Day 187 Blue Fire

Yesterday, after a 17-hour bus ride, I arrived in Banyuwangi. This is a very special place as it is home to a natural phenomenon that is unique in the world.

So yesterday I settled into my new hostel and rested from the bus ride, going to bed early because my trip to this natural spectacle begins at 1 a.m.

I took a cheap ride to the foot of Mount Ijen.

From there, I hiked up to the crater. The ascent took about 2 hours. It was quite chilly and I was glad that I wore long pants and brought a sweater. Since I was still feeling a bit cold, I even put on my rain jacket as a windbreaker.

The climb was worth it. The volcano was a huge tourist attraction and people from all generations and nationalities were fighting their way up the mountain. For those who couldn't make it, there were 'taxis'. Carriers transported people up the mountain in a kind of wheelbarrow.

I enjoyed the little hike. When I reached the crater rim, it was still pitch dark. I was given a gas mask to protect myself from the sulfur gases rising from the volcanic lake.

From the crater rim, a path led 180 meters down into the crater to the crater lake. And there it is, the reason why everyone comes here. In Mount Ijen, you can see the only blue fire in the world. Actually, it's blue lava. A few years ago, there was also blue fire in Iceland, but it has since extinguished. So this is now the last one in the world.

That's also why I was up so early, because you can't see the blue fire in daylight.

Miners extract sulfur from the volcano and carry the blocks they have cut out in baskets up to the edge of the crater. One load weighs about 80 kg and the miner earns just under 6 dollars for it. Moreover, they don't wear protective clothing to protect themselves from the sulfur fumes.

While I admired the fire in the crater, the sun came up outside the volcano and enchanted the sky with a beautiful sunrise.

And indeed, as soon as it became daylight, the blue flames could no longer be seen. So it was time for me to start my way back.

Once back on the crater rim, I could enjoy the view that greeted me in daylight.

Back at the hostel, I had a well-deserved breakfast. Later, I packed my backpack and headed to the harbor. From there, I took the ferry to Bali.

There didn't seem to be exact departure times for the ferry, so I waited on the ferry until it eventually set sail. The crossing took about an hour.

At the port of Bali, I met up with the driver who had driven Cornelia and me around in the south of Bali last week. I had made a deal with him to drive me across the island to the other port. But I didn't just want to drive, so we put together a program and combined the trip with exploring the island.

Our first stop was the hot springs. There I thought I could wash off the remaining sulfur while bathing. However, since the water was also slightly sulfurous, what a surprise, it has its source in a volcano, this plan turned out to be a mistake. Nevertheless, it was quite pleasant to splash around in the water.

Before we drove to our overnight spot, we visited a Buddhist temple. It was completely destroyed in the last earthquake and is now being rebuilt. The Dalai Lama himself came by after the catastrophe and blessed a quick reconstruction.

I spent the night in Lovina, the hometown of my driver.

I ended the beautiful and long day watching the sunset on the beach.