About Thalassa 1
I woke just before sunrise on the first morning, the wood planks of Thalassa 1’s foredeck still cool under my bare feet. The boat had anchored near Sebayur overnight, and the only sound was the soft clink of rigging and a distant cormorant’s call. I sat cross-legged near the bow, wrapped in a thin blanket from my cabin, watching the sky shift from indigo to peach. By 6:30, the crew had laid out coffee and sweet banana pancakes on the upper deck. No rush, no itinerary sheet shoved in our hands—just a nod from Captain Agus and a quiet promise of Padar by mid-morning.
We reached Padar before 9, hiking up the switchbacks as the sun climbed. The view from the top was raw and unfiltered—three crescent bays fanning out below, each a different shade of turquoise. After the descent, we floated off Pink Beach, the crushed coral giving the sand its soft blush. I snorkeled right from the shore and saw parrotfish grazing on staghorn, a green turtle half-buried in seagrass. Back on Thalassa 1, lunch was grilled mahi-mahi with sambal matah, served on banana leaves at the long teak table under shade sail.
Day two started with a dragon walk on Komodo Island. Our ranger carried a forked stick, eyes scanning the trails. We spotted two juveniles near the watering hole, their forked tongues flicking at the air. After, we snorkeled at Manta Point. I saw three mantas in twenty minutes, one circling so close I felt the pressure wave of its wingtip. The boat had moored just outside the current line. We jumped in with fins and masks pre-checked by the dive master. No need to swim hard—just hover and watch.
On the final morning, we reached Taka Makassar by 7:30. The sandbar was already emerging, a long sliver of white in the middle of nowhere. We waded out, took the usual group shots, then scattered to float in silence. Kanawa came next—shallow reefs, clownfish in anemones, and a decent chance of white-tip reef sharks near the drop-off. We returned to Labuan Bajo by 3 PM. The crew handed us cold towels and fresh lime juice as we docked. No fanfare, just the low hum of the engine cutting out, and the city noise rushing back in.
