Dozens of tourists rise at 3-30AM andhead up to Mount Penanjakan via jeep, which is 300m higher than Mount Bromo, so the view is known to be quite spectacular. And it certainly didn't disappoint. The volcano is surrounded by the Sea of Sands, which sits under a blanket of cloud in the dawn light. And on the horizon behind Mount Bromo is Mount Semeru which is constantly active, producing flames from its summit every twenty minutes or so.

I had been planning to spend a few days here, and do some trekking across the crater rim of Mount Bromo. From the viewpoint, it would have been a fine choice for some ridge walking. But after the jeep ride which followed, taking us down through the clouds and across the eerie Sea of Sands, it was fairly clear that I would be doing no trekking, and that joining the whistle-stop tour with everyone else was my only option. Standing at the foot of the volcano, the billowing smoke suddenly turned black following a huge thunderous roar and a slight tremor below my feet. Some people were now running away as fast as their legs could carry them. Mount Bromo has been erupting since the end of March, which actually threatened to cancel my initial flight into Indonesia in the first place!

Posted from Lovina, Bali on 3rd May 2011.