This Island Keeps Taking Us Higher

Our alarms went off in the middle of the night and we scrambled to get all the necessary supplies into our day packs. We loaded into the vans and tried to catch a few more zzzzs as the vehicles took us north to the bases of Mount Batur. It was strange to be out that early- the roads were nearly silent and devoid of the all the racing motorbikes that have seemed to define Ubud. We reach the caldera and piled out onto wooden benches where we were served coffee and tea and a small breakfast of banana pancakes. The first part of the hike had a mix of many different emotions and thoughts. We went from a hype vibe in the car ride, to anticipation over breakfast at the base, to being exhausted and trying to push through the burn each step we took closer to the top. Throughout the hike there was music --- and there never was a lack of encouragement and support from the guides and each other, which made the hike seem more and more possible to achieve, and made it an even better experience, too. Two hours later, as we got closer to the peak, we observed the gradual change in the sky as the sun rose, watching the features in the sky slowly wake up was really awesome. Once at the peak, all the details throughout the sky were mesmerizing to see, and the monkeys at the top also provided for some entertainment and cool company! 

We basked in the glory of our group accomplishment for quite a while. Someone called out "Life is beautiful!" and I think we all agreed. It was a freeing, empowered feeling to be on top of the world like that- above the clouds and in the company of many other intrepid travelers who wanted to taste a little bit of this Bali beauty. We took many photos and stayed in the light as long as we could. But finally it was time to descend.