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I now know that the category of “people with a reasonable level of fitness” does not apply to me. At 5:00am, Sunday morning, I set out on a motorcycle for Gunung Merapi, famous deity-esque volcano of Java. On the two hour ride from my homestay in Yogyakarta to the volcano, I was psyching myself up for what I thought would be a challenging and enjoyable trek to the summit. The first half hour in, with my lungs about to explode in my chest and the waves of nausea that came over me, I realized that this was not for me.

Galih, our friendy and patient guide, encouraged me along the way, even though I would fall to the ground every ten minutes or so in desperate need for a break. Quite frankly, it was embarassing. I also took any break that I could to eat. How was I supposed to make a FIVE HOUR journey each way without some energy? Generally the trek is done at night, leaving the city at around midnight, and making it to the summit at dawn, in time to catch a spectacular sunrise. There was not sunrise that was going to get me to miss a full night of sleep, so I opted for the day version, under the hot Indonesian sun. Determined to get my money’s worth (150,000 rupiah, or $17 CAD) and with Galih’s kind encouragement, I decided to climb at least to the plateau; 4/5 of the way. The two other brave souls with me made it to the top without me.

While waiting for them, I made new friends! Mahassiswa (university students) who had spent an overnight at Merapi. They were amazing! Sharing their food…and most importantly performing magic tricks! (Or atleast the guy from East Kalimantan did). Although I only got to video three of them, my new illusionist friend was able to reverse a plastic bottle by having me rub it between my palms, make a cigarette “vanish” magically inserting a bottle cap into a bottle by tapping one to the other. Very entertaining!

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