Bernie's Travels: Navado del Ruiz (Glacier in the Colombian Andes)

I took a day trip from Manizales which is at a nearly 7,000 foot elevation to a nearby glacier called el Nevado del Ruiz. The trip climbed up the steep mountains of the Colombian Andes for almost an hour arriving at the Parque Nacional de los Nevados (loosely translated, Glacier National Park). It was a gorgeous day with sun out at the lower altitudes then with a passing mixture of clear skys and mist as we made it to nearly the summit at 17,000 feet

Entering the park the clouds rolled in as we passed by a fairly serious military check point. From the Check point the plant life began to change and we soon started seeing fields of Frailejon plants. They are the plants with yellow flowers and fuzzy leaves on short trunks.

Once in the park there were lots of Frailejon plants among a green, cushiony ground cover, and the mosses and lichens were a testament to what seemed to be a steady mist rolling through the mountains. Through the park the landscape took on an eerie, almost lunar quality. It was getting tough to walk around, and for the first time I understood the phenomenon of altitude sickness. I wasn't sick per se but it was tougher to breath or exert energy. I was feeling lightheaded and a bit out of it at the start but then felt better as I breathed more deeply to force more oxygen into my system.

We kept climbing in elevation and finally saw the snow caps on the glacier. It was getting pretty cold for being so close to the equator and I was thankful to have my warm clothes. I hiked to 5,000 meters (16,400 feet) with a couple people from the group, but we stopped there. The summit was another 100 meters up but far off and there there were supposedly a number of sinkholes on top of the glacier that were dangerous walk across without the right equipment. It was a beautiful from where we stopped, somehow sitting in the sun with clouds blowing in and out all around us.

On the way back we had lunch at a rustic resort that had some thermal pools that were diverted into a swimming pool. It was great to soak in the steaming water after a chilly day on the glacier.