Weekend trip to Krakatau

We just passed the half way mark for the semester.  Half way to our long Christmas holiday.  And the longest stretch of the year where we don't have any days off.  And we were feeling the stress and exhaustion.  Weekends filled with marking and planning.  Evenings stressing over finishing up a set of papers.  Meetings filling up our free periods.  It was time to get away.  So Becca found a company that does short trips to Krakatau, a volcano not too far away from where we are.  

So early Saturday morning, we got picked up, napped in the van on the way to the coast, and then ate a typical Indo tourist breakfast of eggs and fruit before hopping on a boat for an hour and a half speed boat ride out to the island.

Krakatau, as my sister commented on my profile picture following my trip, is very significant in world  wide ecological history.  In 1883, Krakatau erupted.  It was the loudest sound ever recorded on earth, heard thousands of miles away.  The tsunamis, earthquakes, and other geographical effects continued world-wide for a few days following the eruption. The massive eruption caused two-thirds of the island to disintegrate, leaving a few smaller islands in its wake.  Over the years, as the heat below the surface continued to stir, another volcano rose to the surface of the sea.  This became known as Anak Krakatau, or Child of Krakatau.  Krakatau has had a number of other large eruptions, and is still considered an active volcano.  It is constantly smoking, covered with sulfur, and sometimes glows red at night!  They say that it grows up to five metres a year because of the constant activity!  We were so excited to be able to go to this volcano, even before we know of its significance and cool facts.

The eruptions have poured into the ocean, creating the perfect landscape for reefs to develop.  On our way to Krakatau, we stopped at the island Rakata (the mother island of Krakatau that erupted in 1883) and did some snorkeling.  We were also able to do some right at the edge of Krakatau.  It's amazing how above the water, all you see are the rough igneous rocks that poured down the side of the volcano.  But just inches below, the rocks are covered with coral and algae.  Swarms of fish call these wall reefs home, and we were able to see so many different sea creatures!

For lunch, we picnicked on Rakata,on a beautiful secluded beach, covered with black sand and scattered with smoothed rocks.

A half hour boat after leaving our lunch island, we arrived at Krakatau. Our guides set up camp for us while we took a walk down the beach.

Early in the evening, we started the hike up the volcano.  It's only a short trip (half hour) up to the typical stopping point, but our guide was willing to wander further up the volcano with us.  It was difficult, as the path turned into large boulders, which turned into large loose rocks, which turned into volcano ash, making the trek up very interesting.  We each had our stopping point, where we decided that we had enough adventure, and didn't want to try to attempt what no hiker has done in the last few years after the most recent eruptions.

After hiking as high as we dared, we wandered around the volcano just in time to watch the sun dip below the horizon.  

We made it down the volcano just as it turned dark.  The cook had our dinner, grilled fish and chicken all ready for us, and we sat down for a delicious meal.  Yes, we were surrounded by fluttering insects, and the table was covered with ants, but that didn't matter.  As we finished our meal, we walked out to the beach to see a million stars over head.  Here is a photo that one of the guys, David (Becca's friend from the States) took.  He knows how to take a long exposure photo, and was able to perfectly capture what we saw that night.

We wandered along the beach and looked for fire wood, and our guide made us a beautiful bon fire, and we sat on the sand around the fire drinking hot chocolate.  A few of us girls decided to take a dip, so we made our way into the water, to find that it was perfect conditions for bio-luminescence.  This is when the algae in the water reacts with the oxygen from our bodies and creates sparkles in the water.  I had a million stars in the water around me.  And a million stars in the sky above me.  I floated on my back, and marveled at the beauty of this creation.

After a rough night's sleep in a very toasty tent, we woke up and poked our heads out of the tent into the cool, refreshing, morning air, greeted by shades of purple and pink bathing the beach in their glory.  We hiked back up the mountain to see the sun pop up over the next island.  What a way to worship on a Sunday morning!

Also one of David's photos...mine did not get the colors this perfect

A quick trip back down the mountain, a delicious breakfast, and a couple hours reading in my hammock strung up between two palm trees, and it was time to head out.  The guides packed up camp, and we hopped back on the boat.  Took a trip around the island to find a good snorkeling spot.  Then made our way back to the main land.  It's funny how "mainland" for us now consists of a slightly larger island... perks of living in an archipelago. 

avoiding sunburn

We made it back to Java to a city called Carita, where the tour company is based.  We went to where the owner runs an English school. We were greeted by a bunch of excited, if nervous, English language learners who were excited to practice on this large group of Bules.  They treated us to the best grilled chicken I've had in a while, fresh coconuts, guava and mango juice, and fresh fruit.  Then we made conversation with the people for a while before hopping back in the van for the long trip home, during most of which we slept. Except for the part where we passed a heard of water buffalo.  

I should take more little trips.  There is so much close by.  It's so easy to take cheep, easy trips like this.  It was so refreshing to leave behind the work and stress of our jobs and take in a little fresh air and natural beauty.  Now, it wasn't easy going back to school on Monday.  But at least I had a little fun and gotten some energy out.