A New Experience

With nearby Mt. Merapi erupting like it is, I wanted to get some pictures of it.  I woke up early this morning and at 5:30am I headed south to hopefully get a glimpse of the mountain.  About 25 minutes in to my ride on the Piglet, it started raining...sand!  I pressed on hoping to break out on the other side of the ash, but the farther I rode, the more apparent it was becoming that the winds had shifted and I wasn't going to out ride this ash fallout and see the volcano at the same time.  I decided to turn around just beyond the town of Boyolali and make my way back through the falling sand.  Upon arriving back at my house, a pile of sand fell off of me when I stood up to get off of the Piglet.  Weird!

This is the only picture I took on the trip.  The sand/ash was falling like snow and I didn't want to get my camera out in it for too long.  It was a very apocalyptic scene with the subdued color of ash on everything.

Due to the changing winds, we received quite a bit of ash here in Salatiga today.  Thankfully, due to the rainy season having already begun, this afternoon's rain helped wash things down and sterilize the air a little bit.  Our 72 year old neighbor said this is the worst eruption he has ever seen in his lifetime.  The "experts" seem mixed with their predictions of Mt. Merapi.  One thing is for sure, thousands are currently displaced and over 100 have now died due to hot gases and lahars.  We are all doing fine with nothing more to report than cabin fever from staying inside so we wouldn't breathe the ash.