Lankayan Island Paradise

Lankayan Island. . . our last stop on our Borneo adventure. The boat from Kinabatangan took us to a jetty, but not the right jetty. We were to leave for Lankayan from a a different jetty. I tell y’all, I never thought I would be on an adventure that involved multiple jetties. The resorts we enjoyed took care of us before and after we enjoyed our stays. The driver with Kinabatangan drove us partway to the new jetty, but then he got a call telling him that the driver with Lankayan was going to pick us up from Jetty #1 and take us to Jetty #2. We didn’t know that at the time, because he did not speak strong English. We did notice that we seemed to be going back the way we came. When we got back to Jetty #1, a different driver (who spoke English a bit better) explained that we were to wait there for the Lankayan driver to pick us up. So, we did. Kelly sat patiently. Riki paced and explored. She found several very skinny stray cats and some very pretty birds, some washed-up trash, and a huge yacht anchored in the bay. Eventually, the driver took us to the Lankayan jetty. We were a bit early for departure, so we went into a little store nearby and looked for some chocolate and soda. We found some of each, as well as a salty snack for Kelly.

At the Jetty, the other passengers began to arrive. There was a couple from Canada and two couples from the Netherlands. It did not take long for the conversation to turn political. It seems that the whole world has strong opinions about our current commander-in-chief. Kelly and I sat quietly and listened to their interesting perspectives. It was a bit awkward, but as the Good Book says, even a fool appears wise if he holds his tongue. So hopefully we appeared very wise.

A few other people arrived, as well. They must have been special, because they got the good boat, and were kept safely away from us plebians. We loaded onto the other boat for a two-hour boat ride to the island. It was lovely, but the boat, or the sun, or the water, or something, betrayed me . I thought I was safely under the cover of the boat, but half of my face and one arm got sunburned. Our new friend from Canada, who was sitting on the other side of the boat, had the same thing happen on the other side of his body. We both looked ridiculous at lunch later that day.

The island, as you can see by the pictures, is absolutely gorgeous. It is one of three islands that is part of a sea turtle preserve. It is also a world-class dive resort. The island is tiny. You can walk around the whole thing in less than ten minutes. Many of the buildings associated with the island are built on piers – the dive center/boat dock, the main lodge/restaurant, and half of the bungalows. The buildings are connected to the island by high boardwalks. The boardwalk out to the lodge passes over shallows that are favorite spots for sea turtles to graze on seaweed. We spotted turtles several times when we crossed the boardwalk. We also saw weird-looking bump-head parrotfish and black-tipped reef sharks.

The food was delicious, but the first night we felt like they were fattening us to feed to the cannibals. We thought we were enjoying a lovely pasta dish with seafood, so we tucked in. We soon realized that was the first course of what felt like a dozen. After the first night, things were served buffet-style, which was much better.

Kelly is fairly-new at snorkeling, but he has been enough times to know what he is doing. Also, he grew up in the hot springs pool at Glenwood Springs. I, on the other hand, failed beginning swimming lessons three summers in a row before I gave up on ever learning to swim. And I have been snorkeling exactly 0 times. But I was game to try, though I was honestly pretty scared. We started just snorkeling in the water straight out from our bungalow. (Side note . . .we were the only visitors who were put in the bungalows on the island proper. We were far away from the other visitors. We never knew why they put us there, but I preferred being able to walk out our door and stroll on the sand, as opposed to being up on the pier, anyway.)

There was not much to see off our bungalow, but it gave me a chance to get used to the equipment. It is pretty weird to have your face in the water and still be able to breathe. But you must breathe from your mouth. If you try to breathe out your nose, your mask sucks up tight against your nostrils and makes you feel like your mask is trying to kill you. Maybe that is just my experience? Also, my snorkel tube kept kinking until Kelly adjusted it for me. It was better unkinked, for sure.

Our next snorkel adventure was out in the turtle grazing grounds. We did not see any turtles, but I built confidence, and the next time we ventured out to the dive center, which is positioned over some beautiful corals surrounded by a plethora of fish and crustaceans. It was indescribable.

The second day, there was a storm that made the sea a bit rough and turbid. I felt a bit insecure in the rough sea, but Kelly ventured out deeper and was rewarded with sights of new sea life. I was rewarded with cuts on my hand as I crawled on the dock. Who knew barnacles could be so sharp?

So, there was wonderful snorkeling, delicious food, an adorable bungalow with a wonderful man, there was also something else. . .baby turtles!!! The turtle rescue digs up the eggs that the turtles lay on the beach and move them to a protected area. Two months later, when the eggs hatch, they invite the visitors to watch the turtles scramble to the ocean. It was incredible. Kelly and I both had turtles crawl right up to our feet on their way to the sea. We tried not to think about the sharks we had seen earlier, who were probably as excited about the turtles as we were, but for entirely different reasons.

We were still pretty sick, but we were able to rest between time in the ocean, since we were snorkeling right off the island. Our time at Lankayan was wonderful, a perfect way to end.

Well, I have little to add this time… she said it best.. . it was spectacular!