So nice to wake up in the mountains and see snow. Then to head down valley and soak in a river of hot water.
Our next stop was the northern border of Los Nevados National Park just north of Volcan del Ruiz. This was one of the highlights of Colombia for me since I love mountains and I love snow and I love sitting in hot water surrounded by nature.
As we drove up into the mountains past much traffic (due to the Semana Santa holiday), the forest gave way to a steep landscape with beautiful waterfalls and a tundra-like grassland/shrubland unique to the northern Andes called páramos. Páramos are dotted with a interesting shrub called frailejones, making a unique and beautiful landscape. We came upon a small restaurant and asked some very nice police officers about camping there. We talked to the owner and it was no problem once the parking lot opened up. We put up the tent and ate a bit of food that we purchased at the restaurant. Hank attracted attention and we entertained questions from some of the Colombian tourists there. We then crawled into our warm bed and crashed.
The next morning we woke up to near-freezing temperatures and a fresh dusting of new snow in the mountains above us. I was so excited. Leaving Sheri in our warm bed, I got up and went for a short hike as the clouds cleared and the Ruiz Volcano showed it's snowy and steamy visage. (We were camped at 13,000 ft and Volcan del Ruiz is 17,450 ft tall.) So beautiful. After Sheri got up, we drove down the valley to the hot river for a nice soak. We were among the first few people there, which was nice since, given the holiday, it began to get crowded when we left. Such a nice morning and we were able to get an early start heading to Medellin. Interestingly, on the way to Medellin, the temperature reached 100 degrees F, a difference of about 65 degrees from the morning.
