Mount Bromo

The three of us woke up at about 7 to finish packing and head to the train station. As always we were way ahead of schedule, so I sat down to eat the best chocolate donut of my life. The train was actually very nice. We traveled executive class, so they had individual seats, pillows, air conditioning, and tv. They played Mr. Bean and a documentary about Indonesia, but mostly I just passed the time reading. When we arrived in Probolinngo we caught a small van/car to the "bus station." Basically a guy ripped us off and took us to a travel agent, so we ended up paying a bit more to get a private van with 2 fellow travelers who were on their honeymoon. What a fantastic honeymoon! Before leaving we decided to eat some food and stocked our bellies full of this delicious nasi, which was basically noodles and rice covered in peanut sauce, all for the equivalent of 50 cents. It was so good!

The trip up the mountainside was rough, mostly because it was raining and our driver was super crazy! It was a good thing we all never get carsick anymore thanks to Albanian roads.
Once at our hotel we checked in, figured out our plans for the following day, and headed out to get hiking supplies(food) and enjoyable evening on our patio supplies (beer.) The evening was spent just talking, while looking out over the mountainside and sipping beers/smoking cigarettes. Eventually we went and got some dinner at the restaurant. This place served the second best bowl of chicken noodle soup I have ever had! (My mom's wins) Plus, it was cold and rainy, so soup was the perfect meal. It was all I ate the entire weekend, other than snacks and the free breakfast.

hiking boots where they belong!!

We went to bed at around 9 and woke up at midnight to set out for our hike to the top of the mountain. I was so groggy and felt disgusting, but the hike under the moonlight and stars was surprisingly welcomed. The mist kept coming and covering up all of our sight and then all the sudden it would clear and you'd look up and be dumbfounded at how gorgeous the mountain looked in the moonlight. We were so hot hiking that we ended up doing the majority of the 7km in just our t-shirts. I couldn't believe that anyone had told me I'd need a winter jacket. It took far less time to reach the top than we thought it would so we had to sit there from 2:30 to 5:00 with nothing to do but kick back and drink whiskey, which made me feel groggier. I was finally chilled to the bone and really wishing I had a cuddle buddy.

hiking boots at the top!

We spent the time sharing stories from Albania, including a list of all the random places I had peed. I did my best to walk around and do some jumping, and eventually some ladies came down from further up the mountainside to set up a coffee/hot noodle warung. That was the best cup of coffee I have ever had, though in reality it was just instant coffee in the right time and place. It was so misty and cloudy, that we didn't get to see the sunrise, but we did get to see the light rise through the mist, and eventually the clouds cleared enough to allow us to get some nice pictures.

The hike back down the mountainside was gorgeous. I think I'll just let the pictures do the talking for this one.

Robert's photo of us on the way back down

Beautiful!

14 kilometers down, a whole volcano to go! Next on the agenda was a breakfast of coffee and noodles at the hotel, followed by a hike across the valley to the volcano. When I first found out I was coming to Jakarta and started doing research, one of the main things that peaked my interest was volcano hiking. I'm so glad I finally got to do this!

sacrifices on the mountain

The hike across the valley was quick and painless. We passed the time tossing around volcanic rocks, which weight very little. You can throw the big ones and still feel the earth rumble under your feet. It's pretty cool. The hike to the top was exhausting, especially the 141 steps (I counted) but well worth the view. All along the volcano rim people had left sacrifices of food, flowers, money, and incense. One man was walking into the crater to pick up trash. What a crazy!!!

We decided to take an unmarked path back down which was the best decision ever. We spent our time in the volcano path just exploring until we managed to come out just before it started to sprinkle. The hike back across the valley was quick and followed by the absolute worst part: the hike up the mountain to get to the hotel. Going down had been bad enough, but the hike up left me drenched in sweat and feeling like I was going to pass out.

Roberts photo of me on the way down!

Upon reaching the room I chugged water and lay on the bed for about 30 minutes before we all went to the restaurant for lunch. Unfortunately it was Friday and prayer time so we spent the next hour drinking beer and playing cards while we waited for the cook to get back and make us chicken noodle soup and a fruit platter. I was in desperate need for something other than carbs, which was hard to come by. At this point we went back to our room to sleep until morning.

I was woke up 2 hours later (5:30pm) by some very loud children, and my grumbling belly. Its surprising how hungry hiking 25KM(15 miles) will make you. So we went back down to the restaurant for more soup and coffee, and Scott and Robert managed to find me chocolate cookies to satisfy my cravings. Then we were able to sleep until 6am the next day.

Faces were stuffed with more noodles, eggs, and coffee and we met a very nice girl from the Netherlands on our shuttle to the train. We spent our 3 hours at the train station drinking beer and coffee. Scott managed to find me an apple and I was lucky enough to hear an ice cream cart so I could finally get the ice cream I had been craving. I also made really good friends with this cat at the train station and let her play with my broken purse for about 30 minutes.

Kitty!

My body is sore all over, but I'm surprised I'm not in more pain. I think my ass hurts the most. I am writing this blog on a train(thanks technology!)  We are heading back to Surabaya to pick up our laundry, order McDonalds, and re-pack. We leave for Bali at 3am tomorrow morning!