I posted the following on Facebook ,"Good morning Bali here is your Mount Agung volcano report. As you can clearly see as of 7 a.m. this morning Agung is quiet. In fact the Bali government is considering lowering the status after many days of quiet activity."
Two hours later the Govt. Lowered the warning level for the first time in months and allowed all remaining evacuees to go home for the first in almost six months.
I thought, if tomorrow morning is just as clear I would get up at dawn and drive almost one hour to get a close as I could.
I wanted to see and hear what it was like with no one around.
The next morning my wonderful, reluctant wife Azizah caved in to my pestering, got out of bed and off we went.
The agency said villagers living on the mountain’s slopes could return home, but warned them not to venture close to its crater, which was still emitting smoke.
The next morning my wonderful, reluctant wife Azizah caved in to my pestering, got out of bed and off we went.
According to the press., "More than 140,000 people have fled the area surrounding the mountain after authorities warned an eruption may be imminent in September.
The agency said villagers living on the mountain’s slopes could return home, but warned them not to venture close to its crater, which was still emitting smoke.
It was a perfect day without a cloud in sight
We stopped for some quick photos at a Organic Restaurant
Finally we reached the previously restricted area and then continued on.
The views became more and more alluring
We drove to Sidemen village market and then decided to take a turn up the mountain on a road that was suitable for only one car with sheer cliffs on both sides.
One mistake and it meant certain death.
But this old Canadian Mountain boy continued on with his fearless wife.
We meet several locals along the way and shared some canned foods that we had stored as provisions in case the mountain fully erupted.
Everyone was very friendly and had obviously not seen any strangers for a long time.
The road, which had not been used for months was cluttered with leaves and downed trees.
Azizah a former farm girl enjoy the pure nature.
As we got closer Mount Agung revealed just how majestic it is.
A young girl appreciated the gifts pf chocolate and tea shirt.
When we could go no further we went down the hill and started back up again on Jalan Gunung Agung.
Traffic was externally slow as truck after truck were going both ways on the narrow road.
We soon discoverd their quest which was to load up on rich , black volcanic sand which was selling for only $33 per truck.
Finally we arrived at an official gate which was locked. It was probably the Govt exclusion zone of six kilometers from the Volcanic cone .
We talked to a young couple who were very sad because they were told they could return to their village the day before but they could not bring a truck with all their belongings because of the closed gate.
We empathized with them.
I can't imagine after living under one roof with hundreds of evacuees for months and now still being prevented from going home.
We decided to park our car and walk up the steep slopes as far as we could, but it was worthless because Agung had started to cloud over
We did manage to get close enough to see a burnt Forest on the slopes of the volcano and what may have been a recent lava flow .
Never the less we were extremely satisfied that we made the effort and vowed to return with our two boys in the near future.
We stopped for some quick photos at a Organic Restaurant
Finally we reached the previously restricted area and then continued on.
We drove to Sidemen village market and then decided to take a turn up the mountain on a road that was suitable for only one car with sheer cliffs on both sides.
One mistake and it meant certain death.But this old Canadian Mountain boy continued on with his fearless wife.
We meet several locals along the way and shared some canned foods that we had stored as provisions in case the mountain fully erupted.
Everyone was very friendly and had obviously not seen any strangers for a long time.
The road, which had not been used for months was cluttered with leaves and downed trees.
Azizah a former farm girl enjoy the pure nature.
As we got closer Mount Agung revealed just how majestic it is.
When we could go no further we went down the hill and started back up again on Jalan Gunung Agung.
Traffic was externally slow as truck after truck were going both ways on the narrow road.
We soon discoverd their quest which was to load up on rich , black volcanic sand which was selling for only $33 per truck.
Finally we arrived at an official gate which was locked. It was probably the Govt exclusion zone of six kilometers from the Volcanic cone .
We talked to a young couple who were very sad because they were told they could return to their village the day before but they could not bring a truck with all their belongings because of the closed gate.
I can't imagine after living under one roof with hundreds of evacuees for months and now still being prevented from going home.
We decided to park our car and walk up the steep slopes as far as we could, but it was worthless because Agung had started to cloud over
We did manage to get close enough to see a burnt Forest on the slopes of the volcano and what may have been a recent lava flow .
On the way home I joked with Azizah that a Bali Priest had said last year that Mount Agung erupted for the first time in 63 years because young tourists were having sex on it's slopes .
I suggested that maybe the reason it woke up is because it was tried of the sand merchants raping it' s slopes and decided to erupt and make up for the lost sand.
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