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Published: June 25th 2017
Smoking Sinabulu
No way would I climb that! It's still smoking. Lots.I believe our guide told us there are over one hundred and sixty volcanoes in Indonesia, several of which are found in Sumatra. According to Lonely Planet, the two most accessible in Sumatra - Sibayak and Sinabulu - found in Northern Sumatra, attract the majority of volcanoe seekers here. However, our guide informed us that hiking Sinabulu is not allowed, because the climb is very dangerous, and because of the possibility of the volcanoe erupting. I'm no expert, but when we passed by Sinabulu on a clear day, that steady flow of smoke clearing coming from the top of the mountain looked pretty ominous and live-volcano like to me. But I digress. We climbed Sibayak.
For us, it wasn't so much about the climb - or we might have considered the full day hike. It was about being at the crater of a volcanoe that, even though it has been declared inactive and safe to hike because it has not erupted in over sixty years - still hisses loudly, coughs out smoke, and seems very alive. This has been on the bucket list for a while.
It was a different experience, to have a mountain talk to you, gushing,
spitting, and spewing out smelly, hot yellow sulphurous steam. However, this was not one of those volcanic experiences where you roast those hot dogs that you've carried in your backpack in the outpouring lava. (Is that even allowed? Sounds scary). No, there was no lava, and the crater itself was quite dormant, covered with "rock graffiti" that numerous previous visitors created. Spitting sulphuric fumes aside, the landscape was a bit like walking to the glacier fields in the Canadian Rockies - barren and grey - minus the cold, of course. We are still in the tropics.
On our return from the volcano, we came across a group of young local people who had been camping in the process of taking down their tent. They were playing around, laughing at the two girls who got caught under the tent when it came down. Stan snuck up and tickled them on the heads, while they were still tangled under it. Then he was momentarily concerned that he might have done some major faux pas, as these were obviously Muslim girls. But all that was dismissed when everyone just broke out laughing. I then asked them - in Bahasa Indonesian, cause
I have been practicing - if I could take a picture. They all simultaneously chanted "Yes", and went straight into pose mode. I can still hear their laughter. It was a beautiful moment on which to complete our awesome volcanic afternoon.
Immediately after our three hour hike, we continued on our mission to meet a ferry deadline to get to our next destination, Lake Toba.
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Susan
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So much fun!!