious Indonesian meal at one the other night. Yesterday we sailed to Rinca Is. which is in a group of islands about 20nm west of Labuan Bajo and very close to Komodo Island. The cruising grounds here are very good with many bays in which to anchor. We are in Ginggo Bay where it is possible to spot the famous Komodo dragons on the beach, as well as monkeys, deer and wild boar. We have already spotted the monkeys playing on the beach but are awaiting the dragons to surface around dusk. Apparently they can be as long as 3 metres and they have a fatal bite! So we will watch them from afar! It has also been said that a bbq on the beach, will lure them out of the bush, but they tend to move in on the food quickly! The islands are quite barren with a few coconut palms here and there but certainly not tropical looking at all. It is quite a mountainous area with good views out from this bay to the other islands. We may stay another day and then begin our sail further west towards Bali ,where we need to be by the middle of September to extend our visas.