Volcano’s – Bromo & Ijen

Day 1 – Mount Bromo

Well we were supposed to be getting up to leave at 1.00am but Shell managed to set an alarm for an hour earlier than we needed to get up, so we went back to bed for another precious hour.  When we did get up we packed and waited in the lobby, leaving one of our bags behind for hotel too look after, then we waited anxiously hoping that someone was going to pick us up.

Turning up slightly late our tour guide (or should I say Driver) turned up and seemed to have brought his girlfriend/wife along for the trip.  The drive to Bromo was about 3 hours through the dark so we tried to get some sleep but to no avail.

Arriving at around 4.00am we stopped and got out of the car and was introduced to the chief of the village (resplendent in his poncho & wellington boots) that was going to be our guide up to the sunrise point to view the Volcano from a distance. 

After a quick cup of coffee and a fag we then set off with the chief (a man of few words) and we headed up the hill/mountain and we were soon struggling for breath (too many fags and beers since our Nepal trek!!) and were quite surprised about the climb as we were not expecting it, especially at 4.00am in the morning.

We arrived at the viewing area around 45 minutes later and wondered why we actually needed a guide as it was just one path up to it, he then plonked us on a wall saying it was the best spot and then he found a nearby bench to curl up on and go to sleep!  So we sat there for the next hour or so whilst the sun came up and we could then view the crater, which was quite impressive and changed colours as the sun began to rise.

 

When the sun had come up we were then hiking down to the bottom of the hill where we had expected to meet back up with the driver and car, but they were not there waiting.  It then transpired that the chief was then going to take us to the crater on the back of his motorbike (along with a friend of his).  Shell was away first into the distance on the back of her bike I followed behind with the chief although he seemed to struggle with me on the back, asking me to get off and walk in tricky places and almost coming off a couple of times in the soft sand/ash.

Thirty minutes later we dismounted (thank god) at the bottom of the crater and we had the option of either being led up on small ponies or walking the rest of the way ourselves.  We felt sorry for the ponies so opted to walk up the ash covered slopes to a set of steps that took you up to the rim of the crater.

 

Climbing the steps we wondered whether this was such a great idea as you could hear the ash/sulphur gases bellowing out of the volcano but soon enough we were stood at the top staring down into the abyss.

We stood on the rim nervously (Glenn not Shell) for around 15 minutes marvelling at the noise and sight of gas coming out of the crater, although it felt very surreal to be stood looking down into an active volcano and taking photos.

 

Although it is a fantastic experience I was quite happy when we started making our decent, the further away we got the more relaxed I became.  We then met back up with our motorcycle guys and were taken back to meet up with our driver and car (we only nearly came off 3 times on the way back – perhaps he should invest in a quadbike!!).

 

 

Getting back in the car we were then driven for around ½ hour down through green valleys until we stopped at a place for a buffet breakfast.

After breakfast we then had a long car journey to Banyuwanqi where we were going to stop over for the night, only stopping off briefly at a pharmacy to re-stock on some Imodium (boat food still affecting us both).

Arriving at our hotel we were shown to our room for the night and judging by it we could see that the tour company had quite a healthy profit margin!!  Shell practically having to beg for some toilet roll and we were expected to have to pay for a towel for the shower!!  Never mind it was only for one night and then again we had to be back up at 1.00 so we would hardly be using it.

There was a café at the side of the hotel so we headed there for a couple of beers before going back to the room where I managed to catch up on a bit of lost sleep whilst Shell did some research on Java and where we were headed next.

Once I had woken up in the early evening we popped back to the café and had something to eat and a quick beer before going back to room to try and get a couple more hours sleep, if the loud music would allow it, before we had to get up again.

Day 2 – Near Death Experience!!

Getting up ridiculously early again (who’s idea was this trip) we were met by our driver and we were again on another 2-3 hour drive through the dark until we arrived to the foothills of Mount Ijen.

As we were there a bit early we sat there and had a coffee and were introduced to our guide for this volcano, Rudy,  and we found out that we had quite a bit of a trek to look forward to.

We set off around 4.00am and soon found ourselves walking up very steep paths, fortunately Shell and I had got back into hiking mode and only had a couple of stops (more for the guide than us believe it or not) before finding ourselves at a refreshment lodge about 2km up the  path.

 

Stopping for a coffee break our guide then offered us some gas masks to wear for a small price, we thought it was a bit of a scam but for a couple of quid we thought we better take them just in case, also they made for a snazzy new accessory and photo opportunity.

 

Setting off after our coffee we were informed that the next kilometre was going too pretty flat (great) followed by 1km back uphill (not so great).  Walking along and getting closer to the crater edge we found out that the gas masks were not a scam as the air became thick with sulphur gas which require us to put them on and breathe through these instead.

At the edge of the crater we were then led down a very rocky and very steep pathway in darkness for around ½ KM (Shell getting a helping hand or five from our guide) before finally getting to the bottom.  It was here we were up close and personal with vents of sulphuric gases and the legendary blue fire (which is why we were doing it at night).  The blue fire mixed with Sulphur (making it blue) comes off the surface of the volcano and there is only two places on earth that have this phenomena (I don’t think picture will do it justice).

 

We sat admiring this natural firework display right next to the Sulphur vents then our guide went to help a Singapore couple to get a better vantage point a couple of ledges up  from where Shell and I were standing.  

Suddenly we both found ourselves engulfed in clouds of sulphur, our eyes stinging and breathing heavily through our gas masks, we could see nothing! We heard people choking and panicking on the ledge above us. Screaming “Gas run” and for a few seconds we thought we had had it – we were going to die and just clung to each other!, we couldn’t move as we were right in the cloud and couldn’t see but knew all around us was sheer drops!.  The next thing we knew was our guide was back at our side and he grabbed us and led us a few metres to the side and we were out of the cloud, it just happened that the wind had changed direction, the volcano was not erupting!!

 

 

Recovering from that heart stopping moment we took a breather and watched the Sulphur miners at work, they dig and mine the sulphur deposits for use within the chemical and cosmetic industries.   It is back breaking work for very little money, one miner can make two trips a day up and down the volcano with between 80 – 100KG of sulphur rock in wicker baskets carried on his back and receives Rp1000 a kilo which equates £5 for 100KG so £10 a day (I will never moan about sitting behind a desk again!!!).

 

Our hearts restarted we began the steep climb back to the rim of the crater, taking short breaks and passing a number of sulphur miners on the way.  At the top we were then told to sit to one side whilst we waited for sunrise.

As the sun came up we could get a full view of the volcano with all its ash laden slopes and sides and at the bottom of the crater was a huge sulphur lake which changed colour as the sun came up, a truly magical place.

 

Once the sun rose we started to make our way back down, stopping briefly at the refreshment stall for a coffee half the way down.  After this caffeine fix we then hiked the rest of the way to meet back up with our driver and car at the bottom.

 

Getting back in the car we were then driven for around ½ hour through coffee plantations and down the green valleys until we stopped at a place for a buffet breakfast, where there was a massive selection for us to choose from.

Breakfast finished, we then had a long drive back to the hotel in Melang although the scenery was nice and we passed through forests with monkeys on the side of the road.  We arrived back mid-afternoon and thought we would have one of the beers we had left in the fridge from my birthday, only to discover they had gone, apparently another guest had taken them!!  So we asked the receptionist if he could replace them.

In the meantime we headed out to the restaurant we visited a few days previous to get an early dinner and a couple of beers, naturally. 

Returning after dinner to find our beers had been replaced we then took these back to the room and watched some episodes of The Soprano’s before getting and early night after two ridiculously early starts the previous two days!!

So we have survived Komodo Dragons and Volcano’s, I wonder what the rest of Indonesia has in store for us!!!