We don’t have any volcanoes in Belgium. That’s why it’s a nice thing to do, to climb a volcano or two when you are on holiday in a country where you have plenty of them… Mountain Batur, in the North of Bali, is a good beginner’s volcano. Anyone can do it, basically! In just a few hours you can climb all the way to the top and the views around are fantastic.
What makes it the most challenging, is that you set off at 2 am. We got picked up by a minibus from our homestay in Ubud, and drove about an hour to a place to have breakfast. I’m not sure how you would like a 3am banana pancake, but it doesn’t go down so well… The only reason you eat it, is because you’ll know you’ll need it…
You walk up the volcano in the dark, using a torch. Now, I have terribly bad night vision: I fail to see any relief or texture in my surroundings when it’s dark… Those who know me a little bit know that I don’t even need anything to stumble over my own feet, so you can imagine what it took me to get up there. Together with my Speedy Gonzalez volcano climbing friend, and my other friend who usually prefers to do only leisurely walks, we were soon separated into different groups according to our own preferred pace. But we all made it!
When you arrive at the top, you wait a little while for the sunrise. (If you walk up too fast, you will have to wait longer and you will get cold quickly… Just a tip!)
Amazing views…
The road down was a lot easier… when you actually see where you put your feet :-)
Next challenge: Mount Rinjani…
