Kawah Ijen volcano, east Java is an astonishing place, which I visited a few years ago. I’ve just re-edited several of my shots.
Walked up to rim in the dark, pre-dawn; and I was surprised a miner offered to guide me down – went real close to crater lake, to where miners gather sulphur that has condensed from superheated steam.
Huge smell of hydrogen sulphide and sulphur dioxide [think rotten eggs and burnt matches]; yet after a time I didn’t notice smell so much. I’d been given a paper mask, but got rid of it; later saw something like documentary crew telling of going down with gas masks, also someone whose camera failed in the acid air.
The sulphur vapour is so hot as it emerges from vents that much catches fire, with blue flames visible at night. A hellish place to work, yet invaluable income for these men – apparently, they turned down something like more efficient transport system for the sulphur.
I tried lifting one of the loads of two baskets suspended from poles – and woah, real heavy! Yet these guys go at quite a pace; maybe as too slow and just couldn’t move. Each may make a couple of trips, before it becomes too hot in middle of the day.
