Last night Rudy buried himself in some computer research and announced just before bed that a hike up mount Monserrate (500 metres elevation) could be in the cards for tomorrow. According to one website the hike was “unique and easy to do solo.” At another site he was warned by the blog poster that the hike was quite strenuous but definitely a highlight during their stay in Bogota. From the top of Monserrate mountain there are amazing views to be had of Bogotá, its skyline and its surrounding Andean landscape.
Well this morning after breakfast Rudy hurried me out the door and up the street. It was a fifteen minute walk to the base of the mountain… all uphill. In that short time it became clear that we needn’t have brought our down vests or even our long sleeved shirts. Long-legs Nikkel started off at a brisk pace at the trailhead and I was scrambling to keep up with him. We hadn’t got very far when I began to feel not so great. Very soon it became apparent that something weird was happening. I pulled over to the side of the path and sat down. I could hardly get enough oxygen despite deep breaths and felt like I was going to vomit. I was quite dizzy and could hardly put two thoughts together. Am I exaggerating? Perhaps, but I really did not feel good. After a rest I gave it another try and managed a bit further before another sit down. By the third sit down Rudy suggested that I go back. He could come with me or I could go on my own. I told him to push on and I would go back. But there is too much Stobbe blood in me to give up so soon; I slowly crawled my way up the path, stopping every 5 minutes. My pace was so slow I might as well be crawling on my belly. I took lots of drinks but I was in a brain fog and my feet felt like I had lead weights tied to them. At every turn I considered going back, but I kept on pushing just a little further. The trail was packed with hikers because it is the weekend and there were plenty of people who were moving very fast, some even jogging their way up. It all seemed a bit surreal. Some people had speakers with music pumping loudly. But a military marching song did not speed me up, and neither did the salsa music get my dancing feet going. Periodically along the way there were vendors selling water and snacks. By about halfway up a couple of brain cells had managed to fire across a synapse and I realized I should buy some refreshment so I purchased a slice of pineapple. Wow! It did wonders. About that time I realized that I was beginning to feel much better. Obviously there was more oxygen getting to my brain and I did not feel so dizzy or so much in a fog. My feet no longer feltl like they weighed a hundred pounds each. And so I trekked on. Getting closer to the top there were vendors selling trinkets and religious paraphernalia. Were some of those necklaces actual medals to celebrate my reaching the top? Frankly, I could do with some affirmation, as it had been a long and arduous climb. And unlike the initial website that Rudy read from last night it was NOT easy to do. After a short rest on the big church steps, I sent Rudy a text that I was on my way down. He was waiting for me at a small cantina about halfway down.
It was close to 2 o’clock by the time we were down from the mountain and it was time to ‘re-fuel’. So on our way home we made a pit stop at the big food court in a mall not far from our Airbnb and gobbled down a couple of delicious cheeseburgers.
Back at home, we sat around and had a little rest. We each had an almost lukewarm shower and a change of clothes and soon felt much better. We checked out our photos from the adventure and selected a few to put on the blog. And we had to catch up on the ‘Trump’ news — who, true to his word, has slapped big tariffs on Canada and Mexico. Sounds like all parties will lose on this deal.
Soon it was 7pm and time for another Winnipeg Jets game. Rudy has found a couple of sports feeds on the internet. It’s not 100% reliable and it involves closing a million popups before you can actually watch the hockey game; and even then, there are many random interruptions when the action ‘freezes’ and the cursor just spins around and around — and maybe the feed will come back, but maybe it won’t. Well, tonight the first and final periods were working pretty good, and so were the Jets, as they managed to eke out an overtime win against a tough Washington team. Ah, all is right with the world. (Well, in the world of sports, anyway.)