Climbing the Volcano

Gede, our guide, Hope and Clare

 O.k., so besides the fact that it probably seems insane to even think about climbing a volcano when there have been 4 eruptions on an island not too distant I will admit that I was not in fact following the news that well and had not known of the three subsequent eruptions since the original one.  Suffice to say, we are not that close to the island off the coast of Java where the eruptions have been occurring and we figured they would have canceled all trips if there had been any danger.  Really.  And this was the time we had planned to go because Clare was leaving in three days.  

On Bali there are three volcanos and I think you can climb them all.  Gunung Agung, the mother volcano, is the tallest at 3,143 m. (10,000 ft) and that was the one we were going to climb.  We had been warned off of climbing Batur, as our guide at the elephant temple (Goa Gajah) informed us that the people at Batur were not very nice and a tourist there had lost all her money.  Imagine our surprise as we began our hike and saw the sign that clearly read 'Mt. Batur'.  My heart sunk momentarily, though Clare and Hope both started laughing, so I decided to let it go and accept the moment for what it was.  If we were meant to hike Batur, then so be it.  Well, any disappointment I might have had quickly wore off about half an hour into our hike as Clare was having gastro-intestinal issues from the food she had bought on the streets of Ubud the night before and we were having to pause now and again to let her stomach calm down.  I should also mention that we had begun our 'day' at 2 a.m., departing from our village in the van we chartered at 2:30, arriving at the volcano an hour or so later and beginning our hike in the dark at around 4 a.m. to hopefully catch the sunrise on top of the mountain.  Given all of this, I'd have to say we were all actually quite grateful to be climbing the lowly Batur (1,710 m, or 5,000 ft.), knowing it was still going to be a slog to get to the top, up narrow switchbacks at times on sandy volcanic terrain.

When we finally arrived at the warung (cafe) at the rim, we were given the option of continuing to the very top or stopping there to have our breakfast, which our guide Gede was to prepare.  Needless to say, this was where pretty much everyone else was stopping to watch the sunrise, and Clare was in no mood to hike any more, so we perched ourselves on some jagged rocks and faced east to take in the view. 

Sunrise over Agung - farthest in the distance - seen from Batur

Tea on the volcano

From where we sat we had a great view of an adjacent mountain which was part of the same area we were in and just beyond it, looking like a shadow of the first mountain, was the majestic Agung.  Breakfast consisted of hot banana sandwiches and 4 boiled eggs for the three of us to share.  The sunrise was quite serene, though there was fog along the lower valley floor and this obscured the coast somewhat and we did not see the golden orb clearly until it was up in the sky well above Lombok, which was just visible beyond the fog and clouds.  The fog did move though and we were able to catch glimpses of the ocean and neighboring islands, as well as the large lake at the foot of the volcano we were sitting on.

Clare meets a monkey

A monkey on the rim

 There were probably 50 of us all together, tourists and guides as well as the warung proprieter and his 11 year old daughter who had sped past us up the mountain, in order to get up in time to open shop.  Hope pointed out the group next to us whose Indonesian guide spoke perfect German and offered his group cappucino's.  Following breakfast, we became aware of the many monkeys starting to assemble around us.  Our guide pointed out a blue nylon rope that was supposed to be the line the monkeys couldn't cross, then proceeded to feed them beyond the same line.  The monkeys were much less aggressive than the ones in monkey forest who seem to have no fear of humans.  Our guide told us they live just below the rim of the volcano where the rising steam helped them to keep warm in the cooler mountain air.

Balinese Snow

Feeling refreshed after breakfast, we decided to continue on and see the rim and other various smaller craters and such points of interest.   Our Guide procured an egg that he was going to bury in one of the steam vents to 'boil' for us, and off we went.  Along the way he informed us that four months ago a tourist had fallen into the main crater and died.  Then he showed us the sites of previous smaller eruptions and finally we reached the edge of the Western rim where we got to cook our egg.  12 minutes.  It was delicious.  On the way down our guide told us we were going to descend through 'Bali snow', soft volcanic sand that was quite a bit like snow actually.  I'm pretty sure he was weaving through it with mock ski poles, turning his hips at the right times as he deftly dropped down the 'slopes'.
The trip down was considerably faster than the trip up, and once at the foot of the mountain, we were treated to a stunning view of the crater we had just been on.  By the time we got back to the van, we'd had quite a day, the sun beating down on us, quickly erasing the memories of the cooler temperatures of the predawn.  We were shocked though to discover though that it was only 9:30 a.m.

We did it!

Postscript: according to which source you may want to check the volcano has been officially closed to tourists since either the 3rd, 5th or 6th of November.  We climbed it, along with about 40 other various groupings of tourists, guides, etc. on the 7th and there was no mention of it being closed, or about to close.

PPSS.  What were the rest of us doing?  Well Erin and the boys jumped on motor bikes with Devon and ventured out to a beach.  It should have been about an hour drive but somehow it took 2.  Vaughn has perfected sleeping on the bike.  The beach was on the east coast.  We had to hike in and it was worth the long ride and walk.  Simply breath taking.  We drank fresh coconuts and played in the warm blue waters.