Yesterday I got up very very very very early at 1:00 am. The intent was to go to see the blue lava and some other thing earlier which I paid money for, which is more flames and fire. To see just the blue lava, the trip would start at 4:00 am, but to see this extra thing with more flames and fire, the trip started at 1:00.
So after approximately 3 hours or so of sleep, the three of us(there we're a total of 7 of us-but the other 4 opted not to do the extra thing with flames) took off in the van for this extra thing with vans. The 3 of us and the driver we're in the front section of the van-the rear section was empty, except for our baggage (we we're instructed to check out). The van ended up leaving late, roughly about 1:30-1:45.
So after leaving the hotel, we left the hotel and the van bumped along on the unpaved, rocky road in the wee hours of the morning. Somewhere, perhaps 1/2 a mile from the hotel, on the road the van doors swung open, and the driver stopped then van in a clearing-to make sure the luggage was all still there. It turns out-it wasn't. Mine was stiil there-but one of the ladies' backpacks fell out of the van evidentially (it wasn't in the back). So we drove back and checked the road. We drove all the back to the hotel, and couldn't find her bag. We drove back and looked for her bag.
We couldn't find her bag anywhere. Later I found out her passport was in her bag, so she wasn't too happy (understandably)
Since we we're late anyway, and looking for the backpack made us later-we decided to skip the first thing we all paid for and went right to the blue larva. This entailed a long long hike up a mountain in the dark. I wasn't prepared for this. But the sky was filled with stars and it was beautiful. As I got to the top of the mountain, the landscape was made of rocks since we we're above the tree line.
Then finally I got to the top, and and saw the smoke at the bottom. Then I learned I had to walk down to the crater- a treacherous walk down rocks and stones. And finally after about a 20 minute walk (helped along with a guide who held a flashlight in the darkness), we got the blue lava-which was sort of underwhelming for the hike. It was streaks of blue flame hidden in the mist.
After a few minutes, I walked back up to the top of the mountain. The sun had started to rise, so it was easier to walk, and made the long walk down the mountain. I later learned the hike was a little over 3 km each way
When we got there, we met the van after a while. First stop was the police station, so the woman who lost her bag could file a report. We we're there for a while, and while I hate to benefit from someone else's misfortune, I found that sitting outside the police station, the wifi was solid (not that common here in Indonesia)-so I checked my emails/Facebook while I was there.
After a while, we all piled back into the van, went over the usual bad roads past farms, little houses, shops, and the usual Indonesian landscapes.
The bus driver dropped me (and a few others) off in the place to get the ferry to Bali. But in my case, I had a special ticket for special transport. So I was guided to a place about 50 feet from the ferry and told to take a bus. The driver said the bus was to leave in about 20 minutes-it went and got something to eat-it ended up taking about an hour- the bus didn't leave until it was full. We drove about 50 feet past water-and the bus started to bob up and down-I then noticed the bus was on the ferry. We took 40 minutes and got to the island of Bali. As soon as the bus got there, I got off. I Found out I got off to soon-I had to stay on the bus for another 4 hours. And then take a taxi, which took another 20 minutes or so.
Soon I found the hostel, had dinner, and went to sleep.
