My girlfriend, Katherine asked me, "It's been raining all week! Are you sure you're going?"
I replied optimistically, "Yes, of course. Don't worry, it won't rain."
I kept telling myself that it wouldn't rain, and I checked the weather forecast for Saturday and Sunday. Sure enough, it would rain in the afternoon, but it would be completely clear at night, and I hoped that would be the case.
Katherine wasn't the only one who asked me. Some of the people I had invited also asked me, and I answered them the same way.
The plan was to go up at night since I was too busy working to camp properly. So I would have to take advantage of the night of Saturday and the rest of Sunday off.
Only the essential people showed up. I also forgot to invite some people, but that always happens to me when I don't organize myself properly.
"Well, guys, this is a tough hike to Pico Naiguatá. It will take an average of 12 or 11 hours of hiking. It's 6:15 p.m., so we should be getting there around this time if we're making good time. There's no sun, so it will be a comfortable hike. Plus, we're on the full moon, so the light will help us. Our goal is to see the sunrise, guys."
Jennifer raised her hand to the sky.
"That doesn't look like a full moon to me."
I couldn't help but frown.
"Well, the full moon is in four days."
"That's a pretty bad forecast," Johan scoffed.
And so they walked for a while as they ascended towards the La Julia Ranger Station.
After a year without climbing Pico Naiguatá, in addition to the extreme heat that was getting worse, you could say that time was taking its toll. However, we continued to ascend.
I had forgotten the experience. Just like the fireflies that were at the beginning of the path, it was beautiful to see them fluttering around while they lit our way. At first, I could barely see them, but slowly I could discern their presence.
Then they got lost along the way. We stopped seeing them in a stretch, we went out to the lookout where we could witness the luminosity of the city. There was already a large group camping there. The group was divided into two, some were on the edge with a camping stove heating what looked like chocolate, There were quite a few, and were listening to music. While another group was in their tents or just exploring the place.
"Hello," we said.
"Hello," the group that was separated from the cooks greeted us back.
Three girls came out of the darkness and started talking to us. As we rested, some went to take pictures at the lookout.
"Where are you going?" one of the girls asked Jennifer.
"We're going to Pico Naiguatá," she replied.
"Seriously! But at this time of night, are you crazy?"
Johan intervened at that point.
"Well, it's better if you think about it. You don't have the sun, so the ascent is more comfortable," he said.
I had decided not to intervene, I was focused on observing the stars and taking pictures, but I still listened to the conversation. However, the topic went elsewhere.
"We're staying here tonight and going down. We're not that crazy," the girl said. "It's too demanding."
"Goodbye!" we all said.
"Goodbye! May you arrive safe and sound. And may the needle of your compass lead you to your goal," someone said, but I don't know who it was.
Dos Banderas is one of the two routes to take once you start climbing from the La Julia Ranger Station. It is one of the most demanding and steep; climbing took us an hour and a half, but even though we were climbing in the dark, the effort of the trail was such that we ended up exhausted.
"Let's rest here and eat dinner because I'm really hungry."
"We're all really hungry," the others agreed.
After we rested for a while, we started cooking with my camping stove, which is composed of a Coleman propane tank and a burner that allows you to control the intensity of the flame. The first thing we did was make coffee; I also brought my filter, so when the water was hot, we poured the coffee. The aroma enveloped us all. Then we proceeded to make some bread with tuna salad, of course, we cooked the tuna first to warm it up a bit. Throughout the process, we joked and had fun, took pictures, and told stories.
However, it was not our destination, so we continued at a brisk pace.
"We're making good time," Johan said. "I'm checking the time we've been walking. We're almost at six hours. We're about to reach Topo Goering, right? I can't see much in the dark, I always go during the day."
"Yes, it's almost there," I said. "And yes, we're making good time. Although there's still a bit left. It's just that when we rest, we take a long time, we need to reduce the breaks."
"Are you trying to kill me? Is that what you want?" Jennifer complained. "Nothing, I love climbing, but I also love complaining."
We all laughed, but we knew we wanted to get there for sunrise.
We passed Topo Goering, where we rested for five minutes and continued. The good thing was that the sky was totally clear and, reaching Urquijo, we were able to contemplate how the moon set on the horizon at two in the morning.
"Beautiful! We don't see these things sitting in our bedroom," Mariana said happily and took out her camera to take pictures.
"That's why it wasn't a bad thing that Ricardo took us out of our houses," Jennifer said.
Everyone nodded.
In the distance, a large cloud full of thunder could be seen.
"Do you think it will reach us?" Alex said.
"I don't know," I said with doubt. "I don't want to think about it reaching us."
"What a brilliant answer!" Johan scoffed.
"Well, I could have made up that the cloud won't reach us because it's not moving from south to north, but from east to west," I said, showing off my navigation skills. "It's beyond the Humboldt, it's very unlikely that it will come this way to the east..."
"Enough, enough, let's go," Jennifer interrupted, elbowing me. "I want to get there and sleep a little."
But that was the least we did. The remaining stretch we did at a galloping pace, barely stopping to rest. This was because from Urquijo, the path was flatter, it was the Fila Maestra trail, which ran along the coastal range. In the distance, the shadow of the Amphitheatre could be seen, a geological formation that often reminded me of a castle.
The new guys who were with us, Mario and Alan, were the ones who complained the most about how much was left and the ones who were closest to giving up spiritually. Because Johan, Jennifer, Alex, and Mariana were made of the same fiber as me.
With the last few stretches to go, I realized that Johan and the new guys were missing.
"See that slope?" I was telling Mariana, who was nearby. "That's the entrance."
"How do you know the places in the dark?" Mariana asked, following me.
"Well, I have a good memory and I memorize the details," was my answer. "Hey, Johan! We'll be there where the others are," I shouted to be heard.
"They're coming over there, but they're very tired. Are we sure we'll make it?" Johan's voice could be heard from the subparamo.
"Yes, we just need to enter the Amphitheatre," I said.
There are several entrances, but this is the easiest and most annoying one due to the rain; the whole place becomes muddy and slippery. We were in these conditions, but although our shoes were dirty with mud, we arrived at the campsite at five in the morning.
We were exhausted, but at the insistence of Johan and Mariana, we climbed the remaining distance to reach Pico Naiguatá, which was about five more minutes of walking.
"It's almost time! Look, you can see the light of the sun," said Johan as we sat down to watch the sunrise.
I was calculating how long it would take for sunrise. We weren't alone, several people had arrived the day before and had woken up to observe the event. They looked like a music concert, where the fans were pointing their cameras to the west.
"There are about five minutes left!" I said, but no one paid attention to me.
We stayed there, fixed, watching the sunrise. Being spectators of the beauty of nature. People were taking pictures nonstop, they were going crazy.
"Thank you for the invitation, guys!" said Mariana, her eyes filled with happiness. "It's beautiful."
"Now we have to go down," I said, laughing.
"Party pooper!" said Johan and Jennifer at the same time.
Cover and Banner made in Canva; Author's own image taken with Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 S, Separators made in photoshop