Pierce Brosnans "Dante's Peak" Sumatra

I titled this article "Dante's Peak" (Pierce Brosnan's movie in '96 where he played a Geologist) 'coz several of the volcanoes he mentioned in that movie resides here in Indonesia.

World prominent volcanoes such as Krakatau, Mt. Bromo, Mt. Tambora [& etc.] all of which created some of the most violent & catastrophic explosion the world has ever seen!

In this respect, there'll be quite a bit of writing here dealing with volcanoes (from a geological point of view) since Indonesia harbors a lot of ... (more)

Mt. Sinabung, Berastagi:
Mt. Sinabung [2450 m.] is only 1 of 2 volcanoes here in Berastagi. The...

Closer view of Mt. Sinabung:
- Such an imposing volcano!

Lush Berastagi scenery:

"Feeling ala Pierce Brosnan"
- Your Geologist "wanna-be" host on his way to Mt. Sibayak,...

A river amidst jungle canopy:
My cousin didn't go on this hike 'coz it would be too much for her....

A tourist taking a pic:
- This tourist had a local guide with him & so, I simply followed...

Beautiful mountain ranges:
- This is the fine scenery the tourist photographed. See some other...

The tourist & his guide commencing:
- As you can see, the trail is indeed well-marked.

More volcanic sceneries:
- The white haze you see are not only clouds but also, smoke coming-out from...

"A tent amidst the caldera"
- Can you see the red-yellow tent? Incidentally, the rise in granitic...

More clouds & fumes:
For instance, the east coast U.S. only have the Appalachians which are fairly...

"The volcanic landscape is vast!"
But why such a phenomenon you may ask? Why does the Pacific has all...

A man standing amidst a sea of rocks!
Now what the heck is "plate tectonics?" Well, if you've...

Indonesian fellas amidst volcanic rocks:
So how does plate tectonics create earthquakes, mountain ranges, &...

Volcanic layers & fumes:
The scent of the Sulfuric fumes is fragrant! If you know how a boiling egg...

The crater itself:
If you can see the guys below on the lower right hand side of this photo...

Still the crater & its wall:
- The guy is getting high on the scent of Sulfur which smells like...

"Volcanic fumes"
- See the man by the fumes? He was actually smelting something. "As the...

More tourists & volcanic fumes:
The weather was cold since this is a very high place & that the...

"Fumes galore!"
There's actually 2 women who were also smelting something but they got...

More fumes & towering wall:
What forces makes the plates collide you may ask? Well, it's the...

"A lonesome tent"
- Can you see it? That's one crazy camper who's most likely a...

Closer view of the tent:
- More sulfuric fumes coming out of the yellow billows. In essence, this is...

The Geologic station above:
- Can you see it? It monitors the daily activity of the volcano. But...

"Vegetations"
- View on the hike back down. Incidentally, you'll hear a factoid that...

"Feeling ala Pierce II"
They should've simply gotten me for the role since Pierce is so Bondish...

The fabulous jungle canopy:
The thought of not having myself included in the photos really killed me...

Back to Berastagi town:

Mt. Sinabung:
Mt. Sinabung is the higher volcano here in Berastagi & is more...

A children's book pic of Mt. Sinabung:
- I included this photo so as to show how beautiful the place really is.

A volcanic eruption:
- Just a reminder of the powerful forces of Nature.

#3 is Lake Toba - our next destination.

article published 12/17/2001

Comments

Add a comment

Mt. Sibanung
Beautiful photos and nice descriptions! It looks like some brave/crazy people scaled down the crater itself to write their names or draw pictures.
— Shun Sawada, October 6, 2006

Reply to the comments below:
Hi Ricky, thanks for the nice comment, really appreciate it!:) Hi Rafal, so you found-out from a fellow Filipino what my last name means in our language. Yeah, I've been teased a lot all my life back there but thank God I now live near S.F. where people don't know what it means.
— Gentle Lugtu [Eltneg], December 18, 2001

Mt. Sinabung.Awesome pics.Good job.
— Rick Riddle, December 17, 2001

Very interesting hike. Sulphur fumes almost put you to lugtu? Friend of my, from Manila told me that !!!! Warm regards. Rafal
— Rafal K Komierowski, December 17, 2001

Bookmark with del.icio.us | Digg this article