Indonesia Volcano Run day 11

Nice view from the balcony of our room.

On the road at 7:45. We pass a man running in a sweat suit being followed by a woman on a scooter. He looks like he's in training for a boxing match and trying to lose weight before a bout.

I know we're on the road to the port because we start seeing lots of posters advertising "tikets" for the ferry.

We stop at the Alfamart opposite the port for a quick break. We're given tickets by Miller and it's off we go. Crossing the road, the motorcycle lane awaits our entry. But, last minute problem, Alan's bike won't start; eventually it starts and he joins us. Our tickets are scanned and we join the queue to board, on the way passing brightly coloured coaches all lined up.

The plan is to catch the first available ferry, and they leave every 15mins. But we end up playing ferry ping pong, going from one queue to another as directed by the port staff...  it's a frustrating process, and we're sitting idle in a queue in the sun. I can feel the sweat dripping down my body in various places under my gear. 

Finally we're in a queue that seems to be moving in the right direction, the long jetty that stretches out into the harbour is now topped with a layer of cars. 

The bikes board last, filling the gaps; what a squeeze: but we're on!

Wait, where's Charlie and Miller? Alan too, all missing. We see them on the other side of the barrier preventing them from boarding - they'll have to catch the next one.

We wave as we leave them behind

The crossing is a slow affair, more a serene cruise. Probably because Captain Cary is at the wheel!

But it's a calm sea and we get a chance to lie down or sit...

and take pictures. The engine room is hot and humid.

The beaches on the Bali side look long and lovely.

Back down to the bikes from the passenger deck, we prepare to disembark.

We group on hitting terra firma, and at least the support truck is with us. We're not going to hang around in this heat, so we agree to meet at the lunch stop. I have the gpx, so I'll lead. The roads are good, nice well kept tarmac and the traffic is light. We make good progress and reach the Sage restaurant. 

The others join us before the food arrives and we have an excellent lunch there.

Now the group splits again, some will go with Miller and Charlie to a winery and temple, while others (myself, Shane, Tom, and Alan) will go directly to the hotel. I opt for the latter as I want to sample the excellent Bali beaches I've heard about. Again I lead, and we overtake the other group who left before us. We make 'better progress' compared to them... 

Arriving at the hotel, it has a long driveway and a grand entrance, 

and then the staff show us to our rooms. These are arranged around a pool, which would be a lovely setting for a pool party - however, my priority is getting to the beach. My trunks are in my topbox, so I'm fitted and kitted and head to the water with manic gusto - only to be severely disappointed by what awaits. 

The beach is narrow, not well kept, and the water is murky with lots of detritus floating in it, organic and non-organic; very uninviting. Well I have booked a motorcycle tour, so my disappointment should be tempered, but it would have been a nice bonus to have had a swim in the sea after arriving all hot and sweaty.

At least the pools are very good and I have a swim in both. The early arrivals meet up in the pool outside our rooms.

I decide to go for a run, but it's ultimately unsatisfying as my Garmin planned route let's me down by suggesting a route that doesn't exist. I try to wing it, but am ultimately thwarted by the many territorial dogs who bark at me. I've heard rabies is present in Indonesia, so I certainly don't want to be bitten. Back from the run and I investigate the sea again, but no change: the tide is virtually the same, so no joy there. I jump into the bigger pool and enjoy a swim, but the water feels a tad too warm.

Dinner is a disappointing affair, "family style" but the food seems a bit bland and doesn't appeal. Good for my diet! Ultimately the hotel promises so much, but doesn't fully deliver. The staff are extremely attentive, the rooms a good size, and the two pools are decent; but the beach and the food are below average.

115km today, including the ferry. Last day tomorrow, heading south to Denpasar.

Indonesia Volcano Run day 10

8am start, except for me that is; for me it's 7:45. I'm late, of course, but we start at 7:55, so I guess it worked. 

Not long after leaving, we fill up with fuel. There's a marionette model turning side to side rhythmically. I assume it's a model, but there's something about it that is so life-like. Then a random movement - it must be a real person! I go over and grab a selfie. What must it be like under that costume on a hot day like today?

Back on the road and passing through one village, there is the most amazingly smooth tarmac, which seems out of place suddenly for this stretch of road. 

We make a few left turns and on two occasions I forget to cancel my indicator for quite some time until noticing the flashing light on my instrument cluster. It's usually Cary that I see doing that, at which point I open and close my hand in a gesture to let her know her indicator is still on. But now she's following me and seeing my mistake, so, touché! She later asks me if I'm feeling ok. Haha.

Stopping at what I think is a coffee pitstop, it's not, it's a medical centre, and we are here for a medical check. We're climbing Kawah Ijen later, another volcano. This one is famous for its acid lake (world's largest) within the crater and a blue flame that can be seen at night time. We had planned to wake up at 2am to climb it, but have now decided to do it this afternoon instead to avoid the thousands of people who flock to witness the spectacle. The health check is now required by the government to minimise the risk that people will fall ill during the climb. My BP is 140/80, a little high, but I pass the criteria to climb.

On the way to the road at the base of the volcano, the skies darken and the wind picks up - I'm certain it's going to rain. I feel an urge to stop and put my rain gear on, but Miller doesn't seem concerned. About five minutes later I detect the faintest rain drops on my visor, but this doesn't deter Miller and we push on. Those few drops were as close as we got, it looks like we've skirted around the storm.

The road then becomes a lovely set of curves which are fun to ride, even if a little bumpy at times. 

Arriving at the base of the trek, we change into hiking gear. 

Steve, Shane and Alan have chosen not to join us and they go and explore further (they discover an impressive long lost waterfall about 30mins ride away and they themselves get lost in the process). The walk supposedly takes a few hours, but we do it in just over an hour, climbing through the mist with the sound of thunder in the distance and the smell of sulphur hanging in the air.

It's a hard climb, once again Hugo leading the way, with the rest of us puffing away to keep up. 

Along the way we meet several people guiding loaded carts down the track; they're transporting sulphur mined from the crater. Their loads are about 120kg and earns them about $8 for each trip; they do about three trips per day.

We make it to the top and the cloud has cleared. We're now at around 2300m. The views down into the crater are amazing.

After the hard climb, this was very hard work.

Christopher and I jog down to stay warm as it's quite chilly on the volcano and walking down doesn't generate much body heat.

Back at the base, the luggage truck has gone and we don't have all the bike keys with us. We decide to ride two-up to a waterfall about 2km away; I'm pillion for Hugo. 

The waterfall is run-off flow from the volcano and the minerals within the water have stained the surrounding rocks. 

Back to the hotel and from reception we have to get a golf trolley to our rooms. We load up the luggage and climb aboard. About ten seconds later, after the shortest golf trolley ride, we arrive at our rooms, about 50m from reception. Granted other rooms are not so close, but it seems like a terrible waste.

Charlie, Tom and I take a swim in the hotel's strangely shaped multilayer pool. The hotel is very large and has lots of interesting facilities including multiple pools, and a mini zoo! 

It's not crowded at all as it's off season. 

A short ride today but a tough one because of the hike.  About 120km, including the hike.

Indonesia Volcano Run day 9

Move your arse, Dom! Charlie calls out from the car park as my luggage has not yet reached the truck. I'm on the way out the door anyway, so the extra 'encouragement' is not needed and leaves a slightly sour taste in my mouth until washed away later by high speed airflow...

We set off, only a few minutes late, and yes, I'm the last to leave. Dropping down the valley on a twisty road, we cross a river that has cut a deep channel into the landscape. 

We're now into proper jungle with palm trees, albeit with a busy road running right through it. And it's hotter at this altitude.

 

Where the jungle has been cleared, crops are grown, and in places crop burning is in progress or has been done. This is a current source of controversy with Indonesia's neighbours as smoke from these fires is drifting into their territories and causing respiratory and other problems.

Gradually we move out of the jungle environment. I note a white van in my mirrors and expect it to overtake at some point, but it seems content to stay where it is. The land becomes much flatter and more open, with paddy fields with workers wearing the traditional douli hats. 

Instead of hedges, the field boundaries are marked with rows of tall palm trees. Curiously, I think I can smell the sea. Crossing a bridge there are two guys with rifles pointing down into the river below. They're not army or police, so we can only assume they were hunting fish... But how?

Charlie overtakes us and chats with Miller up front. Not long after, we detour off our planned gpx route, following a dirt and gravel track for about 1km. 

And then we see it, it IS the sea, the Indian Ocean in fact.

We stop just short of the actual beach because there's a creek running parallel to it, and no obvious sign of a way to cross it apart from what looks like a small passenger ferry tied up on one side. So near and yet so far.

The dark sand is clearly of volcanic origin and partly explains why agriculture is so successful on Java, because the soil will be volcanic based too. Still, standing on a small mound, we can see the sea and the white topped waves crashing on to the beach. Christopher and I do our best meerkat impression from there.

We stop for watermelon and munch munching takes place.

Once again I note the same white van in my mirrors; that's strange, is it following us? My Spidey senses briefly kick in, until I realise it's our support truck! 🤦🏽

Our next stop is at a fish market. Steve loves a market, and he's in his element taking pictures of people and things that catch his keen eye.

Unfortunately, there's also a rubbish dump next to it, which adds a pungent tang to the already pungent fish market smell. 

As always, the people are amazingly friendly, wanting to say hello and practice their English. Sufiyan says hello; his English is pretty good and I ask from where did he learn... YouTube apparently! That and gaming. He's bought a big bag of fish for 30,000 Rupiah, about 1.50 euro. 

Then, to the beach! We arrive and within a few minutes I've stripped off and I'm in the water! I came prepared, wearing my swimming shorts underneath my riding gear. The others follow once they've changed and we have a lovely swim before lunch is served - fresh fish!

The beach is idyllic with a long sandy stretch and fishing boats tied up just offshore.

At the other end it's rocky with several large masses dominating the beach.

Lunch is delicious grilled fish and other seafood. The only thing that spoils it are the swarm of flies that are gradually attracted to the food. They increase in number as the meal progresses, not wanted to miss the feast we are enjoying.

Drying off and de-sanding after the swim, we gear-up and leave, noting the tsunami evacuation signs on the way and the last view of beach.

Another 70km to the hotel. A scooter shoots past me, the rider wearing a NASA logo on their back; so that's how those things are able to go so fast, rocket power!

En route the skies darken and the atmospheric flood gates are released. Just before that, we stop as the first drops splash our visors and put on our rain gear. This time I'm one of the first. But after the taps are turned to full blast and having ridden through lots of standing water, my feet and legs are soaking. My gloves are wet too. My rain jacket seems to be doing its job. 

The rain eventually stops and we spend the rest of the journey trying to dry off in the airflow, but the humidity means that it's not very effective. A quick pitstop for drinks allows us to wring out our gloves, but for the rest, we'll just have to stay wet.

We arrive at the hotel after climbing into the hills again, still wet and drape our gear over every edge we can find in our rooms.

About 200km today. 

Indonesia THE Volcano Run day 8

Alarm at 02:45, out at 03:30. Windproofs on as it's chilly out - who knew it got cold in Indonesia? We climb on the bikes and then climb the mountain in the dark. With only the weak headlight beam to guide me on the twisty road, it's quite disorienting, making the ride tricky.

As usual we're passed by a few locals screaming by with their loud end cans. We later realise these are probably taxi riders.

The road at the top is lined by Toyota 4x4s and there's a car obstructing further progress so we park the bikes right there. According to the map there's at least 500m more to go and it's all uphill. It's a struggle but we make it; Hugo leading the way, while I'm panting far behind him. I'm puzzled that somehow Steve is ahead of us; I don't remember him leaving before us.... But no, he used a taxi, which he later said was well worth the £2 spent. When we reach the top, we see it's getting crowded.

It's still dark but there's an orange glow on the horizon. I find a spot on the barrier and watch the orange patch expand. Unlike so far on this trip we can actually see some stars in the sky, one is particularly bright, probably a planet.

At some point I realise I'm looking at the sunrise and not Mt Bromo so I reposition. We get a good corner spot, as the volcano appears from the dark, silhouetted against the lightening sky 

As the light appears we can see that the scenery is decidedly alpine, with conifer trees growing on the side of the hills.

There are some amazing views and a particularly well defined cloud that's sitting in front of the sunrise. There's a buzz in the air as people await the spectacle. The sun comes up right through a dip in the cloud's upper surface. 

I lose track of how many photos I've taken - I'll sort them later!

The sun's up and the view constantly changes; more pictures! 

Rob and I do our customary leap, but it's hard work at nearly 2800m altitude. We try a few times until a reasonable image stands out.

Group photo, but Christopher is nowhere to be found. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Back down to the hotel and a quick snooze before breakfast. It's not even 6am yet!

We pack our bags and set off at 8:30.

Some of the buildings remind me of those I've seen in Tibet and other mountainous regions such as in the Himalayas. 

It's alpine scenery as we follow the side of the valley and then the ridge line.

We pass into the Mt Bromo old caldera and the views are equally amazing. 

Winding our way down the hillside we gather at the bottom. This is the Sea of Sand, a 10km stretch of sand, deep in places - this should be fun! 😬

Rob has not ridden this much sand before, and with its 19" front wheel, his bike is not the ideal. But he does well and doesn't fall over. Christopher in his Honda CRF250 and it's 21" from wheel and proper knobbly tyres powers ahead. 

More pictures and poses ensue.

Rob survives!

We pass the so-called Teletubbie hill. It does vaguely look like those rolling green hills from the kids TV show.

Our next stop is lunch followed by a visit to another waterfall. This one is quite dramatic. It's supposedly the largest in Indonesia and at over 100m justifies that claim.

After that is a short run the the hotel for the night. It's a lovely set of villas and tonight I have my own room. 

Before dinner I go for swim in the hotel pool. Cary arranges for the support truck driver to take us back to the waterfall so we can explore more of the trails in the area. We sit in the back of the truck for the short journey. Christopher and I have planned to do a short run and we manage to persuade Cary to join us, I'm sure she regrets that the decision. 

We descend into the ravine and get drenched as we walk to near where the water hits the ground.

There's a bridge across the water flowing away from the waterfall and we cross it to reach the other side.

On the other side there is another set of stairs leading back up the waterfall. The views from the other side are just as spectacular.

We jog back to the waterfall carpark to meet the truck.

Christopher and I decide to run back, so we jump out of the truck before it reaches the main road. It's another 2km, but worth the effort.

Only about 120km today, but seems like a very full day!

Tomorrow we have more distance to cover, but will be having lunch on the beach.

As I write this, the rain has just started and it's making a very loud racket on the roof of my villa.