Volcanos and Marathons

Last weekend I headed up to Mount Bromo (Gunung Bromo). I knew I was going there for weeks, but I didn’t make any plans for it. I left my village in a very Kruti-like fashion: I winged the whole trip. I didn’t research how to get there. I literally got on a bus on Friday Septeber 5, and prayed I would make it to my final destination.

The bus made a pit stop in Malang, the city where all the Peace Corps volunteers trained for 3 months. The driver told me that we had some time to spare so I stepped off the bus to grab a bite to eat. Lady luck must have been with me that day. I ran into 2 other volunteers who were headed the same direction. I was elated when I saw them. I started speaking English really fast and telling them every little detail about my site. It was the first time I had spoken English in a while, so I was overjoyed to see their faces.

We finally made it to a city called Probolingo. From there, we took a shuttle to the base of the Mount Bromo Tengge Semeru National Park. The scenery was absolutely breathtaking, but we paid exorbitant prices to get around the mountain. At some point, I took out my entire month’s stipend and accepted the fact that all the money will be spent at Bromo.  Despite the prices, I really enjoyed myself.

Here a few fun facts I learned about Bromo while I was there:

1) Bromo is named after the Hindu God Brahma

2)  People used to throw things into the volcano as a sacrifice to the gods

3) Some items did not make it into the volcano. Those items were considered to be lucky. People would go into the crater to fetch those items.

4) Yes, some of those stupid people fell into the crater. What luck

5) When you go to the top of the crater, you get a strong whiff of sulfur

6)  The base of the volcano is all desert called The Sea of Sand”

7)  Bromo last erupted in 2011

8)  I am terrified of volcanoes. I was looking directly into Mother Nature’s soul, and she seemed pretty ticked off.

 Fellow volunteers Craig, Jen, and Saj with Mount Bromo in the back. Check it out, everyone! NOT A PALM TREE IN SIGHT!!! 

We rode horses through the dessert to the base of Bromo. 

Our sweet ride that cost almost half of my entire month's stipend

The stairs leading up to the mouth of the volcano 

The main reason I was at Bromo was to run a half marathon with fellow Peace Corps Volunteer, Tate. The race itself was fun, although the track was incredibly difficult. The Bromo Marathon is ranked one of the toughest marathons in the world. I met one runner who said he ran half marathons that were easier than Bromo’s 10K.

At the finish line with friend and fellow Peace Corps Volunteer Tate. She was such a great running buddy! 

The first 5 miles were uphill. Tate and I were there just to finish, so we walked a lot of it. There was no way I was prepared to run uphill for 5 miles straight. The race wasn’t too competitive, either. A lot of people stopped along the way to take pictures. Tate and I managed to take a half marathon selfie after the 5^th kilometer.

Overall, the race was just a fun thing to do! I hope to run another half marathon or marathon when I get back to the United States (and I’ll be sure to avoid marathons that are on mountains).

On the way home, I stopped off in Batu to visit my host family that I stayed with during training. I didn’t realize how much I missed them and Batu. It amazed me to see how much I’ve adapted to life in Indonesia. I got around without asking for directions, I managed to not get ripped off by angkot drivers, and I even had a lengthy discussion about Islam with my ibu. It felt good to be back.

Last weekend broke up the monotony of village life. I was starting to get a little too bored in my village. I’m glad I got to see another part of Indonesia that I have never seen and got to visit my first host family. It was like experiencing the old and new and appreciating both in the span of 72 hours.