It feels like I owe you a story about my volcano adventure. So here it is.

This weekend I decided to climb a volcano. And honestly, it turned out to be one of the hardest hikes I’ve ever done.

First of all, the volcano itself is… let’s say, not very welcoming. It has the largest acidic lake in the world, and the air around it is filled with thick sulfur fumes. Being there without a respirator is actually dangerous. But the locals don’t seem to care at all. The workers who mine sulfur there do it day and night. In one hand they carry baskets weighing 60–80 kilos filled with sulfur, and in the other hand — a cigarette. Just casually walking around like it’s a normal office job.

Second, the climb and especially the descent into the crater is not exactly a walk in the park. I started hiking at night to catch the sunrise at the top. After a tropical rain the rocks were wet and slippery, it was completely dark, and my flashlight only showed small pieces of the trail ahead. Honestly, there were moments when it felt pretty scary. But when you finally see where you are… you realize it was absolutely worth it. The nature there is just incredible.

And third, a little bonus to the adventure the jungle you pass through is home to tigers and pumas. Yes, going there alone at night sounded like a brilliant idea at the time. Luckily I didn’t mееt any of them. Apparently they had other plans for the evening.

I’ll attach a video I tried to film as much as possible so you can see the whole journey and get a glimpse of the atmosphere.

But the thing that upset me the most wasn’t the hike.

It was the garbage.

There is an unbelievable amount of trash on Bali. It’s literally everywhere. Sometimes it feels like the locals just don’t love their own country. People finish a cigarette and throw the butt straight into the ocean or onto the ground. I’ve personally seen people toss wrappers or cigarette packs right under their feet without even thinking about it.

And okay, maybe you expect that in the city. But on a volcano? Seriously? This place is part of UNESCO’s World Heritage. How can something like this be allowed to happen in a place that is supposed to be a natural treasure? I honestly don’t understand it.

The beaches can be very dirty too. This evening I went down to the beach near my house to watch the sunset. But the beach was so full of trash that it honestly broke my heart. I went up to some local guys, asked them for a garbage bag, and just started picking up plastic from the sand.

I’m not saying this to brag or to make myself look good. I just hope that good actions can create a chain reaction. Maybe someone sees it, thinks about it, and decides to do something good too.

It really hurts to see so much trash on such a beautiful island. I knew about this problem before, I had seen videos about Bali. But seeing it with your own eyes is different. It makes you feel ashamed for humanity in front of our incredibly beautiful planet.

We probably can’t change the whole world on our own. But we can always start with ourselves.

So do good things. Take care of yourself and take care of our planet.

It’s the only home we have. ❤️