Travelers Spend 11 Days Aboard Small Yacht Touring Indonesia's Lesser Sunda Islands

Nine passengers spent 11 days and 10 nights aboard the 54-metre motor yacht Paspaley Pearl traveling from Benoa in Bali to Dili in Timor-Leste. The vessel accommodates a maximum of 30 guests and is operated by Pearl Expeditions.

Passengers snorkeled, swam, hiked and visited remote communities during daylight hours before returning to the ship each evening. Meals were prepared by chefs Amy and Teo and served in the dining room on the Ocean Deck. The ship has three decks, two restaurants and three bars. Each stateroom includes a double bed, two wardrobes, a desk, a private balcony and a bathroom with a large window.

Naturalist guides described the high rate of endemic species in the region known as Wallacea. One guide noted that the Komodo dragon originated in Australia and reached the islands by sea. Passengers observed a sea snake approximately two feet long with silver and black bands while traveling in a Zodiac. The guide identified it as venomous but stated its small mouth limited the risk to humans.

Guides also discussed the 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora on Sumbawa, which killed 11,000 people locally and caused global temperature drops the following year. The eruption's ash contributed to the atmospheric conditions that confined Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley and Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin near Lake Geneva, where Mary began writing Frankenstein.