They say that a promise is a debt and I come to settle one with the community.😁
As I mentioned in my last ** post ** I made an excursion to Pan de Guajaibon in Pinar del Rio, Cuba. We left on December 2 at 1:30 pm as we had planned, the journey was long because the north road of that region is not in the best conditions and the truck, in which we were going, did not exceed 40 km / h.
Around 5:00 pm we arrived at the point where the excursion would really begin, near the village of La Mulata. There were exactly 50 of us, several of my Computer Engineering students were joining for the first time in this kind of activities, about 10 foreign students of different nationalities, and several members of my regular excursion group.
When we got off the truck we got organized and took the road in a hurry because we had to walk about 10 km and we had little more than an hour of sunlight left. After a lot of walking, a few stops along the way, enjoying the scenery and overcoming some obstacles along the way, we arrived at the place where we were to sleep. Every excursion has its surprises and in this one the obstacles along the way gave us the first signs. The place where we were to sleep, which three years ago was a flat piece of land with a wooden house, had been devoured by vegetation and the house had disappeared, was one of the references to locate me in the place. It was 8:30 at night and we had to make that place habitable for our tent. That day we didn't have to cook because we had brought the food ready from home.
The next day we woke up very early, a group went out in search of the stream to replenish water, and find enough to cook the rice we would eat that night. We would cook the food before heading up the mountain as our plan was to sleep that night at the top with the idea of watching the sunset/sunrise there.
After preparing all the food, carrying the necessary water and packing up the camp we were ready to leave, although a little later than planned. We were leaving at 12 noon.
The road known to me had disappeared, the 3 years of inactivity in the area had allowed nature to take its place, all this together with the fact that two months before a Hurricane had passed close to that area. The devastating effects of the hurricane were palpable especially in the large uprooted trees that now rested on the ground of the mountainside. Even with these conditions we advanced as far as daylight allowed us, and without being able to fulfill the objective of sleeping on the summit, we had to camp on the mountainside with a 30 degree or more slope and without being able to set up tents. But there was no way to continue walking, as it was getting darker and darker and the rocks on the ground were very unstable and rolled down the hill at the slightest misstep.
We did not have the desired sunrise, but sleeping almost in the open had its benefit around 4:00 am many of us could enjoy between the blink of an eyelid of a little sleep as a wonderful starry sky as it is only possible to enjoy away from all the lights of urban areas.
At 6:00 am the whole group was awake and the time had come to make the decision to continue or give up. Most of the group, especially the most novice ones, preferred to go down to the river to have some recreation and then look for the transport back. About 14 of us wanted to do our best to reach the summit even though we knew we would be up against the clock.
Finally we decided to split the group, and I decided to lead the effort to reach the top.
The path was steep and we were against the clock, the more we climbed up the path we had found it was clear that we would have to go down somewhere else because it had become almost a climb and it was dangerous to go down that way.
Looking for trails, old marks, skirting cliffs, watching the contour lines on the map and especially looking at the clock to know how much we had before giving up we were advancing. At one point we decided that it would be the descent, we dropped the backpacks and continued with just a little water. All with the aim of accelerating the pace, getting less tired and knowing that we were nearing noon and that soon we would have to give up the summit. Much to our regret we had to do, staying just about 100 meters away from the top. The relief, the vegetation, the fallen trees, and the missing trails prevented us from finding the right path to reach the top of the mountain in time.
Without much regret, with little water we had a snack to get some energy. The descent was not easy either. It was less steep than the way up, but even so there were areas with some danger and where it seemed that we would practically jump into the void when we took the next step. At one point we knew that we would not arrive on time at the agreed time to the pick-up point of the truck, we could only count on those who had decided not to climb to hold it as long as possible.
Fatigue was setting in, even in the most experienced of us. The terrain had given us good challenges on the way and we also had little water, I as the main guide could only rely on the most trusted acquaintances to help me in the advance and maintain the appearance of calm, so that the group would not be demoralized. Fortunately, despite the difficulties, the group remained strong and with the same conviction that decided to climb was determined in the descent, despite one or two difficulties. But those of us who have done these activities know that it is important to keep calm, because at the point of fatigue or difficulty it is more important to be calm in the head than to be physically well. With a lot of effort we arrived at the base and the trail that would take us to the road at approximately 5:00 pm (the transport was waiting for us since 3:00 pm).
Once at the base we were able to refuel with water, but we still had about 8 km to go to the truck. We moved forward as fast as our dwindling strength would allow us to, it was night time .... But we made it to the truck. In the last kilometer some of the guys from the rest of the group went to help with the backpacks and water. And so we were able to return home from this impressive and strong experience. One of the strongest I have ever had, quite the opposite of what I had expected.
Most of the people on the way back asked me, when we would come back to try again, to fix the trails....
It is always a joy to see that spirit prevailing.
All image is my own