Nim and I shared a last boatride to Sumbawa - he intended to travel there and hike Mount Tambora, I wanted to get to Bima to board a cheap flight to Surabaya in Java. We said our goodbyes in Bima, and the next morning, I hopped out of bed at 3:30am. The hotel receptionist had ensured me that at 4am the bus would pick me up in front of the hotel, in time for my 6am flight. But at 4am, the street was deserted… At 4:30 am finally, a bus stopped and the drive confirmed he was going to the airport. So I got in the bus, after which the driver…shut down the engine and went to sit on the pavement. I inquired about the bus’s departure and thought to understand that the bus would leave at 5am. That would be a stretch since the latest checkin time was 5:30am but there did not seem to be that many alternatives. So I waited. At 5:10am, the bus still had not moved. A bemo (small minivan) came by and wanted to take me to the airport, so I switched to the bemo, whose driver ensured me I would be there at 5:30am. However, on the way there, we picked up dozens of locals with all kinds of luggage, so I arrived at the airport at 5:45am, only to find…that the airport wasn’t even open yet! At 5:55am, the doors to the airport were opened and with an hour’s delay, my flight took off… From Surabaya airport in Java, I took some buses to get to one of the jumping-off points for seeing the Bromo and Semeru volcanoes at sunrise. On the way, I met two nice French people with the same plans (Marielle and Patrick), and we decided to join forces. We ended up in the small town of Wonokitri in some rather ramshackle accommodation. The plan was to get up at 1:30am, to start the hike to Viewpoint 2 / KingKong Hill. All went more or less according to plan and we enjoyed a magical sunrise over Bromo and Semeru, after which we started the hike down to the Sea of Sand and Mount Bromo’s Crater. Patrick suggested to take a short cut through the grassy hills instead of following the paved road down to the Sea of Sand. At the start, the shortcut was challenging but doable, but by the time we were midway, the slopes were getting so steep and slippery that essentially, we were doing alpinism without any safety lines. Luckily we all somehow got out without any major damage. Marielle and Patrick decided to hike back to the accommodation, I continued the journey to the Sea of Sand and the Bromo Crater - impressive landscape! After another major detour via Viewpoint 1, I arrived back in Wonokitri by 5pm…
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