Lake Toba

Last Monday we were invited to drive over to Lake Toba, one of the major tourist attractions on our island.  It is the result of a supervolcano eruption about 75,000 years ago that caused a volcanic winter with the release of ~3,000 cubic kilometers of ash. The lake is really wonderful. It is about 60 miles long and there is a large island (~30 miles long) in the middle of the lake.

We were with four young missionaries, our branch president and were driven by a man who has been learning about our church.

We got up at 2 a.m. to be at church at 3 a.m. and a few hours later were rewarded with an amazing sunrise.  It looked like there were dark storm clouds mixed in with the orange sky.

We came to a place with a great lookout, our first view of the lake.  This is three of the missionaries, with our young branch president in the t-shirt.

 Down at lake level.  We hope to come back here for our 40th anniversary later in the year, but for some of the missionaries, it will be their last visit and they spent time shopping for souvenirs.

This is a view of the island of Samosir to the right with the mainland to the left.  This was also the site of the ferry disaster this past June that made international news. In spots the lake is 1,500 feet deep.

 It was impressive to look down into this valley and see the aquaculture pens in the water  When you look at the size of the buildings, you realize how large they are.

Everyone got a chance to dip their toes in the lake.

We were back in town by 4 p.m. and Elder Porter took a nap while I went to the gym.  We were planning on going to bed early, but got a call that someone in the branch was ill and needed to go to the hospital.  Our driver responded to our call, and came in to help.  We didn't get back home until after midnight.  But that is the life of a senior missionary.