Lombok island sits on the Wallace Line; a ‘black and white’ boundary where there is an abrupt and complete change from one type of animal and fauna type to another type.

It was discovered by Darwin’s contemporary, Alfred Wallace who drew it in 1859 and I quote:

‘[to show] the ecozonesof Asia and Wallacea, a transitional zone between Asia and Australia. West of the line are found organisms related to Asiatic species; to the east, a mixture of species of Asian and Australian origin is present. The line is named after Alfred Russel Wallace, who noticed this clear division during his travels through the East Indies in the 19th century. The line runs through Indonesia, betweenBorneo and Sulawesi (Celebes), and through the Lombok Strait between Bali and Lombok. Antonio Pigafetta had also recorded the biological contrasts between the Philippines and the Maluku Islands(Spice Islands) (on opposite sides of the line) in 1521 during the continuation of the voyage ofFerdinand Magellan, after Magellan had been killed on Mactan.

The distance between Bali and Lombok is small, about 35 kilometres (22 mi). The distributions of many bird species observe the line, since many birds do not cross even the smallest stretches of open ocean water. Some bats have distributions that cross the line, but other mammals are generally limited to one side or the other; an exception is the Crab-eating Macaque. Other groups of plants and animals show differing patterns, but the overall pattern is striking and reasonably consistent.

Flora do not follow the Wallace Line to the same extent as fauna.

en.wikipedia.org…e

The company of friends brings magic.  I was reminded of this last night when I was with some, and mentioned a guide some of us may choose when choosing friends.  It’s spoken by someone who has both money and power to a close friend who is poor and powerless by comparison, and the powerful, wealthy one is glad to see his friend return; he says why and this is part of what he says: