Java: another universe: Majestic Mont Bromo & Surreal Ijen

First stop:  MAJESTIC BROMO… use your two legs and feet and walk all the way!

For a long time visiting a volcano and specially Bromo has been on my mind. Probably since my first backpacking trip 7 years ago… wow… ( I was a baby!) 

This time I was ready  I read about the tours….. killer… long buses and then you get into a jeep at 4AM to go to a view point and meet other hundreds of jeeps….and leave after breakfast for Ijen for other killer trip. Really special, right?!?! I didn’t want that. So a simple research told me I could just walk up there and do it all on my times, love it!

Getting there it is a pain…. No matter how you do it…. Mini van with the tours or train to Surabaya, night there and then a public bus to Probolingo and then other bus to Cemoro Lawang… yes, I write it and get tired…. What I decided to do is join the transport of the tours so at least I get one painful trip in the same vehicle, jajajaj! Then I decided to stay longer in Bromo, 2 nights’ vs one, before keep going to Ijen…

And long it was! Nice mini van, I got the front seat. I know I have to ask for it  best spot and as I was the only solo traveler, super easy to get it! Sometimes we have some benefits! And off we went…. It was supposed to be 10hs to Bromo…. Well, we arrived at almost 11PM (left at 8:30)… there is no real highway, the roads are not the best, the horn is the #1 sport of all drivers and when it gets dark, fasten your seat belts please, you are now in a roller coaster! But I do like to drive at night and I was not scared… the people on the back were in panic and so worried…. Nothing I can do! Though we almost crashed a few times…. The good part was lunch! We stopped around 2PM in this big place, my expectation were super low but had an amazing Gado Gado and guava juice which was thick, like a proper smoothie! I was happy again!

We made it to Probolingo, yeeees! Late… the other people had no clue why we were stopping and I was amazed they had no clue what type of tour they had bought or what were their options... I explained it to a couple of girls and they changed their tour… just surprising to see that doing a quick research it is not obvious for everyone. Opportunity?!?!
After we changed to this old, noisy van it was dark and quickly we were going up under a sky full of stars! So beautiful! Like that for a bit more than an hour… on the way, lots of motorcycles were running down… the police behind…. Safe!?! Well, happens everywhere, all good!

Made it to the hotel and they have told us all was closed so I had the most interesting meal…. Got some plain noodles at the market, some peanuts… and boiled water in the room to eat them in tea cup, hay hay hay… at least I knew I was not getting sick and I was starving and needed energy to wake up early!

The alarm went on at 3AM, so after 3 hours sleep I was up and ready to go explore…. I was so so stupid to forget my head light in my big backpack, but I had my phone.. so started walking towards the Bromo viewpoint….. took me a bit more than an hour and I met a group of 3 people which I joined until we made it to an intermediate stop, before the high point where all the jeep stops. The four of us were suuuuper happy with where we were and decided to stay there, same view, just private and quiet for us! 

Wow…. I felt I was in another world, not, excuse me, another universe…. The view of Bromo and Semeru (highest volcano in Java) on the back with a think sea of clouds in the valley below was one of the most beautiful, majestic and incredible views I ever had…. The sunrise on the left made the colors of the volcanos change every minute, the crater of Bromo burning and Semeru that erupts every 20 minutes on the back made it look like it was indeed other galaxy. 

Nature is the most perfect and beautiful thing on this planet and it is alive, the power, the energy of these volcanos and the beauty of the harmony of all of them working together made of this something special, made me feel once more I am, we all are, just this tiny dot in the universe, nothing really in comparison to the majestic beauty and power of nature… I wonder why we also are so so stupid to destroy it, but that is other story.

I met these great people, Javier from Spain who is travelling for 5 months, Mona and her boyfriend from Germany… Mona lives in Switzerland... small world! We were four extremely happy people, big smiles and eyes, trying to take all what was happening in front of us! Thank you guys, you made this day and moment even better, sharing it with you was wonderful!

After a long while, many pictures and feeling extremely happy we started walking down to go to the crater. Giving time for the jeeps to go away  we took a hidden path to avoid paying some fees and was worth it. Little path along some wheat and other fruit plantations, locals passing by.. and a guy ‘’dressed up’’ as a controller asking for a fee… well it was easy, I showed a ticket, said we were all together and we moved on… otherwise, you give them a bit of money and all good. Super mafia!

Walking now from below the volcanos gives a complete different perspective. Its full size become more obvious and I kept feeling I was in another universe or in the moon! Strong contract of the green of the small volcano and the rocky look of the Bromo crater… and voila about hundreds of jeeps were there, so happy not to be in one of them! 

We took some breakfast which was done for locals and had a very authentic look and feel. I only had coffee with milk, it was an interesting one as it had some spices and after the woman saw I was taking the pieces out with the spoon she brought a strainer!

Once the jeeps were gone, we decided to do a touristic thing… we took a horse to the stairs of the crater… well, some things you need to do! I do not regret it, it was so much fun, made it a real movie and contributed to the income of the local people which is the best.

Once we reached the top, the noise was impressive, this thing is alive! Wow! So much power, wow!!!!! The smoke was not very strong but also not pleasant so we enjoyed the stunning views of this lunatic place, went down and crossed the full area back to the hotel. 

I say good bye to my new friends and decided to take an Ojek to go to a waterfall which is one hour away…. This guy was going fast… and I loved it!

The place was incredible. From the volcano to this tropical rainforest where all is water and deep green! There were only local tourists as everyone leaves with the tour at 9:30AM… so it was all for me to have fun! I lost count of how many pictures I took with locals, I have to say, they do make me feel very welcome and like a super star  specially here had so many nice stops!

Unfortunately, I didn’t make it inside the waterfall as you have to walk in the river for a while and I Had my hiking shows and long running leggings… I gave my raincoat to a local girl and walked back. 

Decided to stop in a little place where I had a white coffee and a piece of tofu and a great time with the daughters of the woman. I played with her to color a music book… she was telling me which color to use and we would start together until all colors were used! She was so bossy! Jajaj telling me off when I was painting outside the place I should…beautiful moment!

And made it back and fall asleep like a stone for an hour, had a nice dinner and tea for 0,65 CHF, yes you read right! Local place, local food, extremely delicious!

And I felt happy, this place it is majestic, special, make you travel into another universe where nature rules and all its beautiful! I also felt very lucky to be able to be here and experience this first had!

So do it and remember, walk, it is healthier, ecological and you get a real experience  time to sleep at 19:30…. Good night!

Second stop:  SURREAL IJEN… if you can, don’t take the tour…

Good morning! Nice sleep, finally  I woke up in Bromo and enjoyed once more the majestic views for a while while I left to Ijen.

This time I decided to join the 2nd part of the tours as I thought the transport would be better… so I was the first to be picked up and joined the guy of the company on the roof of the van! Super fan, amazing views of the plantations and rice fields.. and hey! I always wanted to go on top of the van, cool experience. They guy thought me to count in Bahasa Indonesian.

After picking up the rest of the people I was happy I chose the tour, amazing company, great people to share a new experience! 

We stopped in Probolingo and changed to a new mini van…. Ja ja ja… ok…. This was bad, air con not working and the old driver, even if friendly would go so super slow… it was a never ending journey until we reached Café Arabica quite late…. The views during the trip are stunning and we had some adventure as the road was blocked due to a falling tree…. A group of locals were cutting it with a manual ax and I would say very quickly cleaned the road. Litte attraction for us and for them!

Café Arabica its horrible…. Well, the surroundings are stunning with coffee plantation and strawberry fields… a place I wish I could stay a bit longer… but to be honest, we were all so frustrated and disappointed after so many hours on the road… well.. as I say, It is all part of this wonderful adventure  after quite a nice dinner I went off to bed at like 8PM!

It is midnight! Time to wake up! Yuppy! Jajajaja we departed to Ijen to see the famous blue fire! Kawah Ijen is a volcano in East Java which is famous for the spectacular turquoise sulphur crater lake and the blue fire which is the color of the ‘’fire’’ coming from the volcano.

Wow! What an experience. We started hiking up in the middle of the night, at around 2AM, made it to some middle stop where we all got gas masks as the area its very toxic and kept going up and up… there is always something very special to hike at night… I love not having a clue where I am, what is around me, it was pitch black with a spectacular sky full of stars  such a privilege. The lights of all the other hikers were adding to the special atmosphere of the place…

At some point it got flat and then I saw a warning… visitors should not go down the crater as it is dangerous and toxic! What we all did, of course, go inside the crater… that was the point of the trip  and here it got super cool! It was rocky, steep and quite hard with just lanterns and to top it up.. the workers that go down a few times a day to collect sulphur which then weight in the middle station and get paid at the bottom. 

These guys are tiny and carry on them massive weight, up to 100 kilos! Compliments... true hard work... we should not complain of the life we have…. At some point I got hit by one of them and fall, ouch, it was a bit scary in that context but I was all good! It was going down for a while and at some point in between all the smoke, the blue fire! It was real, it is real and surreal at the same time… wow! I felt like in a National Geographic expedition… 

It was just so so special, the smoke, the blue colors, the lanterns of other people, the stars, the smell, the gas masks… getting down there, like to the center of the earth, alive, powerful, very powerful…. Little by little the first sun light started lighting the place… WOW! It was like opening your eyes in another universe, planet, extremely surreal…. There was a blue sulphur lake and when I turn around to see the crater it was this spectacular rocky, dry, rough stone with many colors and shapes… a cloud of grey smoke decorated by the yellow sulphur below, the pipes and workers, cracking and collecting the sulphur…. WOW, WOW,WOW… now that I write it I live it again…. I love nature… it truly has it all, it is simple beauty, spectacular, alive, vibrant!

I was freezing… I think my nose and lips were violet and I couldn’t even smile, jajajaj but I was so so happy to be there and witness all of it! Surreal but real! Jjajja
We hiked up and I couldn’t stop turning to see the view which became more spectacular with the light and I couldn’t believe we all hiked down all of that in the dark. 

And on top, tara! All was green and beautiful in the other side of the volcano. I love the constant contrast this country has to offer… the hike down was stunning with views of other two or three volcanos and some ‘’surfing’’ down in the dust!

It was then time for an ‘’unforgettable’’ in the floor toilet experience I would not describe but the other girls will remember, jajajaj and into the ‘’lovely’’ min van up to the ferry to Denpasar…it was a beautiful ride among palm trees, coffee plantations and other fruits until I fall asleep… we changed to a very shitty bus…seriously disgusting, dirty...it was a circus! Into a ferry, into a bus, into a taxi… and I was in Kuta for a good shower, food and night sleep and going through the memories of some incredible days!

The tour… ufffff… but I was happy I took it as I met wonderful people!

Now… if you go my reco would be to hire a private driver on your own if you can afford it or just collect some people and split the cost but please AVOID the horrible tours or all the public buses, etc. This country is stunning but the transportation it is a real pain… maybe the price to pay for such beauty?!?! 

Now moving on to a new island, to a new discovery…. Till then!