Destination: Kanawa Island, Indonesia

This was the one dock on the island. You could walk out to the end and go snorkeling with huge schools of fish. I sat out here for hours watching the colors of the sunsets.

Kanawa Island is a stunning, tiny island near Labuan Bajo in Indonesia. It is known for stunning beaches, pristine waters, and great snorkeling and diving. To get here, I had to catch a flight from Bali to the island of Flores. Off the northeast coast of this large island there are many islands poking up through the calm waters that make up the Komodo National Park. Three of these islands have resident Komodo Dragons living on them. But before I got to one of these islands, Heidi and I decided to check out an off-the-grid island, right on the outskirts of the national park, called Kanawa. There is a small 'resort' on the island and that is about it. At low tide you can walk around the entire island, plus you can kayak, snorkel, hike to the top of the island, or go scuba diving. After getting over a bit of the stomach flu and some ear problems in Lembeh, we were both ready to jump in and see the underwater life here.

Heidi, in front of the Kanawa sign.

So many weird and wonderful things underwater here.

The diving here was easy and superb. Komodo is known for its big fish sightings but we were pleasantly surprised to find all kinds of small wonders right off the coast of Kanawa Island. A rare yellow pygmy sea horse, about the size of my pinky nail was one of our first big finds. Weird nudibranchs, pipefish, lionfish, and anemonefish added some fun subjects to photograph. The coral was beautiful. There was soft coral everywhere pulsing, making the entire reef look alive with movement. And every once in a while I would come across the most vividly colored giant clams.

A very hard to find yellow pygmy sea horse.

Hiking to the top of the small hill gave us wonderful panoramic views around our tiny island. We almost felt like castaways here. It is such a different pace than Bali, where hundreds of motorbikes are zipping all over the place. This is a spot to unwind, relax, and enjoy a slower pace to your day.

We had a nice but very basic bungalow with a very well done mosquito net. The place did have one restaurant but it was hardly more than bland fuel to help you make it though the day. Even though we were almost the only ones here on the island, it still took forever for our basic food to come out. But the location and ease of exploring the underwater world blew me away. Not to mention the sun would rise over the water directly in our open doorway. What a way to wake up!

If you are looking for a slower paced couple of days, before heading off into Komodo or deeper into Indo, then this could be the perfect island getaway for you. You do feel pretty unconnected, but sometimes that is the point.

As always, keep traveling, and keep posting!

• Dai Mar