June 12th & 13th, 2016

Days 73 & 74: Ijen & Downtime at the Bangsring Breeze

For our sunrise hike at the Ijen Volcano we had to leave our hotel just after midnight, so we really only had a few hours’ nap, rather than a “night’s sleep”. We were joined by Charlotte & Steven – a Belgian couple who were also staying at the Bangsring Breeze on their honeymoon – met up with our guide, and hopped into a Jeep for the 2hr drive to the Ijen trailhead.

Once we got to the volcano, we had another hour hike up the trail to the crater edge. About ¾ of the way up, we started to smell the strong odor of sulfur. Soon, it was overpowering, and all the Westerners had to put on the gas masks provided by our guide. Unfortunately, Lindsay’s mask wasn’t working, so she had to rent one from a local miner who brought extra masks to make some extra revenue from the tourists for 50K IDR.

When we got to the edge of the crater, there was a huge “DANGER – TOXIC GAS” sign. Our guide told us it was not recommended to go further, and if we do so, it would be at our own risk. The Belgian couple apparently had a lot to live for, and they decided to remain at the crater edge. But Lindsay and Igor had come all this way to see the blue flames – if the only place to see them was inside the crater, then down we would go! Besides, there were at least another 50+ tourists and guides already inside the crater, plus the miners themselves – how dangerous could it really be? (Note: very dangerous – we heard later that a French tourist died from the fumes a few days later)

 

Descending into the toxic fumes of the Ijen Crater – we are not so bright sometimes

It was an incredibly steep descent (45-degree angle at times!), and we had to keep an eye out for miners coming up the trail – given they were precariously balancing between 150-200lbs of sulfur chunks on two wicker baskets across their shoulders, they clearly deserved the right of way. Once we were at the bottom, we could see actual mining at work: the liquid sulfur pours out of fissures in the crater, while pipes of water help cool it down quickly. The miners then break the new blocks of sulfur into chunks that will fit in their baskets. The blue flames are the result of the released sulfuric gas reacting with the oxygen in the air. The steam created by the mining water pipes kept the flames mostly obscured, but every now and then, the wind shifted a bit and we got a clearer view.

 

Miners working to collect the newly solidified sulfur

 

And handful of miners used plastic molds to create sulfur trinkets to sell to tourists for supplemental income. Otherwise, they are dependent on lugging wicker baskets filled with sulfur up the crater’s edge, plus another 2km down the trail until the path is wide enough to use a wheelbarrow. Each worker makes about USD$15/day, making two trips per night on average.

 

The blue flames of Mt. Ijen – looks like Harry Potter’s Goblet of Fire!

Our photos of the blue fire weren’t quite as close-up and clear as what we had seen online – our guide asked us if we would like to climb further into the crater to get a better look. We agreed and started to head over, when all of a sudden the wind shifted to the other direction and surrounded us in a cloud of sulfuric steam. It was awful – even with the gas masks, our throats were burning, our eyes were stinging and we started coughing uncontrollably. We quickly turned back and clambered back out of the crater as quickly as possible. When we reached the edge, we reunited with the Belgian couple (healthy and safe right where we left them) and started heading back down the trail as the sky brightened around us.

 

Dawn at the Ijen crater – while there is a good sunrise viewing area, it required another 30min ascent, and our group was too tired after our escape from the sulfur cloud

The lunar-like atmosphere at the top of Ijen

 

The volcano’s fumes are visibility apparent in the morning light – time to leave this death-trap!

 

As we walked down, we were passed by a miner heading down the mountain with a load of sulfur for sale

 

Some of the miners also make extra income by carrying tourists down the trail in their wheelbarrows for 150K, which is the equivalent of a day’s wages. Belgian Steven had a bad knee that hurt when going downhill, so he hired a lift to the bottom, basically earning his “taxi” a day off

We had another 2hr drive back to the hotel, but still arrived in time for a delicious breakfast. The rest of the day was free for relaxing poolside and riding the hotel’s bicycles down to the beach. We were enjoying ourselves so much we didn’t want to leave…so we decided not to. We had built in an extra day for our next location just in case we got bad weather. We looked at the weather forecast and decided another day in paradise was worth the risk of rain.

 

A breakfast that is happy to see us!

 

Checking out the beach in Banyuwangi – apparently there is pretty good snorkeling at an island offshore (you can hire a water taxi at the beach), but truth be told we were too lazy to make the trip. Another couple we met mentioned there are tons of small sharks in the water too – little bummed we missed that

 

The hotel was far from town, but we thought the remote location was a plus – we were surrounded by fields of corn & sugarcane

 

Heading back to the hotel we passed farmers carrying their harvest on ojeks. Once we hit the mosque, we realized we had gone too far – not only was it visually striking, it was also very LOUD. In fact, there were at least 3 mosques within earshot of the Bangsring Breeze, and all three were broadcasting competing messages from dawn until late at night

 

After some helpful locals pointed us in the right direction (as the only Westerners in town, and the only people on bicycles rather than ojeks, we stood out), we got back to the hotel just in time for sunset

The only thing we had to do our second day at the Bangsring Breeze was drive into town to buy our train tickets to Probolinggo for the next morning. The hotel staff were super helpful – looking up the timetables for us, driving us into town (free of charge!), and waiting very patiently as we tried to navigate the ticket kiosk at the local Indomart (no joke – it took us four attempts to finally purchase the tickets). The rest of the day was spent in complete leisure – enjoying our beautiful room, eating a delicious dinner, and playing a round of pool.

Igor trying to buy train tickets from the mini-mart kiosk. While it was in English, our submissions kept getting rejected: Lindsay’s full name was too long; two people can’t have the same phone number; wrong seating class selected, etc. Unfortunately, there are no error messages or back buttons – you have to completely fill out the form each time before you find out if it will go through or not. If it doesn’t go through you have to start all over again

 

Because we opted to stay an extra night, the hotel had to switch our room as new guests had requested our original room. The new room had a killer view, so we had no complaints!

 

The new room also had a private *outdoor* bathroom – great for doing laundry!

 

Beautiful room and fast Wifi – travelers don’t need much more to be happy

 

Evening at the Bangsring Breeze

 

LOVED the food here – we tried a new dish every night and were never disappointed.

 

Let the record show that Igor has redeemed himself by soundly whooping Lindsay’s ass at pool. Well done, honeybunny.