Preamble
When thinking about the past year, I realized that I still have some untold stories. Climbing the Kawah Ijen volcano is one of them.

The desire came up in Cambodia. I was in a meditation retreat with some new friends and I told them about my love for the documentary “Samsara” that puts into images thirty countries in a poetic and political way. James, one of the guys, happens to have  this movie on his computer.

We found ourselves watching it and trying hard to guess where the scenes had been shot. James had foreseen everything by writing down the list of countries in order of appearance. It was amazing to be surrounded by experienced and passionate travelers.  Someone would say hey, this is in my country, in Italy, another would guessed a scene from North India, I immediately recognized the temples of Bagan which I visited in April and so on. At one point, there was a sequence with miners carrying some yellow stones on their shoulders. I thought it was in Bolivia. To my surprise my friend Gurutze told me no Nathalie it’s actually in your area, in Java. It’s the Kawah Ijen volcan. And you should definitely go there! There was the sign. I knew I would set foot there shortly.

Some facts about Kawah Ijen

• Located at the Eastern end of Java, one of the largest islands of Indonesia located to the east of Bali.
• Its name means “green crater” in Javanese
• Part of the volcanoes in the Pacific Ring of Fire (the most seismically active region in the world)
• Altitude of 2386 m
• Still active. Its last eruption was in 1999.
• Unique in the world, this sulfur volcano contains a turquoise lake recognized as the largest and most acid on the planet. Nowhere operation of sulfur is as important with six tons per day.

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On the way to the island of Java
On July 26, I left with my precious friend Marie-Lise who came from Montreal (Canada) to visit me for the first time since I had left Canada. I booked a driver to take us to Java.

The road heading west of Bali was peaceful and scattered with large green landscapes. The view of the sea and its shiny black sand reminded us that we were on an island and amplified our feeling of being on vacation, as of taking the ferry.

In Java, mosques replaced the hindu temples and women wore the hijab instead of the sarong. This part of the island seemed rustic and yet very traditional and quiet. Java is said to be the most populous island in the world with 150 million people where over two thirds of the population resides.

On the stroke of midnight Kawah Ijen here we come!
We awoke with the sound of someone knocking on the door. It was our driver telling us that it was time to go. Already! Did we sleep? Barely. So we got out of the room sleepy but excited like kids, wondering how hard it’s going to be.

Another driver and a guide, former miner, were waiting for us in a jeep. The contact was much more pleasant with the driver than with the guide. We arrived at the site an hour later. Our flashlights and gas masks in hand, we were ready to climb our first volcano.

The road was slightly abrupt but in good condition. We just had to follow the path. The darkness made the experience even more mysterious. A calm prevailed. The light from the flashlights carried by other tourists was the only thing that was bringing us back to  the reality that we were climbing a volcano in the middle of the night. There were tourists of all kinds and of all ages, some well equipped, others no enough.

There was already a slight sulfur smell that floated and it was already bothering Marie-Lise’s lungs. I was worried. We had just started and I had no idea how long it would take us before reaching the summit. For my part I was physically fine and I had all day, but our guide was impatient and was not a help nor a useful reassurance. He kept telling us the remaining distance but all we wanted to know was how long. We put a little less than three hours to reach the top. Three hours with burning lungs and symptoms of nausea for my friend, I call this perseverance. But it was not over yet.

Dangerous descent to the crater
Once at the summit it was still dark. We took a short break before our guide rushed us to get quickly into the crater to see closely the famous blue flames before the sunrise. These blue flames are the result of the combustion of sulphuric gases. This phenomenon is said to be particularly remarkable in Kawah Ijen. (Unfortunately my iphone was useless in those conditions. I don’t have any pictures of the blue flames – and it was not our highlight of the day but do a quick research on the Web you will see amazing pictures). 

The descent was dangerous. The path to go down was a succession of stones where people were trying to go down, others to go up while miners were trying to make their way through the horde of tourists to continue their work. Our guide took us by the arm trying to move us down faster to our dismay. For us, our health was way more important than the sight of the blue flames. We made it to the crater floor thirty minutes later. There were still some blue flames but the wind started to blow enormous sulfur fumes. My eyes began to sting and I was still worried about my friend.

 

On our way up of the crater it was way less stressful. The path was less crowded and the sun was starting to rise. We could finally take the time to admire the surreal beauty of the site. Our efforts were rewarded.

 

Sulfur miners: one of the most dangerous occupations in the world
There are about 200 miners on the site who live in the valley at the foot of the volcano. Each miners carry up to 150 to 200 pounds (70-90 kilos) of sulfur blocks on their shoulders going up the crater and back down to the collection point (about 6 km in total). The sulfur is then taken by truck to a Chinese-owned factory to process the sulfur into cosmetics and refined sugar. Minors do this trip twice a day, from 2 am until 9 am without masks, gloves or any proper protection.  They are paid 800 rupiah (8 cents CAD) per kilo for around $5 to $10 CAD a day.

 

 

 

It always seems impossible until it is done, Nelson Mandela

For you Marie
Marie-Lise, I dedicate you this article for your remarkable strength and determination that allowed you to overcome the pain by taking one step at a time. Thank you for being in my life. Thank you for this month of friendship.

This adventure was a unique moment to witness the force of the nature, the sturdiness of the human body and the inner strength that resides within us.

Beyond the pride of having ascended this dangerous volcano to see the miners risking their lives to support their family because of lack of better opportunities has been the most striking part of this experience.

Note: According to my understanding, tourists are prohibited from descending into the crater unless accompanied by a guide, often a former miner. Not all guides are willing to descend into the crater and the site can be fully appreciated without doing it. The site closes at 2pm because of the smoke that has intensified since sunrise. In our experience, the guide was not at all necessary for the ascent, you just need to follow the path. But we enjoyed having a package from Bali including all the logistics and gas masks.

Happiness and serenity,

Nathalie