Short Adventure with Thomas, Yoann, and Eduoard

 

Because of some reason, I couldn’t go at the same time with Andreas, Thomas, Yoann, and Eduoard to Bondowoso. They'd gone first from Bungurasih bus station (Surabaya) around 5 PM. Meanwhile, I just could catch up the bus around 7 PM from the same station. Because there was no direct route from Surabaya to Bondowoso, so I had to get off at Bayuangga bus station in Probolinggo. But unfortunately, when I arrived, there was no more bus to Bondowoso. The last bus departure was at 8 PM, and of course Andreas and the French trio were included in it.

Just for the info... Thomas, Yoann, and Eduoard; 3 French parkour practitioners, came to Surabaya on that day (Tuesday, July 12^th 2016). Andreas guided them to visit Ijen Crater via Bondowoso, as the starting point of departure. With help from some friends of Parkour Bondowoso, Andreas and the French trio were given motorcycle rides to Paltuding Post, the early stops before entering Mount Ijen’s hiking track.

Meanwhile, I had just arrived in Probolinggo around 9.30 PM. When I figured out there was no more bus to Bondowoso, I felt a little bit panic and annoyed for a moment... why the hell should be like this?! *I muttered to myself*. The bus route to Bondowoso would be there again in the next morning at 8 AM, so it’s impossible for me to wait 10-11 hours alone at the bus station just like a fool. Besides wasting of time, obviously I wouldn’t meet Andreas and the others if I just waited there. Furthermore, the blue fire in Ijen Crater will be gone when the sun rises.

After a half hour loitering confusedly, luckily I was approached by a motorcycle-taxi driver. He offered me a direct ride to Bondowoso with much more expensive price compared to the bus ticket. Well... reluctantly, I had to take his offer because there was no other choice, it was the only available option if I wanted to look the blue fire before sunrise. So... here it was, I took a 3-hour-journey through the dark and lonely street in order to arrive at Bondowoso. Luckily, there’s still some friends of Parkour Bondowoso that was still willing to wait for my arrival (thanks to them). About 1 AM, Angga picked me up around ‘GOR Pelita’ building, and with some other friends, we drove to Paltuding Post by motorcycle.

It turned out the journey wasn’t as short as we thought, we had to go through the forest and potholed streets for ±2 hours, plus there was almost no street lighting. The temperature was also gradually getting colder. But, apart from that, we all still enjoyed this trip although we’d been left behind from Andreas and the French trio. It was OK for coming a little bit late as long as we arrived safely.

When we’d reached Paltuding Post, we did a registration by paying Rp 5000/person. And then, our 2 hours tracking journey to the top of Mount Ijen had been begun. There were 6 people (including me) who hiked together along the 3 km uphill pathway. I didn’t know anymore where were Andreas and the French trio, everything around us was almost totally dark, so it’s difficult to see other people faces clearly.

Finally, around 4.45 AM we reached the top of Mount Ijen. With 2.443 metres-above-sea-level height, the temperature was obviously colder than below, but due to our sweaty bodies just after hiking, we didn’t really feel the cold. Up to here, the journey hadn’t finished yet. In order to see the blue fire from nearby, everyone had to go down ±250 metres into the crater through the steep rocky pathway.

Among the 6 of us, I was the only one who continued to the crater, because the others had often guided some guests there before, so they preferred to stay on the top resting. The trip to the bottom of the crater took about a half hour, and I had to take steps carefully unless I would get slipped. Finally around 5.15 AM I reached the nearest point from Ijen Crater blue fire. But unfortunately, soon after that the sun was rising, so that I couldn’t enjoy the fire more than 15 minutes. However, I was still grateful because I could through this exhausting journey safely. I took a short break at the bottom of the crater while enjoying the morning sunshine. Then, shortly thereafter, I came back to the top with a satisfied feeling but also mixed with a little regret. If only I had arrived 1 hour earlier, I would’ve seen the blue fire in the dark sky. But in spite of that, I was still happy with this adventure.

Back to the top, I'd been waited by the others there. Soon after that we walked down the 3 km pathway towards Paltuding Post. The down trip was felt more quickly and not as tired as hiking to the top, but still made our feet sore. Around 7.30 AM the 6 of us had arrived at Paltuding Post motorcycle parking spot, and finally... I met Andreas and Thomas there, after a 12-hour-rush for the sake of Ijen Crater blue fire.

From Paltuding Post, we continued to a hot water springs which wasn’t far away from Mount Ijen. Yoann, Eduoard, and the other Parkour Bondowoso friends had been waiting there. We shared each other about parkour community and cultural differences between France and Indonesia. It was such a fascinating experience, because not only made us getting closer, but also grew our knowledge.

By midday, we returned to Bondowoso for a short rest in Angga’s house. Then, around 1.30 PM; Andreas, Thomas, Yoann, Eduoard, and I returned to Surabaya by bus from Bondowoso station. Fortunately the French trio didn’t mind using a non-AC economy bus, besides we didn’t have to transit in Probolinggo, the price itself was quite affordable.

In the middle of the trip, we were just starting to feel sleepy because of the sleepless night. Although we couldn’t sleep really well on the bus, but it’s quite enough to recover our strength. After a 6-hour-journey, finally we reached Bungurasih bus station. From there, we continued to Delta Plaza Skatepark to join Parkour Surabaya regular training. But due to the physical fatigue, I just did a simple jam, while the French trio were lounging and relaxing there.

After the training session, the French trio stayed overnight in my house (with Andreas). But Andreas and I hadn’t bought much stuff yet to this house (including mattress), because we'd just moved here around 1 month. So, the 5 of us finally slept on the carpet and a small mat lined into one. Luckily everyone of us could sleep well that night.

The next day; Thomas, Yoann, and Eduoard decided to continue their trip to Bali by plane. Before driving them to Juanda airport, we took them to Mirota Batik & Handicraft Surabaya for some souvenirs shopping, then continued looking for lunch, and of course we didn’t forget to take some pictures with them before they left. Although it only lasted for 2 days, but this was an amazing experience. It was an honor for Parkour Surabaya being visited by guest practitioners from France, the origin country of parkour. It was obviously a rare moment for us so far. Hopefully one day I have a chance to train together with them in France :)