On Christmas day we did a tour of Nevada del Ruiz, a recently active volcano in the northern reaches of the Andes. When our bus stopped at 3000m for breakfast we realised that we were ill prepared as it was FREEZING and we purchased gloves, beanies and scarves from a local with a stall on the side of the road. The scenery was spectacular and when we reached 4800m, the hiking commenced. It was possibly the most difficult short climb I’ve ever done, having to stop every 5 steps to cope with the altitude, until I reached 5125 m where there was a glacier and beautiful condors flying in the wind. When I came down the mountain, I took more of the mountain with me than intended, due to a big mud slide. I found a frozen Richard waiting for me in the unheated cabin at 4800m but we got a chance to warm up further down the road at some local thermal springs.
The climb was a big challenge and I suffered from altitude sickness so the next day was spent recovering..... until we went out for a quiet drink and which turned into a massive night with some new crazy Colombian friends who invited us to a club with them at 2.30am. Needless to say we made it to 1am - a good effort given we had to be up at 7am for an 8 hour bus ride the next day!
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