Close encounters with McDreamy and McSteamy ...

---

---

Usually people visit Bromo on organized tour from Yogya which is actually quite inexpensive and works well. As we decided to go to Karimunjawa we had to get there the hard way. People in Jepara were extremy nice and pointed us into the right direction. All we had to do was to take several ‘sardine can lookalike’ buses to do the route: Jepara –> Kudus -> Surabaya -> Probolinggo -> Cemero Lawang(at the mouth of Bromo). It took us almost 24h and we arrived just for sunset at 5am which was just stunning. We had to pay a little extra (maybe 2$ more) to be taken up the mountain at this time but there was no point of waiting till 7 am. All we wanted to do at this point was sleep.

We stayed in some guesthouse near the crater (don’t remember the name but there is loads of them to choose from) and to be honest it was not a great deal but we don’t normally function well without sleep so we just took it without thinking. We woke up in the afternoon, had some fabulous pancakes for lunch in a mountain café and embarked to see Bromo crater itself. Man, it was a dirty trek. We have never seen a crater before, nor the volcano so we were really excited. We did not care for all the sand storms around us that just made breathing almost impossible. We just wanted to climb the stairs and see what was in there. The whole thing takes maybe 2h all together if you walk from the village so no big deal and definitely you don’t need any jeep service to visit it. What we really could not wait for was the sunrise view of Bromo which we planned for the next morning.

We woke up around 3 am, dressed up really quickly ( it was so freezing over there that it was hard to believe we were in Indonesia) and hit the road. People say it is not an easy climb but we thought it was really pleasurable especially during the night with fresh air and no people around. We actually came too early but met some nice travelers to talk to and kill an hour before the sunrise. And there it was … The McDreamy volcano of Indonsia set in a beautiful valley blanketed by the morning mist that literally moved around in front of our eyes. It was a dream-like view we must admit and we just stood there for ages watching it and taking it in even though everybody else was already gone.

The walk down was equally pleasurable as this time we could see all the little villages and houses on the way and people starting their day in the fields. We went straight to the café for our morning coffee and pancakes and by 9 am we were ready to move on. It was a lovely place and we could probably find more trekking opportunities there but what we really wanted to do next was to climb the Kawah Ijen Volcano. Back in Sulawesi we heard about this place and it being much less popular with tourists. Some were saying they had it all to themselves and sulfur collectors when they visited. It was supposed to be much more beautiful than Bromo because it has a green water lagoon in its crater which just sounded fantastic.

Of course we wanted to do it by ourselves but Kawah Ijen is not as easily accessible as Bromo and majority of people take a tour. If only we had more time left we would have tried to do it by ourselves but in this case we just signed up for the tour. It felt like committing a crime against our law of traveling hahha We found an agent and just took a transport option from him and not the whole tour. So instead of 350,000R/35$ we paid 200,000R each and planned on finding our own losmen/wisma when we get there. It worked our really funny because we ended up staying in exactly the Oasis Hotel (at the coffee plantation) together with other people. We asked for a price of a room and because we were willing to share the room with 2 other people we only paid like 75,000R each (they really did not want us to go to the other guesthouse).

Once again we had to wake up around 3 am for breakfast and early departure to see McSteamy. It shocked us how the agency was trying to make money on entrance tickets to the park selling them for 25,000R each plus 30,000R for a camera. Funny enough everybody was paying and nobody questioned it but us. They were not even real tickets but just an agency receipt. First of all we had one camera then why we would pay for more and secondly we knew that this was not a real price. To the surprise of the agent we left the hotel without buying them and at the park entrance we paid the price list sum of 15,000R each. Shocking that they would go as far as lying just to make 1$ extra from everybody….plus the camera fee that everybody paid of course…. As far as I can understand touts and vendors on streets doing this I don’t get the respectable businesses acting like that!!!

The climb was meant to be difficult but again we thought it was much easier than Bromo. It is either us being in such a fantastic shape of we got really misleading information from people. The trek itself was also more beautiful as it was already light and we could see the park and mountains around us. By the top we started to smell the sulfur but it only lasted for a few minutes. We saw many of the collectors carrying tens of kilos on the shoulders wearing just flip-flops. This is one of those jobs that I would never ever want to have in my life. It was very misty on the way up and we were worried we would not see much. However we climbed up to the crater of McSteamy just in time for the sun to arrive and show us the beautiful green lagoon. What a view it was….we were speechless for a moment and anybody who knows me would tell, this is close to impossible hahha We spent a few hours up there just admiring and walking around the crater. Hiking down is no longer allowed for tourists and there is a big guy with a big riffle to remind you of it. I guess if it is dangerous (some people died over there) that it is better this way. We loved, we loved and once again we loved it and if we had to choose between McDreamy and McSteamy than the latter would be an absolute winner…..

---

Comments

[denidax]

I can´t get enough of your pictures, the panorama is just amazing!!

[Beata and Tomek]

Thank you;-)
very much appreciated Deni and Dax!!! B&T

[D MJ Binkley]

Amazing, amazing photos
Your photos are always great but you've outdone yourself. Yes, we suspect you are in great shape.

[Meme]

Great Travel
Zapping around my mouse then found your post here! I am indonesian, and really thankful while read your post, all of your pictures are so touchy, great perspective! Home safely guys! :)

[Beata and Tomek]

Thank you;-)
for such a lovely message!!! glad you liked it B&T