03/09/2011
We woke up at 6am to get ready and the bus picked us up at 7 in front of our hostel. We were seated next to the driver meanwhile the guide was at the back with the other participant. We were astonished to see how many people had signed up for the hike as it was quite a demanding one, not everyone can climb up to 4850meters. I started speaking with the driver (sounds like I was back at CPI and had a new group) and asked him if he was going to wait the other at 4200 meters or going down and coming back later. The shock was hard: “no I’m driving you up to 4800 meters”!!!!! I was wondering if it was for the whole bus or if he was going to drop us off before so we could walk. We had signed for a 2 days trip so it could have been, I was not so afraid as I had confirmed the day before that we were hiking from 4200 to 4850 with the lady from Ecosistemas. We stopped for to put some gas in the car and I had my chance to speak with Arturo, the guide. I started getting mad when he told me we wouldn’t hike at all or maybe just a few meters to see the views at some specific point. I asked him explication telling him it wasn’t what we signed for. That was funny-in a way- because the others in the car heard us and were as confused as us. They also thought they were going to hike, Columbian included. I took my phone as soon as Arturo confirmed me we wouldn’t hike and phone the company…no one wanted to pick my call… Do I have a reputation in Colombia too?? Finally “Javier” answered us and told me it was a mistake and I had understood wrongly… to which I answered that if all the bus had understood wrongly maybe the problem was coming from somewhere else…
At the end, we cancelled our 2 days trip but went with the group for a day excursions. We had a blast as the landscapes were breathtaking. We first stop for breakfast at a very nice place where we got to know the other participants. We then stopped once more near a little lake to have a hot drink: tea with coca leaves...no comment.. :D
It was so hard to climb for the car that we had to go out of the car: we were all happy as we were able to walk by ourselves (instead of sitting stupidly in the bus), even if it was only for 50 meters. We were at 3500 meters and could feel that the oxygen was less present.
Very strong girl or very light rocks....that is the question
We stopped once more (it was better to be outside the car than inside anyway^^) to take picture and we could build a little "memoriam" with stones.
Don't worry Javier, I erased it after taking the picture
My memoriam dedicated to Fabien.
The Zig-zag road to go up to the entrance of the national park
Can you spot the bus?
5 minutes later we stopped once more.
First sight of snow!
We finally arrived at the National Park de Los Nevados.
We stopped near a little waterfall where we were able to fill our water bottle with fresh and pure water.
When we arrived at 4800 meters Arturo (the guide for those who had forgotten) told us: “stay here, you can’t climb further, you need to stay near the station”… So what did half of the bus… we climbed but don’t tell anyone…jajaja It was quite cold up there and gloves and hat were more than necessary!
We could only climb up to 4850 meters (and it took us 10 meters to do 50 meters!) as after we heard the bus “calling” so we walked back to the station.
We drove for around an hour to get down the mountain and we stopped for lunch.
After we stopped at some hot springs where we had a good time even if the other made fun of me as I was reading in the pool. It’s not my fault: I’m getting bored not doing anything. Moreover my book is really good and very interesting: “Noticias de un secuestrado” from Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
Arturo
I spoke with Arturo to see what we could do for our new “free” day and he advised us to go to Salento tonight, sleep there and then go to Cocora to hike as it was what we wanted to do in the park. Back in town, we directly took a bus for Armenia and there another one to go to Salento where we found a really nice hostel to stay: Plantation house.
Tomorrow: Salento and Cocora
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