Krakatoa – A Blast from the Past – Lampung, Indonesia
Around 3 weeks ago, I had a chance to visit Krakatoa. A trip with my new friends, 20 of us, a group who loves traveling by stealing weekends whenever possible. And there was long weekend, Independence Day weekend. The trip started on Friday night, we took bus from Kp Rambutan terminal Jakarta to Merak port (3 hours), ferry Merak-Bakauheni, Lampung (3 hours), minivan Bakauheni-Canti (1 hour), and boat Canti- Sebuku-Sebesi Island (2 hours). A long trip, we basically spent Friday night on the road.
We arrived in Canti at dawn. Too bad, the sky was cloudy. As we waited for the speedboat to arrive, we had breakfast and hoping that the sun would come up and shine. The next in the agenda was snorkeling at Sebuku, before hit the lodge in Sebesi. We were tired, body stiff, lack of sleep, but none of us was having any second thought about it. We changed our outfit, short, tshirt, bikini, prepare our mask and snorkel, applying sunscreen/tanning lotion and as soon as the boat arrived, we took our bag and hoped on. Minutes later, the sun was on our side, greeted us warmly. Oh how we love the sun that day!!
Sebuku Kecil or Little Sebuku, white sand with the green bluish (or blue greenish) sea. We spent an hour there, some went snorkeling, some taking pictures, some collecting shells. And then we went on to Sebesi, where we slept, ate, and cleaned up. Two huge rooms, each with 2 bathrooms, 1 for gals and 1 for guys. Single mattress for each person lying on the floor. We put our things, cleaned up a bit, and had lunch. Some of us resting and took nap, the others went out and explore the island.
The day went by, around 3pm, we continued on. Next destination Umang-Umang, small island, around 5 minutes from Sebesi. White sand with black rocks spreading, clear bluish sea. I can spend all day lying at the beach there!!
And the next day started early, 5pm!! To Krakatoa!! Around 8 gals wearing colorful dress to spark Anak Krakatoa (3 purple, yellow, pink, white, orange, blue). This is the first time i hiked up on a mountain wearing sassy dress with striking color. But you know what?? Rakata Island was sparkling… 
) A tough scary volcano and there were us, small tiny colorful dots. The dots that jumped around when Anak Krakatoa released a silent “cough”.
Krakatoa is a volcanic island, located in Sunda Strait, between Java and Sumatra. It has its big moment in August 26-27, 1883, where it exploded and its eruption was equal 13,000 times nuclear yield of Hiroshima bomb, ejected pumice, ash and rocks – destroyed 2/3 of the island. Anak Krakatoa is a result of the eruption since 1927, still active and growing.
The day was getting very hot. Anak Krakatoa hasnt fully covered by forest, all black sand, and it really burns during the day. We couldnot get near the top as the volcano on ALERT 3 status, so went down when the sun started to rise up above.
After taking lots of photo-shots around the beach, we headed to Lagoon Cabe (Chilli Lagoon), just seconds away from Rakata for snorkeling. The day was still early and we didnt want to end it just yet. So we started the engine again and in minutes we were at Pulau Panjang (Long Island). This is the island where you would find a cave which were used by Japanese troops. At its beach, when turn around and look far to the ocean, you would find Krakatoa on the left and Anak Krakatoa on the right. Amazing..!!
The plan was to go around Krakatoa again at night, to watch the volcano splashing like fireworks. But it needed few hours more before dark and the wave wasnt very friendly. So we went back to Sebesi, closing our second day there.
Last day, Independence day. Woke up and the day was a bit dark and the sky was drizzling. We waited and waited for the rain to stop as we wanted to have a small celebration out in the open. Sebesi was red and white that day. We ended our trip with Independence day ceremony by the beach. It was indeed a great trip!!
14-17 Aug 2009
Thanks to all my friends, old and new!! You guys rocks!
Thanks for Eca, Ricka, and Didi for arranging the trip!!
Photos are private collection
