Java, Indonesia - Fiery Mountains

After our troubled night next to the mosque we decided that we would rather get straight on with our travels than suffer another, so we arranged transport with our host up into the mountains to Cemoro Lawang near the well known active volcano Mount Bromo. What should have been a relatively simple journey was complicated by the fact that his car overheated leaving us stranded only part of the way up the mountain. Luckily it broke down next to a rather entrepreneurial man who offered to run us up the rest of the way on the back of their motorcycles for a relatively small fee (covered by our host). So we slung on our backpacks and climbed on for what turned out to be a rather nerve-racking ride up a steep and windy road.

Once we arrived Ellie settled down in a local cafe, mostly to calm her nerves and Ashley set off to try and find us somewhere to sleep. Being the low season there was plenty to choose from and we ended up in what was probably the largest room we've stayed in so far (post negotiation, for a very reasonable price).

We took some time to rest then set out to hike Mount Bromo itself. Its not too challenging a walk, across an open plane aptly named the sea of sand (thats littered with chunks of volcanic rock thrown out of the volcano) then up some steep stairs to the crater itself. There's not a lot going on once your up there, just an open hole with smoke billowing out, but the view of the surrounding area is fantastic and we enjoyed the walk and rather unique experience very much.

We spent a second day exploring the local village and walking in the hills, and we must say it was a very enjoyable way to spend several hours.

There are several people offering tours further east and again after much shopping around we arranged a minibus ride east to Kawah Ijen, one night at the Arabica Coffee Plantation Homestay, then transfers onward to the port to catch a ferry to Bali (a very common package).

After several hours in the minibus we arrived at Arabica, a relatively basic hotel but it has everything that you need. Ashley went off exploring in the plantation workers village which was full of lovely people and he found himself pulled into playing badminton in the street (again) attracting quite a crowd.

We woke up at 12.30 ready to leave at 1am to trek Kawah Ijen hoping to see the sulphur mines and the famous blue fire before sunrise. Boy did we not know what we were letting ourselves in for. Its a 4km trek that climbs up to the peak at 2.6km above sea level. You are climbing in complete darkness up a ludicrously steep dirt track that was actually much worse coming down than it was up. But if that wasn't enough the higher you climb the worse the sulphuric gases become. After about 3km of trekking you reach a rest house where you can rent gas masks for going down into the crater with, we snapped two up with little thought as they really are a must. Once you reach the peak you are then faced with the challenge of climbing down into the crater which is mostly made up of scrambling over rocks with only a torch to guide you.

Once inside though there is a mystical feel to the place and the blue fire is quite a sight to behold. We certainly don't envy the workers who make this climb every day and are payed a mere $10ish to do so, except that they also have around 30 kilos of sulphur on their shoulders. After enjoying the sights and smell of the crater we climbed out just in time to witness the sun rise and enjoy the stunning views that this came with.

Needless to say at this point we were exhausted so took a short rest before beginning our descent. 

We climbed down the mountain (only then did we realise what we had actually just done), took our minibus onward to the port and boarded our ferry to Bali.

Relaxation here we come!!!