Ijen (Sept 1)

2:30 AM, time to wake up...snooze. 2:35 AM, time to wake up...snooze. 2:40 AM, ok we get the point.

We set off for Ijen after a nice strong cup of Java in the dark at just after 3 AM. Hari whisked down curved roads barely wide enough to fit our car and flanked on either side by tall grass and shrubs. We only hoped another car wasn't coming around the bend.

After a short drive though, we made it to Ijen where Hari paid the entrance fee and told us set off on foot up the mountain. Hari was going to catch a little more sleep as he already had been to Ijen.

At this point, it is important to point out that it was pitch black with no moon in sight, it was cold enough for us both to pull out our fleeces, and no other tourists were apparently crazy enough to try to catch the sunrise on the mountain. Tracy and I were though, so we set off with our little headlamps on. Hari told us it was only a three kilometer hike, but it felt more like five or six. As we hoofed it up the mountain, every once in awhile we would hear sounds coming from the bushes, and we would whirl around with our lights to check it out. We would pause every once in awhile to take a breath, but not to long as we were more comfortable on the move.

Soon enough though we neared the top and ran into our first pair of sulphur miners. They politely showed them the way and Tracy offered them some cookies/biscuits or durian cake from a bag as thanks. We continued on up the mountain and the sky began to brighten. We soon noticed we were surrounded by whispy clouds broken by a mountain top or two.

We eventually reached the top right at sunrise and the view was breathtaking. Peach hues colored the blue sky while below us a massive blue lake and the bright presence of sulphur was present. Hari had told us that this was a special place and he did not lie.

We began our one kilometer decent into the crater with the two workers from earlier who had caught up to us while we took pictures. They urged us to follow them down, but we quickly realized that it was hopeless trying to keep up with them as their feet were intimately familiar with every rock on the path. We took our time instead and stopped for pictures with various workers on the way down in exchange for a treat or two. Tracy purchased a turtle carved out of the raw sulphur, while I lifted one the baskets filled with sulphur. These baskets filled weigh about 100 kilos or 220 pounds. The fact that these men are able to complete two trips a day from the bottom of the mountion to the top and tehn back again, this time with a full loads, is remarkable.

We eventually made it to the bottom for a few pics, but didn't stay long as the fumes were a bit much. We quickly made it back to the top and enjoyed the views while the other tourists began to arrive and ask us questions about whether it was safe. Stopping for coffee and tea at the workers cabin area, we ran into the man who carved Tracy's turtle and we had a brief conversation. We then decided to run most of the way down mountain, but as we did so we noticed little sleeping burrows all along the trail. We found out later than some workers actually sleep along the trail side, which may explain some of the sounds we heard.

Once we got to the car, we were off again, and after lunch, we took a short ferry ride to Bali. We even had time to chat with a bunch of Aussie and Swedish surfers on the top deck. Hari would wind up driving us all the way to Ubud, but we'll tell you about that next time.

Cheers,
T&T