Ende was the first place we visited in Flores. It was our intention to fly into the East part of the island and slowly make our way to the West side, hitting some interesting tourist destinations along the way. Ende was the cheapest city to fly into, and to me, it was rather unimpressive. Though the mountains surrounding the town were beautiful, the beach in this small port city was dirty, the water was murky and on our first morning there, it took me and three other volunteers a good while to find a decent spot to swim in.

The Flores Crew eating some nasi pecel before the long walk and awful sunburns. Note the gorgeous mountains. Photo Credit: Ellen

In our walk of several kilometers, we gathered the attention of children we encountered along our path and gradually, many followed us on our quest across sandy patches and rocky terrains. Though some of the kids looked no older than 10, a couple puffed on cigarettes and seemed to be devising some mischievous deed for when we weren’t looking. Fortunately, we finally reached a rocky spot where we settled down while the kids dropped their bad intentions and showed us their water acrobatics for the next hour or so.

After this, we walked back those several kilometers under a scorching sun, without taking proper precautions. Here we got the worst sunburns of the whole trip and some 15-year old kid had the audacity to grope my chest. Needless to say, Ende didn’t make the best first impression, but every other day was great, erasing any bad feelings.