Hot-N-Ready Lava!

I'm so behind on my posts but I don't want to skip any awesome places we've seen so I'm back tracking!

A couple weeks ago Alo, Fran, Clementine and I all went on a road trip out of Jakarta to see an active volcano. Krakatoa is in the Sunda straight between the islands of Java and Sumatra.  The volcano exploded in 1883 killing approximately 40,000 people and the explosion was considered the loudest sound ever heard in modern history. Reports say that it was heard over 3,000 miles away - this would be like DC to Cali! So crazy to imagine.

I was a bit nervous to go visit the volcano knowing its history and that it is still active. But of course Alo convinced me to join as usual and I'm very glad he did.  It was a great experience.  We took a small boat with a couple from Spain who spoke no English but luckily Clem speaks every language under the sun. The boat ride took about an hour and a half to get out to the volcano.

These little fishermans' houses were all over the water close to the main island. I'm going to make an educated guess and say they probably don't have a Toto installed in there!

We saw multiple eruptions from the boat as well as when we were actually on the volcano.  No hot magma was flying but you would see the huge cloud of smoke coming out of the top! Our guide did show us fresh magma from an explosion days before. He said usually they happen really early in the morning around 4 or 5am.  Hiking around the volcano was HOT. The sun was beating down on us and the ash felt like fire under our shoes. Needless to say, just after a bit on the volocano I was ready for our snorkeling trip to begin!

We walked along the black sand beach which was neat because it was my first one. I've seen one in Bali but never actually had my toes deep in the sand!  I wouldn't have thought I would have liked it because I love soft white sand but that gorgeous blue water and black sand was a beautiful site to see.

The snorkling was the best I've done out here so far.  Poor Alo was feeling sea sick at the time but I made sure to take lots of pictures so he could see how awesome the fish and coral were :) I felt like a true underwater photographer this day because I think the pictures are the best ones I've ever taken.  Seeing places like this just makes me want to rush out and get our diving certification because I can't imagine how stunning the sites deep down under are.  We have researched classes and dive trips but you have to committ a couple weeks and weekends and we just haven't had a chance yet. I want to do a "test" dive first to make sure I like it before I pay to be certified.  I think it sounds so fun and great but once you are deep in the sea I hear sometimes peoples opinions change. So I'll keep you posted on the diving in the future!

As we ate lunch on the island this big guy decided to join us. I'm actually not sure what exactly it was called but he was huge, fast and had a big scary slithering tongue. I don't mind lizards but yikes! 

Australians love Indonesia because it's close by and really cheap. Since Alo makes friends everywhere he goes he decided to chat with this Australian who was so DRUNK we could hardly make sense of anything he was saying. He said he was there to surf and he was waiting on the waves. The funniest part is that the beach has NO waves and is completely still except for the waves from the boats and jetski's :) Wonder how many weeks until he realizes there are no waves? ha

We stayed in a cute little villa and Alo made an awesome dinner for us all in the outdoor kitchen.  It was a great relaxing weekend and I would recommend the trip!