As soon as we heard the voices of our guides waking us at 7 am, we knew that we had finally reached the last day of our three-day hike. Everyone began to pack their things, take down the tents and clean the campsite. After a frustrating hour or so of not being able to pack as well as our parents had, we finished the last of our cleaning and began our final group warm up before embarking on our final stretch. With a mostly downhill hike we were all a relieved to have a break from the steep climbing we’d done over the past few days.
I think I speak for everyone when I say that with every step closer to our awaiting bus, we were filled with more and more of a sense of accomplishment. While we were all excited to finally use a real bathroom and sleep on a mattress, no one could help but feel slightly sad to leave the páramo. For the past two days, we’ve come to push ourselves to extremes we never thought possible and see incredible, once in a lifetime views. There was at least one time during the hike that we wanted to give up, whether from the lack of oxygen or the weight on our backs, but despite everything, not one of us gave in.
We finished the hike, just as we started it: together. Together we helped each other power through the moments of weakness. Together we provided enough support to get through each day. Together we laughed (and sometimes cried). Together we hiked the páramo. –Alexa Greeley ’16
As soon as we finished our acclimatization hike, I knew that the real hike to the páramo would be the hardest thing that some of us had ever done. For those of you who don’t know what the páramo is (and I can’t imagine that most of you do), the páramo is a mountainous range near Mongui, a small village approximately 4 hours from Bogotá. What makes this place so special is that the páramo’s ecosystem is so delicate that there are only a select number of people permitted to hike in the region, let alone camp there for two nights. According to our guides, most Colombians don’t even visit this remote area of the country.
Leaving the small town of Mongui, we all felt quite nervous about what lay ahead. The hike we were about to embark on was not going to be easy and that was made very clear from the beginning. Living at sea level in Montreal and climbing to an outstanding 3,200 meters would bring the expression “physically draining” to a new level. Many of us didn’t know what to expect and I can speak for the majority when I say we were all surprised.
As part of the Duke of Ed Gold Trip to Colombia we had the opportunity to build houses for two families in need. Before arriving at our destination, we had no idea what to expect. We were told that we were going to a very poor area near Bogotá and would even require military escort to bring us there. When we finally arrived, this could not have been further form the truth. Instead of the rundown and dangerous area that we imagined, we discovered simple, sparse homes in the country with beautiful views and great weather.