Mount Batur: Climbing a Volcano Overnight

It was 2AM in Ubud, a famous touristic town in the Indonesian Island of Bali, where thousands of hikers stay every year to climb the famous Mount Batur. I was sleeping in my A$10 per night room when my room mate woke me up. My mouth still tasted like cigarettes after smoking a whole pack a few hours before, when my boyfriend decided to break up with me, right in the middle of my vacation in paradise. My friends had a plan: "She will feel better if we climb a volcano." They booked everything behind my back and by 2:30AM I was inside a stranger's car who drove us to the hikers meeting point before three hours of climbing under the stars. The goal was to get to the top before sunrise. I couldn't believe I was climbing my first volcano and going through a breakup at the same time. As soon as I started climbing towards the finish line everything seemed to fade away. The only thing I had in my mind was the endless amount of rocks in front of me and how in the world was I suppose to climb 2 km wearing sandals. Our guide was a 17 year-old boy who did the same hike four times per week. He knew the volcano by heart, all the ups and downs, the name of trees and plants, the best spots to see constellations and (my favourite) where to find monkeys. I always found him calmly climbing while smoking a cigarette and chatting with other guides. I felt ashamed of how tired and sweaty I looked through the whole path. The sun didn't seem to come out and my small flashlight wasn't strong enough to illuminate the way. The thought of seeing the sun rising from the top of the volcano kept me moving. My friends all seemed to move faster but it didn't seem to bother me. Around 5.30AM I made it to the top and I couldn't have asked for a better view. The sun was coming out through the clouds while our guide prepared us some breakfast heated by the steam of the volcano. In front of us was Lake Batur illuminated by the sun and a 7.5 km wide caldera. While looking at it I finally shared a cigarette with our guide who asked me where I was from. I answered I was from Portugal and straight away he screamed "Cristiano Ronaldo!" It's funny how everyone I meet around the world screams the same thing about my country. After hanging around for one hour and taking some pictures of the scenario, it was time to make the way down. I thought the way down would be easier than going up. I was wrong. I kept on falling, slipping and sliding down. It was all worth it.