Krakatoa: Destruction in Paradise

It had been a long day, the first on our three-day mission to visit Krakatoa volcano. Although we had almost given up hope of finding accommodation, a chance encounter on the bus had resulted in a place to stay for the night. We had struck gold, quite literally. The walls, the curtain, everything was gold.

We spent our first night of our trip on our rather fancy double bed and woke up fresh and early to a simple breakfast and a cup of warm tea. We also discovered that the people we were to be traveling with for the next few days hadn’t been so lucky. It turned out the bus they had ordered to take them on the first leg of the mission to visit Krakatoa volcano had broken down. They had spent the next three hours waiting for the vehicle to be repaired before they jumped into a couple of waiting taxis to the bus station. All of this meant they were late and when they did finally arrive bleary eyed at the port they were tired and very hungry. An hour later we were on another boat heading to the small island of Sebesi, which would be our mid way point, where we would stop and drop off our bags before heading to Krakatoa.

Sebesi Island is a small unremarkable windswept place. There wasn’t much to find here when we arrived, just a small village that survived on the tourist who want to visit Krakatoa volcano. We walked past squat concrete buildings set in neat rows. Chickens roamed the dirt streets and bored water buffaloes in the field surrounding us lounged around in the mud as they tried to cope with the burning midday sun. If it weren’t for Krakatoa volcano, Sebesi would almost certainly be largely abandoned as we discovered when almost every house we went to was available to rent for the night.

Unfortunately when we returned to the jetty we learnt that as the waves were too high we wouldn’t be able to visit Krakatoa volcano that day, so instead we went snorkeling around the island. Well, this is what we were supposed to have done, but five minutes in the water told me that snorkeling here was just pointless. Visibility in the water was terrible, though that didn’t really matter much as there was actually nothing to see. So instead I just spent the afternoon swimming and relaxing in the water and got to bed early as we’d have to be up at four the next morning.

The boat lurched as another wave crashed into the side of the ship. As the ship rocked I could just catch the faint changes of color on the horizon. I turned over and tried to get some more sleep. It would be another hour at least until we reached Krakatoa volcano and I was exhausted after spending a sleepless night tossing and turning on a concrete floor.

Twenty minutes later after another wave rocked the ship causing me to hit my head on the side of the boat. I gave up my search for sleep and pushed myself through the hatch. The sun had already started to rise and in the distance I could see the outline of Krakatoa volcano set against a clear blue sky; on either side of it where the last remnants of the former volcano, which had erupted more than a hundred years ago.

Krakatoa volcano isn’t particularly high, so although it was a hard climb, it didn’t take too long to get to the top. At least I thought it was the top, when I got there, I realised that I wasn’t actually anywhere near the rim of the volcano; there was steam and sulfur rising out of the ground in front of me. Understanding that humans and lava only mix well in Hollywood action movies I decided to just relax and take in the view. After we climbed safely back down from the mountain we did a bit of snorkelling around the islands. The waters around Krakatoa volcano were the last treat, before we had to call it a day and end our adventure.

Krakatoa Volcano