The famous, elusive blue flame that Troy learned about through the BBC's "Human Planet" program is what brought us all the way to the tip of east Java for a midnight tour of the Kawah Ijen crater. It was here in the town of Banyuwangi that we lay down to rest at 7:00 pm in preparation for our 12:15 am wake-up call for an all night tour that would take us traipsing through the pitch black for hours, having no real idea about what we were going to see or experience. Ah, adventure at its best!

At the beginning of the hike, we were a bit concerned that the hike would render us uncomfortably drenched in sweat and parched with thirst a la our hike up to Mount Batur in Bali, but this time we were relieved to find that the temperature was much more comfortable, and therefore the terrain and slope seemed much less daunting. The three of us and our guide managed to make it past several tour groups to be some of the first people at the top of the crater. Go, team Canada!

And now some context: It is sulfur that is mined here at Ijen, and the burning of the sulfur from the heat of the volcano produces the phenomenon of the blue flame. Apparently the miners work in these extremely difficult conditions through the night and morning down in the crater, although we did not see any; our guide thought perhaps most of them were not working because of the holiday. Proper gas masks are necessary here, and we definitely felt the difference in our ability to breathe properly while wearing them once we were hit by the sulfur fumes. We did manage to catch some glimpses of the blue flames, wispy amongst the gas which was fortunate, as some nights they are too shrouded to be seen. As entrancing as it is, this is not an area to hang around in, and so we followed our guide through the dark, starry sky along the crater until we arrived at our sunrise spot (okay, so we haven't left this concept behind yet). We were blessed with a clear sky and stunning views across the the landscape and green/blue acidic lake of the crater, which we gasped upon seeing, as we of course hadn't realized that this stunning beauty had been alongside us the whole time while walking through the darkness. We marvelled at the early morning blend of colours around us, and our guide patiently allowed us plenty of time for photos and exclamations. This experience alone, was worth the trip to Java.

And was also the end of Java! After being dropped off back at our guesthouse at around 10:00 am, we began the long journey to Bali which involved a quick ferry but was followed by a very long and hot bus ride down to Denpasar and we arrived back in Legian feeling completely shattered, to say the least. Luckily, this part of Bali specializes in relaxation, and so here we succumb to our weariness!