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Monserrate Bogota - Conquistadores de Monserrate

What were we thinking ? That was the million dollar question this morning. A friend of mine invited us to go and hike Monserrate this morning. It was what we would call, the early bird special-Watching the sunrise over Bogota. I was intrigued with the idea, as I have never actually hike the path all the way up. If we have guests from out of town/country, we normally just take the cable car up, and get it over and done with.

To my surprise, we got there to meet the group at 5:15am in the morning. I was not expecting to see a parking lot full of cars already. I guess, the dedicated ones; men, women, young, old, make this a daily, 2x, 3x pilgrimage up the mountain. Now, don't get me wrong, My wife and I are in great shape, but the shock of my lungs, as we preceded to climb the mountain, was dumbfounding. I don't know, if it was the altitude, the thin air, but it certainly affected our breathing pattern. I was huffing and puffing, for the first 15 minutes, like there was no tomorrow. I saw people, whose face look flushed and getting ready to pass out. I saw 3 people, on the side, actually, we would not have known, if there wasn't a small crowd gathered, as people were puking on the side. They were asking them, if they needed help. It is not for the faint of heart. If you are not in shape, or deciding you want to conquer Monserrate for the first time, without spending sometime in the gym. Good Luck !

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Freddy

By fullpopfreddy on Aug 26, 2008, 12:47 in Friendly Talkzone.

fullpopfreddy says on Aug 26, 2008, 13:46:

Thanks Johnny, and you are very welcome !

Freddy

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adrimm (Moderator) (☼Travelguide writer) says on Aug 26, 2008, 17:44:

That sounds exactly like I felt when I went up.. I think anyone in regular shape can do it, but some may require more frequent stops than others.... part of the problem for me was the height of the steps (I'm very short) they were huge!!!

I stopped about every 3-5 minutes to catch my breath and went through 2 bottles of fluid (1 water and 1 gatorade) - I will say that it was humbling to see older folks (obviously regulars) passing me.

I you know it is around 500 m high? That would put it at 3000 m above sea-level!

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lpdiver says on Aug 27, 2008, 03:59:

I have been there and rode the cable car. I have made the journey to the top of El Penol which I would think is similar in difficulty. One of the keys is to develope your "Paisa Pace". They are never in a hurry, walking a few steps then stopping to talk.

ts

Remember what the monkey says, "Fuck money it's free"

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