In the middle of a volcanic eruption

Sounds dramatic hey, which it is but not really. We are in Berastagi to visit Indonesia's most climbed and easily accessible volcano, Gunung Sibayak. It is located very close to Gunung Sinabung. Until August 2010 Sinabung sat quietly, and was believed to have done so for 400 years, but then it erupted several times over a period of a few days, between 4th and 5th September it erupted over 100 times. It erupted again in 2013, and three times in 2014, it's last bout of activity has yet to cease. It erupts at least once daily. At 8.30am this morning it erupted sending an ash cloud into the sky with billowing steam clouds. The locals are a little worried as it was a big eruption. The wind is not blowing in this direction so we were saved the ash and small stones that fall following an eruption.

Our climb up to the crater of Sibayak starts with a bus from Berastagi to the entrance office some 5km from the crater, where we sign the book, people have died on this volcano in the past so they're cautious (see below)!! We are a group of four today, Fiona from Ripon and Caroline from Hong Kong complete our party. It's a very steep, although nicely shaded track up to 'base camp' where they are currently building toilets for the hoards of local tourists who visit on the weekends. From here we start to clamber over rocks and climb rough steps hewn in the mountainside.

There are several lively, sulphurous fumaroles dotted around the lunar like landscape. There is pumice here and obsidian, the shiny black volcanic glass formed when lava cools quickly. It's a dramatic landscape that reveals a shallow caldera in the crater. The caldera is covered in graffiti formed by rocks. A most unvolcanic like spectacle.

The clouds, along with the steam come and go with amazing speed, the valley never once revealing itself. On the way down we see a bronze back snake, very small, not poisonous and just warming itself in the sun. We take tea at the 'office' and assure the chap who serves us we had no problems, the official who signed us in is nowhere to be seen and our man doesn't tick us in in the book so not sure how that all works then.

It's cold in Berastagi and we decide it's time to go. The legend that is Lake Toba is calling.