Vulkan Bromo - by jeep, on horseback and on foot (Java tour 6)

Another highlight of our Java tour was on the agenda today: the sunrise at Mount Bromo. Unfortunately, we had to wake up at 3 o'clock in the morning to take the jeep to the viewpoint.

Our tour guide had warned us that it would be cold, so we wrapped ourselves in our winter jackets adapted to North German temperatures. However, we did not bring gloves and hats for our trip to the permanent summer. Who would have thought that we would suddenly arrive at temperatures around freezing point after about 30°C in one day?

At least we had our winter jackets while we saw some brave ones in shorts or without jackets. Of course, you could buy jackets, blankets, hats or scarves at the viewpoint...

After enjoying the view at sunrise and in the first sunlight, we then drove towards the Bromo crater by jeep. We joined the long line of other jeeps with tourists who had the same destination. There was a lot of traffic chaos on the road in front of the viewpoints, as all the jeeps had to turn around and drive back - and the motorbike taxis tried to get through between them.

Arriving at the parking lot, we then switched to horses, which took us to the stairs at the edge of the Bromo crater. These stairs have been there for over thirty years, despite the eruptions that have taken place in the meantime.

After climbing the stairs, we were able to look down into the boiling crater of Bromo.

According to an old Hindu legend, there was a married couple who remained childless for a long time. They went to Bromo and prayed for offspring. Their request was granted on the condition that they had to throw their last child into the volcano crater.

They then had 25 children (so their request for fertility was very generously answered). When they wanted to sacrifice their last child, the gods allowed another sacrifice instead, which had to be repeated every year.

And so to this day, the Hindus living around Bromo throw gifts such as money, food and live animals into the crater once a year. Some clever non-Hindus use this opportunity to catch banknotes and other things with fish nets... 

After breakfast at the hotel, we had a six-hour drive ahead of us as we wanted to continue our journey to Bali in the east of Java.

Along the way, we made an impromptu stop at a tobacco drying hall, where the leaves were later to be shipped to Bremen.

The leaves were strung onto strings by women and hung up under the ceiling by other workers, where they have to dry for three weeks..