Volcanoes in Tomahon

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We are, of course, the only guests at breakfast. Fruit juice so thick it’s more like puree, a plate of fresh cut fruit and a club sandwich appear. The latter seems an odd item for breakfast, but as that seems to be it, we tuck in it. It’s very tasty. As we take our last mouthful, a plate of fried rice arrives. It is followed by bacon, a large omelette and some deep fried savoury balls with an unknown but tasty filling. We definitely can’t eat all this!

We set off at 8am with today's guide Modi to Gunung Mahawu (pronounced “Ma –how”). Everyone is off to church today in their Sunday best, the ladies especially, first service apparently at 0530hrs. We drive through winding roads and across flat cultivated land and paddy fields, stopping on the way at a tunnel complex on a hillside that the Japanese used slave labour to excavate during WWII when the Allies were approaching, presumably then killing the slaves to protect its location. They then used this as a base to sally forth and wage guerrilla warfare against the liberating forces, before they presumably were all killed or committed suicide rather than surrender.

We also visit some warungas- stone sarcophagi shaped a bit like toadstools, in which wealthy people buried their dead with the body stored in a foetal position, placed on a porcelain plate. They are up to 800 years old. The practice was stopped when the German and Dutch missionaries arrived, and considered it a health risk.

We reach the parking lot at the start of the steps up to the rim of Mahawu. There are a few locals dressed in rather flamboyant red native costumes, with a few plastic skulls attached to their belts, presumably to suggest that their ancestors were headhunters. They are there to dance and pose for – yes you are correct, the Chinese tourists – who have not yet arrived. We trudge up the steps for about 10 minutes to the rim of the crater, to have it to ourselves, with spectacular views in all directions. The sky is cloudless. In one direction we see Gunung Lokon with its crater on the other side of the peak from the hotel. This is a highly active volcano but it is quiet for now, having had its last big eruption in 2015, though the Japanese scientists who have studied it believe it is due for a biggish eruption again soon. You cannot ascend that one without the permission of the scientists monitoring it.

In another direction we can look out over Manado town to Siladen, Bunanken and various other islands in the deep blue Lembeh Strait. Behind us is another volcano in the middle distance (can't remember its name!) that also had a big eruption recently. Mido said its last blow was spectacular, belching lava, and an ash cloud that did not dump on his village.

We’re lucky that it’s a clear day, as we can also look down into the crater itself, which has a small very pale blue lake (more of a pond, really) sitting amid yellow sulphur stained cracked ground.

We set off on the one hour or so trek around the crater rim. The path is made or semi-made and narrow. Bamboo and sharp grasses and other vegetation at times form a tunnel through which you must push. It is good technique to have your hat rammed down on your head and use it as a sort of battering ram to force a path. Occasionally the vegetation opens out to afford views into the crater, and there are a couple of viewing platforms along the way you can climb up for a better view.

Eventually we emerge back at our starting point and the Chinese have arrived. They look somewhat aghast at these two sweaty white faces bursting forth from the bamboo and grass curtain, plonking themselves down on a bench and drinking deeply from their water bottles. The Chinese really are a ridiculous sight; the girls all appear to have arrived dressed for a party or for the karaoke. Floatey dresses, bare shoulders, and high heels. No wonder they eye the path around the crater suspiciously. Inevitably none of them will attempt it. Just as well dressed like that.

Off next to the vulcanology monitoring station. This is a working station, not a tourist sight. The station is manned 24/7, though a boy of about eight lets us in, everyone else being off at lunch or at church. Lots of interesting photos and charts, computers with live feed of Lokon, two seismographs, a cabinet of computers, notebooks on desks, lots of relevant books and manuals on the shelves. This station is part of a national network that is linked together and able to issue warnings and evacuation notices at any time. We’re pleased to see that if Lokon blows while we’re here, the ash cloud is predicted to flow away from our hotel. A fascinating visit and we stay for 20 minutes or more. We wave goodbye to the child. Let's hope nothing blows while he is in charge!

Now it's time for lunch in what we decide in a woodcutter's hut, but which Mido says is the weekend retreat of a family who come there to commune with nature. Getting there takes longer than expected. We turn down a narrow lane to find half of it filled by a gazebo and the remaining half blocked by a car. Mido tells us the family whose house the gazebo is attached to is having a party, and it is common practice to close the road to make room for the party goers. No need to get a licence from the council round here!

We are due to visit a natural hot spring that is little visited, but as we set off leaving Tomohon town, David inquires how far it is, and given that it is about 1.5 hours there and back, we decide to abort and return to the Gardenia. We are still the only residents, though today is the day the locals come for lunch. That's fine, we retire to our bungalow for a rest. The only slight blot is that from somewhere in the middle distance, karaoke can be heard booming forth. Must be the Chinese tourists again on a day excursion......

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