Bromo - reposted

Logic tells us that life forms decrease as you increase in altitude, but this place was the exact opposite. The higher we went toward the top of Mt Bromo the more life thrived - really thrived unlike anything i've seen! Endless arable land filled with prize winning veg, 2000m up in a mountain! As G our driver (yes he really is called G) knurdled through pedestrians and motorcyclists whilst undertaking around a bend, Augus (our guide) explained, "Bromo is an active volcano. When it erupts it releases hot rocks and lava rich in minerals which eventually find their way into the water cycle and fertilise the land". We we're lucky to have Augus as our guide, a passionate volcanologist and English teacher. Named after the month of August (a common and curious tradition in Indonesia is to name children after the month they were born in), he was a good match for my curiosity and excessive questioning.

We could feel the vitality in the air as we ascended, but once we reached the village where we were to spend the night, we were confronted with a clear line beyond which there was no life. A stark juxtaposition in the shape of a caldera - a vast bowl shaped blast zone around the volcanic cone where there is too much ash for life to exist. While the mineral rocks released in eruptions bring life, they only benefit the plants when they have been unlocked from their rock form into water. While they are in an ash / rock state and especially while they are burning hot they bring death, giving a dramatic appearance and mystical feeltoward the summit of Bromo.

There is one sign of life in the caldera - a solitary Hindu temple. In the 15th century the Hindu rule over Indonesia collapsed due to internal conflict. This coincided with Islam rising in popularity, so for the first time Indonesia had muslim governance. Some Hindus decided to hit the mountains and settle there, and seeing the creative power of Bromo decided to worship it as the god of creation - Brahma (which is where the word Bromo comes from). They have built a flight of 200 stairs leading to the very tip of the crater, beyond which is a steep and slippery descent into a pit of smouldering lava. Based on a 15th century legend where the Hindus angered Bromo, pilgrims flock to the crater on the last month of the year to give offerings of livestock, vegetables and money to the mountain god by throwing them into the crater.

Standing at the tip of the crater was a really profound experience. Gazing into the smokey abyss was arresting. Augus told us what we couldn't see, "beyond the smoke is a layer of hot mud, beyond which is a magma chamber which continues to the centre of the Earth". Although it always smokes, Bromo is currently resting, last erupting in 2010. I wonder when it will next display it's rage. Bromo is terrifying, but paradise lies just beyond the caldera. It is a place to meditate on life and death, war and peace, fear and serenity.