We spent the whole day exploring the archipelago of the 17 Riung islands (although in reality there are more), in our opinion the place with the most beautiful sea in all of Flores. Thanks to Fred we agreed a good price with a nice captain of a fishing boat for excursion and lunch (with delicious dishes prepared by his wife).

The islets, completely uninhabited, are truly beautiful, and have white beaches strewn with shells and gigantic starfish!
The icing on the cake was the red snapper barbecue cooked thanks to the burning of coconuts on a remote island: it was so delicious that we still remember its flavors and aromas today.
After the boat trip we returned to Riung for the last night.

Day 5

From Riung we moved to Mount Kelimutu.
On top of this protected natural park full of lush tropical vegetation, where you will often hear the mighty song of the Flores nightingale, there are 3 small lakes that formed in the 3 volcanic craters of the extinct Kelimutu.

The three lakes are practically adjacent to each other, separated only by a thin line of rock and their peculiarity (the only one in the world) lies in the fact that they can change their color.

They take on shades of colors ranging from turquoise to blue, from black to green and red! It is believed that this very strange phenomenon is caused by underground gases of volcanic origin and by the variation in the chemical composition of the salts dissolved in the water. According to some local beliefs, the three lakes, being sacred since the souls of the deceased elderly, the young and the wicked pour into them, change color according to the mood of the spirits.

Useful info:
Before starting the trek, we recommend asking the rangers at the entrance about the weather conditions: with low clouds the lakes will be almost impossible to see!

At the end of the trek we slept in a lodge nearby, from which you could see a beautiful starry sky!

Day 6, 7 and 8

After stopping for a short break in Koka Beach, a beautiful beach consisting of two inlets near the cocoa plantations, we finally reached Maumere, the island's capital.

Here, after taking leave of the good Fred, we would spend our last 2 days available in Indonesia in a beautiful resort, in a wooden house built on the black sand, a few steps from the sea.

We gave ourselves this complete and total relaxation before returning to Italy.