Hiking through storm to San Lorenzo

While our free time at the coffee farm 'La Victoria', we decided to hike up to San Lorenzo. It's a small village situated at 2600m above sea level. Our goal was 'Cerro Kennedy', which is an operating military base situated at 3100m. So our plan was to hike up to San Lorenzo, stay there for one night and then, very early in the morning at 4:45, hike up to Cerro Kennedy. It's the best time for an amazing view on the highest mountains of Colombia, the 'Bolívar' and the 'Colón', which are part of the stunning mountain range of the Sierra Nevada, which is the largest seaside mountain system in the world.

With me there was Léa and Allan. Allan is an artist from Holland, who we first met at Varsana (www.vakantio.de/weltreise/hare-krishna) and then coincidentally met again in Minca. We conciliated him to the french house to create and paint their new logo on a wall. Which, by the way, turned out to be pretty awesome!

We started our hike in the morning from the coffee farm, which is situated at about 800m. It was a pretty nice day with sunny weather and just some clouds. Nearly perfect...

After our first break with a cold fresh beer at a little kiosk, it began to rain. And it didn't stop. At one point we decided to put on our rain equipment and to get ready for the wet. We looked fantastic, especially Allan with his camouflage poncho covering his backpack and his strawhat.

For sure the rain turned into a storm with thunderbolts after we continued to walk again. The thunderbolts came nearer and nearer, till we heard them striking directly into the trees in our close proximity. Every strike got louder and louder, that I winced every time. But it was some kind of an adventure because of that. And yes, we made after all!

After 10 hours, 24 kilometers and 1.800 meters way up, we finally reached our accommodation. Our clothes were completely wet and our bodies sore as hell! Some blisters, back pain, hunger, and coldness let us being the happiest people reaching that place. We were the only guest, so we had the cozy, wooden hut with a fireplace for us alone. First things to do: making a fire and a meal! Yummy oat! By the way: breakfast since 1 month!

After having dinner and getting warm, we had a cozy and funny evening/night, sitting at the table, talking and having a smoke.

Next morning we stood up at 4:45, got into the wet clothes and started for the last hike 500m up to Cerro Kennedy, which took us about 1 1/2 hours. Reaching the point let us forget about all the pain and tiredness. The weather was perfect to see the big mountains far away and the smaller below us. In addition, some clouds slightly touched and covered the mountains for the perfect atmosphere, knowing you are above the clouds! Almost all trees up there are burned, because of a fire some years ago. So the setup of the trees wasn't that beautiful anymore. Before going down again, we sneaked through a fence and went up a lookout from where we also got another good view.

Everything was totally worth it! Although it was raining a lot during the hike, it was a special one. This hike isn't touristic at all, so we were totally alone on the paths. The flora and fauna changed a lot, while walking through the clouds. Up there you can see an amazing biodiversity with plenty waterfalls and especially a lot of birds. That's why it's known as the Mecca for bird lovers.

Our way back was way more comfortable. The weather was good and walking down was easier and faster. Just my blister, which turned into a little flesh wound, made a few problems. We were happy to be home again and relaxed the rest of the day.