After water comes fire

Yesterday we took a jeep with a driver to Mount Bromo. This is one of the most famous and active volcanoes in Indonesia. There are frequent minor eruptions there. Bromo is not only a very popular destination for tourists, but for the locals, it is also a sacred mountain where they honor the gods. During peak times, it can be extremely crowded on and around the mountain. Most tourists visit the crater at sunrise. To avoid the rush, we decided to visit this place during the day. This turned out to be the right decision, as we were almost alone there.

Before heading up to the crater rim, we took a hike through the grasslands. Upon reaching the crater rim, Marco was convinced several times that the volcano was about to ERUPT NOW and that we should leave. Of course, that was not the case, but it was impressive to hear the bubbling and see the smoke.

Once again, the whole experience was somewhat overshadowed by the evident downsides of tourism: Even in the crater, there was trash to be found. In addition, many skinny horses were standing in the sun waiting to transport tourists to the crater rim for a small fee. Some of the horses had rainbow-colored manes.

Later, we could also do some sandboarding and try out the jeep.