Volcanoes & stuff
Up at midnight … ugh. For a 3 hour drive … ugh. So that we can hike for 2 hours, in the dark … ugh. Up the side of a freaking volcano!
It was hot, even at 3:30am, it was over 80 and the humidity was high. The climb was steep, very steep at times. It was hard, really hard at times. But we pushed on and persevered. And were greatly rewarded. Our guide for the hike, Widdy, who has done the hike over a 1000 times, said we were extremely lucky as the weather had been rotten for seeing sunrise the last week or so.
The 6 hour of trials and tribulations all melted away with the morning sky. Our tired, cold bodies shivered as we sat at the top of Mt. Batur, an active volcano, over 5,600 feet above sea level, patiently waiting and hoping for a sunrise to match our efforts.
And then magic happened. As the sun rose, thoughts of tired muscles faded and the clouds danced all around us.
Mt. Batur sunrise
We spent the next hour bathing in glorious sunlight, high atop the island, able to see as far as Lombok in the east and Java in the west, and all points of Bali in between.
Our souls filled, and recharged with the great energy of the sun, we readied ourselves for the descent. But then our friends, the mountain monkey’s came out from the jungle below tempting us to hang around for a while longer.
Widdy & the monkey
Eventually we made our way down the mountain, and over to Mt. Batur Hot Springs to soak our weary bodies in the healing, heated waters of the volcano.
Hot spring views
Once again revived (mostly), we piled into our van for the three hour journey back to the villa. Arrived, we all crashed hard. Growling stomaches woke us an hour later, ready to scoot down the road to get what we all agreed was the best local meal we’ve had here in Bali. Whole grilled fish, fresh caught only meters away, served with rice, spicy salad, and spicy sauce, washed down with coconut water and Bintang.
And finally, a swim in the pool with more Bintang’s was the perfect cap to wonderful day.