Heroes in hell

Every day, in the depths of Kawah Ijen in East Java it is consumed the terrible battle between man and nature. Considered heroes by the local people, three hundred miners walks towards hell, into the mouth of the volcano, to offer their contribution and placate the hunger of lava and blood of the fire Giant. A feeble light illuminates the path, while the dark trying to swallow their lives. They have a coat of yellow smoke and faces covered to hide their suffering and protect themselves from the fumes of sulfur mine. It 's a journey into the bowels of the despair. The protagonists are dressed rags and their lungs burnt from harmful gases. Only the lucky ones among them are wearing rubber boots and have gas masks, the others face the violent emissions of sulfur and the steep ascent, equipped only with wet scarves and slippery flip flops. Every kilo transported to the Valley is weighed and paid 900 rupees / kg. The strongest are able to carry up to 100 kg at a time to earn 90.000 rupees for each descent (about USD 8 per load). It is a work to the limit of force and human possibilities. But they are the heroes of the Kawah Ijen and they feed on the dismayed gazes of those who consider them super-men, surrounded by a landscape of innatural beauty. Every day, a new dawn illuminates the crystal clear lake in the deep end of the crater and every day the miners finish their shift, knowing that others will come after them in the eternal struggle for survival.