Fire over Bromo: Part 2

Click here to read Part 1 of this post if you haven't already.

Pilgrims on the embers of the Earth.

One last push would take us up this staircase to the smoking mouth of the caldera.

At last, we reached the rim of this volcanic crater.

Inside the crater were Javanese folks wrapped in cloth and scavenging sulphur from Bromo's belly.

There were also Hindu worshippers at the rim of the crater, who threw offerings such as rice, fruits, chickens and even goats into the volcano as offerings to their gods. At the same time, local villagers would use nets and sarongs to try to catch the gifts. If it seems disrespectful stealing someone's religious alms in this way, it's worth bearing in mind that most of these villagers are dirt-poor and simply looking for a way to feed their families.

Man, we've had mixed feelings about Java, but views like this make it totally worth all the hassle.

Just casually taking a walk along the rim of a volcano.

This is how I wanna live my life. Wandering otherworlds.

One last look at nature's smelting factory before starting the journey back down.

"Hello, sir. You want horse ride?"

It was only a few hours since we'd climbed to the vantage point in the dark, but some 300 photos later, we found our jeep driver and departed from this amazing volcanic wasteland.

Catch ya later, bro-mo. It's been a blast.

Those pitch-black villages we passed on the way here were now flickering to life with early risers and multicoloured flags, not unlike the Nepalese villages I've sometimes dreamed of visiting.

The day was young, and even after such an awesome adventure we still had much ahead of us. We returned to our minivan and continued the journey east towards the end of Java, passing more beautiful countryside on the way.

In the late afternoon we arrived at another hotel for our final evening on this island.

Our volcanic escapades weren't over yet, and the next morning we would be up before the break of dawn once again, this time to climb an even bigger crater than that of Bromo.