One of my favorite phrases in Indonesian is “selamat pagi,” which means “good morning.” I find that I say it, on average, about 800 times before noon to pretty much anyone, but it had particular importance today.  Last night, after paying a visit to the Green School (a new, environmentally-sustainable international school here, made mostly of bamboo and fueled by a micro hydro-power generator) I decided to go on an early morning trek up one of Bali’s active volcanos.

What better way to celebrate the fact that I still have both of my legs after swimming with sharks this weekend, right?

With a timely 2:30 a.m. pickup, I joined my guide and fellow trekkers (which, might I add, included the Green School’s new principle, who I’d successfully persuaded to come with) and we were on our way. We arrived at the bottom of the volcano at around 3:30 and, by the light of the full moon overhead (and very bad flashlights), climbed for more than 2 hours across lava rock paths to the peak.

Thankfully, the sky was clear and the view was great. We sat in the chilly air along a stone ledge enjoying the view of other mountain peaks and villages below, the red sun lifting itself up through white clouds outlined in pink haze on the one side, a huge, smoking volcanic crater on the other.

Selamat pagi, indeed.

At the top

Trekking down the volcano