We set off for the Bromo area on our tour at 01:00. Our guide/taxi driver Mr Black took us in a Toyota MPV through the villages up to the volcanic crater. As we passed through the villages in the early hours, it was clear that Ramadan was in full swing. Groups of young men and boys banged drums - some makeshift (plastic containers) - very loudly. We wondered when people actually sleep at this time, the guidebooks say people rise at 3-4am to eat, and this drumming was going on between 1 and 3am. We drove for over an hour through the villages and began climbing for another two hours up through the mountains to even more remote and traditional (sarong wearing) villages. As we climbed, Paul opened the window to see the clear night sky and feel the very fresh air outside. We arrived at the start of the trek at 3:45am after negotiating several 'mafia' style checkpoints. Our guide - Mr Black nonchalantly waved us in the direction of the path to the Bromo / sunrise viewpoint and then returned to his car for a sleep. I had put my jacket and scarf on as it was a little brisk, Paul has a T-shirt and shirt only. Guys dressed for winter in Edinburgh were selling masks (protection from volcano fumes), hats and gloves. We set off and as the light from the carpark faded (about 20 metres up the path) we were in complete darkness and couldn't even see our hands in front of us, never mind the path. Paul resourcefully reached for his mobile and lit our path...well to some degree. We shuffled through the volcanic ash dust path which was steep and uneven. Ahead we could hear voices and see some torchlight - we were not lost! The viewpoint was a steep half a km up the path. As there was a thin crescent moon that night the stars were unbelievable. Neither of us have ever seen a sky like it. We stood transfixed for about an hour, watching shooting star after shooting star. We could even make out two patches of the milky way. This time was only marred by the idiot playing Celine Dion on his damn iphone. We retreated further up the path to another viewing point and watched as the horizon slowly turned a pale blue - the sun was about to rise. As the light grew, we could make out two distant mountains and below them and us in the intervening valleys were rolling clouds. After brief appearances above the cloud, the sun finally appeared to gasps and cheers from the crowd that had gathered. At last we could see the awesome landscape around, the mountains and volcanoes on the horizon, the stepped fields and woodland and behind us the sunlit crater of Bromo. Paul had taken around 300 photos. Gunung Bromo is a puffing volcano set, together with two other volcanoes, in the caldera of a massive older dormant volcano. We made our way - in the light - back down the path to an awaiting jeep, which would take us down to the crater. The crater is a barren lunaresque landscape, home to the three volcanoes - we set off on foot to cross the crater, 1 km flat and the final km a thigh-burning hike and stairway up to the rim of Gunung Bromo. At the top, on the crumbling six-foot wide rim, we precariously jostled with other tourists for a view down the steaming crater. A local was selling posies to throw as an offering to the volcano. I joked to the man that I would throw Paul in instead and he was not amused at all - oops. The morning heat was building and I was now shedding my layers and using my scarf as a headdress like Lawrence of Arabia, to protect me from the sun. We made our way back to Mr Black for the journey to Ijen, the next volcano on our list. The journey took us along the coastal highway then inland it became a real boneshaker, the road basically comprised, patches of tarmac, interspersed with stones, rocks and boulders. We thought after about fifteen minutes of hanging on for dear life that the road would improve ... nope .... this continued for an hour and fifteen minutes. We arrived at our 1894 accommodation, Catimor Homestay an ex-Dutch coffee plantation in the village of Kalianyar,. it was included in the price of the tour and we were told it was basic. The room was small and simply furnished, the bathroom was tiny and grimy, but with an excellent hot shower (amazing how we now view simple things as luxuries). There was also a suspicious looking 'peephole' in the bathroom wall, which went into the staff's quarters. The real bonus of the place was that it had a swimming pool AND a hot springs hot tub - wow, just what I needed after a day at the volcanoes. But that would have to wait, there was a waterfall to find in the village. We followed the signs for Air Terjit (waterfall) up steps and down through a slippery stepping stone path through streams. What a setting, we could get right up close to this thundering 40 foot high cascading waterfall - see Ijen and surrounding area photos. We headed back to enjoy the swim and hot springs before retiring early - what a perfect day! It would be a 04:30 alarm for our breathtaking Ijen volcanic crater tour the next day......