OFF THE BEATEN PATH
IN THE TROPICS
ESCAPE TO EASTERN LESSER SUNDA
EASTERN LESSER SUNDA,
RASCAL-STYLE
Meet local woman using backstrap looms to weave traditional textiles known as ikat, and shop for an exquisite hand-made sarong; join the reef fisherman as they set their bomboo traps or free-dive with local children as they fish for the daily catch; enjoy breakfast with a spectacular view of Kawula Island's smoking volcano; take part in an upcoming conservation project to protect the thresher shark - on of the fastest predators in the ocean which can reach speeds over 20mph, and use their immense tails to create undersea shock waves to stun schools of fish during hunting.
WILDLIFE HIGHLIGHT:
THE ACROBATS OF THE OCEAN
On this voyage, we are almost guaranteed sightings of Spinner dophins who live in these waters in large pods numbering dozens, even hundreds and sometimes thousands. They are best-known for their extraordinary acrobatic skills - including jumping, flipping and spinning multiple times in a single leap (as many as seven spins per second.) Marine biologists believe they do this for a number of reasons: icluding courtship, communicating location and direction, showing their dominance, shaking off sucker fish, and porribly just for the sheer fun of it.
SIGNATURE EXPERIENCE:
DANCE THE LEGO-LEGO
The Lego-Lego is the ceremonial dance of the Abui people. Performed to greet guests (including Pascal passengers who are welcome to join in), participants move in a circle holding each other's shoulders, a symbol of unity. Both Abui men and woman wear straw purses that conatain betel nuts; chewed with limepowder to relarecoline (which gives a nicotine-like buzz), betel nuts are believed to be a conduit to communicating with ancestors ( the Abui speak mantras to the dead as the chew); and when mixed with salvia and expelled, they are thought to scare away evil spirits.
EXPLORE OUR YACHTS
EXPLORE other destinations in indonesia
WAKATOBI
A national marine park, and home to Indonesia's largest reef, Wakatobi is a portmanteau of the four main Tukangbesi Islands of Southeast Sulawesi: wangi-wangi, Kaledupa, Tomia, and Binongko.Famously described by the French oceanographer Jacques Cousteau as an 'underwater nirvana', Wakatobi comprises 1.4 million hectares, 900,000 hectares of which are covered with multi-coloured coral reefs abundant in fish, sharks, turtles, dolphins and whales - making this one of the world's best sites for snorkelling and diving.