Banyuwangi - Ijen - Java

The train takes me leisurely within 4 hours to my next point on the map of Java. This one is located at the very end with a view of Bali and is called Banyuwangi. There, I will be picked up directly from the train station and taken to my new accommodation. It is located on the outskirts of the city amidst rice fields. This is truly a gem, so let me mention the name directly. It's called "Paddy Hills Homestay" and I can recommend it to anyone who wants to stay here. I used the next few hours to relax. But from 11:30 PM in the evening, hard program awaits again.

Today's destination is "Ijen" and it's not for the faint-hearted. The easiest part was the drive by car, another 1 hour uphill. Another coffee at the parking lot and then the real challenge began: a 60-90 minute hike uphill. Along the way, the first fog started to appear. So at some point, we had to put on gas masks.

Finally, we reached the rim of the crater, overlooking the abyss where the sulfur vents could be seen in the darkness. Now came the hard part, namely descending into the crater as the mine workers do 2 to 3 times every day. The difference is that they run downwards while I (and other visitors) find it much harder. It's really steep and dangerous. We climb down instead of walking. It's dark, there's nowhere to hold on, it's slippery (due to humidity and rain), and there are stones and rocks everywhere. After a good half an hour, we reach the bottom. And immediately, I see what a tough job the mine workers have. The only difference is that they stand by the hot sulfur vents, breaking up the solidified sulfur with an iron rod, without gas masks, only with a cloth covering their mouth and nose. I will explain later why this is so dangerous. This job is inhumane, tough, and horribly paid. After breaking up the sulfur, they pack it in 2 wooden baskets and carry it back uphill. The weight can reach up to 90 kg!!

I experienced firsthand how extremely irritating the fumes are, as did all the others who were down there with me at that moment. After 5 minutes, during which I found a good spot to wait for the famous Blue Flames, something unexpected happened. Suddenly, the wind changed and the smoke no longer rose straight up but came straight towards us. First, I felt a scratching, no, a burning sensation in my throat and it didn't stop, it only got worse. Then, my eyes started burning intensely. Panic and inner fear broke out because we couldn't just leave the area. I closed my eyes and pressed the gas mask tighter to my mouth and nose, just to get a little bit of air. Suddenly, someone near me shouted, "Go, go, go..." And I vaguely saw people moving. Naturally, I also wanted to get away as quickly as possible. Again, this was very risky because we could hardly see where to step. Somehow, instinctively, we went in the direction we came from. Finally, the fog cleared up again and we could breathe relatively normally. But the itching in our throats persisted, everyone was wheezing and coughing. I decided to exit the crater and climb back up because there, a beautiful sunrise awaited me. It revealed a very beautiful scene again. One more thing to mention, the life expectancy of a mine worker is probably a maximum of 45 years due to the heavy fumes! This somehow makes me sad.

Now we made our way back with another sulfur cloud accompanying us.

On the way back, we stopped at 2 small waterfalls hidden in the forest. It was a refreshing experience.

For the remainder of the time, I enjoyed being in the hotel, taking a walk through the rice fields, and in the evening, I went to the city with the hotel owner and his wife to have dinner. We had a delicious "Soto," a rice-noodle soup with chicken, of course, spicy.