May 16-18, 2019
As part of my Indonesia trip, I traveled to Java Island (yes, the same “Java” as the famous coffee bean) to embark on a three day mountain trek to Mt. Bromo and Mt. Ijen. The drive/ferry journey from Bali to Java was 13 hours, but the beautiful villages we passed through made the long journey worth it. Each night, we woke up at 11 pm after a quick nap to begin our mountain ascent in darkness–chasing sunrises is a serious business, after all. The tour company with whom I traveled wanted us to have the most authentic experience but also wanted the local villagers to benefit from sharing their land with us. Thus, we stayed with local families and ate with them in their homes. Our mountain tour guides were also local villagers and they told us about their own experiences growing up and living near the volcanos.
Adventuring Gracefully 