Indonesia Mount Bromo: An Unmissable Visual Experience Java, Travel to Indonesia 0 (0)1:30 am we leave. Trying as best we can to sleep. Around 4 am the driver will take a cigarette break in the middle of nowhere before the final climb, the dense night and the Olympic calm that reigned there gave quite unrealistic appearances to this pee break that I granted myself. Around 5 am after a more or less steep climb through the broken road and villages with a few houses and guest houses, I see in the darkness the plume of Bromo.It's 5:15 am when we're ready for sunrise, after walking for a few minutes in the dark because we couldn't continue with the car (but once again my little flashlight did the trick).On the other side of the approaching sun, the Bromo volcano is right there, imposing and relatively silent from here, with the only evidence of its activity being the column of smoke that is constantly billowing out.As the light becomes more intense, a desolate, lunar landscape unfolds before our eyes.5:40 a.m., the sun is there but is already playing hide-and-seek with the clouds.We are at altitude, it is neither really cold but not hot either (Mount Bromo is 2329m)I constantly zap from one side or the other of the path where we are so as not to miss anything of this new dawn on one side and the morning light bathing the volcano area on the other.Since the volcano re-entered its eruption period in November 2010 (previously in 2004), it has covered the entire surrounding area with a thick layer of ash.Some riders come to offer us to go down and see the volcano more closely, having our car we politely refuse, without knowing that we would not be able to access it with said car...The tracks crossing the “sea of ash” and going up to the volcano.The morning fog adds a touch to the ghostly atmosphere of the place. Breathtaking view…To get a sense of scale, note the size of the red car at the bottom of the photo.We return to the car. Some collect ashes.Overview. I don't know how long it takes to get back to a similar look to what it was before like here:Arriving at a parking lot, we ask to go see down, at least I ask. We manage to understand that our driver can't because the car is not powerful enough. In addition, officially there is still a 2km security perimeter around the volcano. So we call on motorbikes who offered to take us there, for a fairly high price, we manage to negotiate 100.000 to 2, simply because it was all we had left in cash! And for lack of an ATM in the area, I persevered while leaving a little margin so as not to be completely dry either, and I really wanted to go and see more closely. The landscape is sublime, I am won over.The motorcycles will stop at the foot of the Hindu temple itself located at the foot of the volcano.So we continue on foot while refusing the offers to go horseback riding. I wanted to enjoy the climb at my own pace. It is around 7am.Here we came across quite a few tourists despite the security perimeter (in theory), curiosity is a nasty fault... (us first).It's hard to describe what I felt at that moment, an air of explorers with a touch of adrenaline.The sun breaks through the layer of clouds as best it can, providing shadows and an extra dimension to this already surreal scene. However, the rain is also there, a rain of ash… The rain must have dug these ditches.Now it's time to go up.No one has been there for a while.It doesn’t seem like a given…In this environment one feels “small” because one feels the presence, the omnipotent power of the volcano. The fine rain of ash completes this Dantesque picture.The temple will not be used for a while…The slope is steep but not that steep.Seeing Jitima tired, he will try his luck but having already done the biggest part of the climb, we will continue until the end.All the other people came from the other side and on horseback. We were the only ones who walked straight from the temple… The stairs are gone. Normally they look like this, it was last November:We are almost there. It only took us half an hour.Offerings.At the foot of the crater, there the silence gives way to a permanent dull rumbling, it's quite terrifying when you know what's under our feet... And less than a month ago there were Strombolian eruptions (with lava spewing) that took place right here (a guide showed us photos taken with his cell phone just 15 days ago):Personally I would have preferred not to have to go up and see something like the previous photo because all you will see is a column of smoke coming out of a hole...Waiting for their customers.And yes we are so small…Back to square one.Some take advantage of this to leave a (fleeting) traceThe northern side of the caldera is not affected by ash, but we are, we are covered in it at that moment…The toilets are no longer usable... (some people dared to do so anyway...)That's good, it adds a bit of color.We are moving away.There is normally a 2nd viewpoint a little higher up, many photos where we see the alignment of the volcanoes like here come from this viewpoint in question:[/ Caption]They offered to take us there before going down but it was too expensive because it was not included in our package.A last one before we go.Back in the parking lot where the driver was waiting for us patiently. Did you like the article? Vote on the article Note globale 0 / 5. Number of votes: 0 No votes yet. Be the first to rate this article! Did you like the article? Follow me on social media Heart-stopper Essentials to visit Nature and landscapes Volcano 0 0 Roman 22/03/2012
