By the time we edged out of the pine trees on the other side of the path, the Fairmont lay to one side and the first glimpses of Lake Louise lay to the other side. And in between, a little wooden cabin, straight out of a winter movie.
It was later in the afternoon and a few clouds were drifting in the afternoon sky, the right side of said clouds lined with a soft yellow, a reflection of the dipping sun. The snow was such a pure white that it was tinged with the palest of icy blue tones.
It took a few seconds before I realised what we were barrelling towards. We stopped halfway across the frozen lake and got out to spend some time bonding with our sled teams while they rolled around in the fluffy snow.
When we swam into the part of the cave where the salty rock drops down closer to the surface of the water, that rocky kind of roof soars back up into darkness...and sleeping bats. The contrast between the bats and the dark heights of the insides of the cave and the weightlessness of the light aqua clarity of the water that has built up in the cave is quite wild and ridiculously cool to experience...just drifting inside the cave, enjoying it all.
Our scooter zipped up and down mountains, along coastlines, and through vast fields and little villages. The stark contrast of the bright and light aquas, blues, and turquoises, and vibrant greens and the browns and sandy tones, was a contrast that is beautiful and unforgettable.
Diving down deeper to swim with the fish, seeing them whirl around you in dizzying flashes of vibrant colour. And then, out of nowhere, a sea turtle surprised us! Swimming gracefully through the brilliantly clear blues, this little guy stayed around for a while before continuing on with his day. Under the surface, watching that little turtle glide through the ocean, it feels like paradise. And it is. It really is.
The sky started to explode with beautiful deep and bright blues, oranges, and yellows. Seeing the ocean in the distance start to sparkle as the sun rose in the sky, colours vibrantly brightening up with the fresh day ahead..it was so, so worth it.
The national park is an entire island and is the natural home and only place on Earth today where the Komodo dragon lives and breathes in its natural habitat. The Komodo dragon is practically a living dinosaur and it plays an important role in how scientists continue to form their understanding of evolution.
The sunsets from the villa those first few days were unlike anything I have ever seen - and it only got better from there. With an incredible time ahead of us, we settled in for a night overlooking the boats lighting up the reef-peppered waters that surround Labuan Bajo.
This was honestly one of my absolute highlights of the entire week. I had never done this before in Bali and getting to wind through the jungle, under waterfalls and through caves was so epic.
I genuinely have never seen anything like it. Mt Agung was peeking through the clouds, it was so high, and in between the infinity pool that we had all to ourselves and the volcano itself were rice fields of the brightest greens you can possibly imagine
