Marek Under the volcano
Bromo is actually several volcanoes rising from the crater of the giant (16 km in diameter) Tengger volcano. At least one of them is still active. It throws a lot of gas mixed with dust into the air. Being here, you will smell a distinct smell of sulphur and inhale a large amount of sediment suspended in the air into your lungs. The particles bite deep into my clothes, I think I will never be able to clean my shoes again.
Continued under the photos.
The basic means of transport under the volcano is the horse. The animals here are very small. This is not a problem for short locals, but a European of average height, unless he raises his legs, will brake with his feet while riding. The advantage is that there are no problems with getting on the horse. All you have to do is take a big step and you are already sitting in the saddle. If necessary, i.e. on the way uphill, you can support your steed by pushing off with your legs. And a possible fall should not be too dangerous.
We split on the way to the top of the volcano. Agnieszka is riding a horse, I, terrified by the menacing appearance of the available mounts, choose to walk on foot. It turns out that my choice is not the right one. Apparently, due to volcanic fumes, the oxygen content in the air is much lower than the average 21%. Walking up the steep road I feel like climbing at an altitude of 4,000 m without acclimatization. Every few minutes I have to stop to rest a bit. I pour liters of sweat. I feel like an old man in a pre-heart attack state. And Agnieszka is already impatiently waiting for me at the top. Of course, I finally get there too.
The awareness that the crack at the bottom of the crater, from which the gray smoke is emitted, reaches the Earth’s mantle creates an atmosphere of mystery. If you, dear reader, have read Jules Verne’s Journey to the Center of the Earth, you know what I mean. And we will go to Iceland in the future.
Surabaya and Yogyakarta
We divided the road to Bromo into two stages. A great place as a starting point is Surabaya. The car journey takes only 2 hours. There, with a bit of luck, you can come across a very good promotion for one of the few ministries. Maybe you can’t count on beautiful beaches, but a large swimming pool located in a beautiful garden and luxurious villas, all for pennies, are impressive. The service is excellent, as we found out when the need for medical help arose. Our insurer did not rise to the occasion. The assistance worker, as soon as he heard the name of the town, replied “please find a doctor on the Internet and hung up. Be careful where you buy travel insurance. The opinions you can find on the web are not worth much.
The hotel manager came to our aid, sent us by car to the (pediatric) hospital, where the problem was solved immediately. Within an hour we were back at the hotel. We paid less than $25 for medical assistance. Only because it was so expensive, because you had to bring a doctor from home. The hotel did not take a penny from us.
The first stage of the journey was Yogyakarta, perhaps not a very pretty city (although thoroughly Indonesian), but the surrounding ruins of temples, including Borobudur are something you must see while in Indonesia. If, dear reader, you have ever been to Angkor in Cambodia (still to come), you will undoubtedly find many similarities.
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