“It is too dangerous. Many tourists get lost and die, we never find them. The trail isn't clearly marked. You won't make it before dark.” I kept hearing this as the afternoon dragged on and I quietly waited on the porch to trade rupiah for old camp equipment. I sat down with a few locals, tea was brought to our table. With the rain pounding on the tin roof, I looked off into the vast jungle that surrounds the village of Senaru. Lombok is a wild place, I thought.
Just a few days prior I boarded a speedboat in Bangsal at night, three kids being the crew. “He is a very good captain,” one of the younger ones said as I secured my bag. The tide was high, and in the waves we caught air. “Lombok style!” He shouted into the wind. It was extra dark because the clouds covered the stars, lightning strikes provided a temporary light. Off in the distance I was greeted by fireworks, an oasis in the dark sea it seemed, Gili Trawangan, an island radiant with life. I'll never forget that ride.
I didn't sleep. I was cold all night with the chills. It could have been the altitude, the constant sweating down in the humid jungle, or that I only ate cookies after that strenuous hike (there wasn't much food to choose from in Senaru). Monkeys, feral dogs, and mice were trying to get into my tent. I was just under nine thousand feet, at the crater rim. Morning was approaching and I was about ready to give up on sleep when I heard it. A rumble in the earth, it sounded like thunder, there was an orange glow. Rinjani wanted to let me know it's time to get up and head down to the lake. I watched the sunrise while packing up. As the sun got higher the lake filled in with colors, from orange to blue. I'll remember this beautiful view for a very long time.
One slow step at a time, I walked on slick rocks into Lake Segara Anak. From above it was a florescent blue-green, right here it was just dark water. The locals were drinking from it, I saw fish swimming around, clearly this isn't the acidic volcano water I had suspected it to be. The two blonde girls from New Jersey, the twins, they jumped in and swam halfway to the other side. Exhausted, I jumped in and tried to float on my back. I sank like a stone. This is mountain water, I realized. I swam up and looked around at this amazing backdrop. I was within a crater, miles wide, swimming in a lake that surrounds an active volcano - the smoking mountain just across the water.
