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Published: October 19th 2014
The steady stream of visitors continues! I had two dear friends from high school join me in Indonesia. They explored Thailand first for two weeks before seeing me. We had a great time catching up and seeing another part of Indonesia together. One of my Indo friends joined us on our adventure, making a group of four.
Day One · Jakarta – Surabaya – Ijen Crater My friends flew in late Saturday night and this past Monday morning we caught an early flight to Surabaya, East Java . From there we were picked up by our tour group and drove 7-8 hours to our hotel.
Day Two · Ijen Crater – Mt. Bromo We started our hour drive to Ijen Crater at 4:00am and once we arrived we started our trek. Ijen Crater is famous for its one-kilometer turquoise coloured lake. The lake water is so acidic in fact, making it the most acidic lake in the world. It doesn’t take long before you notice the sulfur miners hard at work. They carry baskets of sulfur up and down the
mountain earning their wage for the day. Everything is weighed and measured to determine the worth of their load. Even how they carry the sulfur is taken into consideration and poses a cost difference. Those who choose to carry their sulfur in bags will be paid a little more because it requires them to first break the sulfur down into tiny pieces before packing it up compared to just loading up a basket with large pieces. Our guide said that on average these men will make about 2-3 trips a day because it is so physically demanding.
After the hike we washed up at the hotel, grabbed some food and continued on our journey – another 4-5 hour car ride to our next hotel.
Day Three · Mt. Bromo – Surabaya – Jakarta We woke up super early again so we could beat the other tour groups to the top of the mountain and stake out a great sunrise viewpoint. We had some warm tea first as it freezing at the top and then we waited patiently for the sun to rise. The view was breathtaking
and stunning. It was rather foggy when we started the morning drive but it cleared up enough when it need to. We headed back to the hotel, rested for a few hours before making our way back to the airport and caught our flight that night back to Jakarta.
The next day we slept in and lay low as the following morning my friends headed to the airport super early to begin their trek back home. It’s nice to have the weekend yet before works starts up again on Monday.
Hope all is well at home!
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Angela Elliott
non-member comment
Hi Janice
Hi Janice, Thanks for the updates the last few days. It's so nice to hear what you've been up to. I'm glad you have been having all these visitors. It must be so special to show them your world and to see more of the country. Blessings on the rest of the school year. I'm sure the next 7 months will go fast, filled with adventure and fun.