Nevado de Toluca: A cold ride up the volcano
November 8th, 2014
Toluca, Mexico
“I knew I could ride my motorcycle to the top of the volcano!” I told myself in a disappointed manner as I saw several other motorcyclists off-roading to the lagoons at the top of the Nevado de Toluca in the state of Mexico. I had to park my motorcycle and hike in riding boots for over a mile at 4,000 meters above sea level to get there and be reminded of what terrible physical condition I was in.
Alejandro Lara, from Motoruta Mexico, kicked his two daughters out of their room, and offered me a place to stay for two nights, in a child’s mattress with pink Disney princess sheets. He showed me around his city of Toluca, which every morning had a distinct coffee aroma thanks to the Nestle Company near the city center. Alejandro, and a few friends of his, took me out on a motorcycle trip to the top of the Nevado de Toluca, a volcano in a national park nearby.
Toluca is a cold city, at least for me coming from San Diego, and especially at 5am when we had to wake up to ride to the volcano. I wore two base layers that day, followed by a mid-layer, and my jacket. No cold whatsoever in my torso. My hands, they were hurting from the cold after 30 minutes of riding.
The road to the national park was paved most of the way. Some 10 kilometers before the summit, we reached a large open area surrounded by tall trees. This spot, from which you could see the tallest peak of the volcano, had several small restaurants. As everyone went inside and ordered coffee, I stayed outside, talking to an elder woman who seemed to be tending to the tortillas on an old stove. In our conversation, she said she had been working there for 40 years now and that she has noticed the years in which it does not snow atop the volcano are cyclic, sometimes it snows, and sometimes it doesn’t. I suppose this could apply to several aspects of life, too. Over the years, one begins to notice the orbits in which life revolves. This woman had lived there long enough to foresee whether the volcano would be snowed on that year or not. She had lived there long enough that she looked like nothing could amaze her anymore. She cooked tortillas, on the same firewood stove, for the same type of people, which were usually travelers, and the years had not left her much for amazement.
I went inside the restaurant where everyone in my riding group was drinking coffee. I’m not much of a coffee person, I actually dislike it, but I thought I’d try it. “Wow! What is this!” I exclaimed after my first sip. Oddly enough, it tasted delicious. Something unknowing to me, the coffee was sweetened with jaggery, which added a great taste to it. To accompany the great tasting coffee, we had the best chorizo quesadillas ever, and then proceeded to ride up the volcano on a dirt road for the remaining 10 km.
Near the top, one must park their vehicle and continue by foot. I did not like this at all. It’s not that I’m lazy… actually, I am, but my point here is that I had seen side trails on the way up, and thought it would be more adventurous to ride the motorcycles all the way. Not everyone in our riding group had off-road capable motorcycles, though, so we were obligated to walk over a mile to one of the lagoons in the crater of the Nevado. It is a straight path, one can actually see the lagoons down at the end of a long walking path; Alejandro decided that he liked the view from afar, and did not make the hike down.
When I travel, I like to get the most out of each experience, even if that means stepping out of my comfort zone, because I never know when, and if, I’ll ever be at a specific place again, or have the opportunity to do x, y, or z. That day, when I reached one of the lagoons, I thought to myself “I’m on this amazing journey; I’ve walked up this volcano, and down to this lagoon. I definitely have to get in for a swim, despite the cold temperature and the even colder water.” I got closer to the edge and put my hand in to test the temperature. That was my mistake. Because as soon as I did that, I knew I was not about to go swimming in water that cold. The air was cold already, even with all my layers on. I would surely become hypothermic if I went for a swim. I should not have felt the water at all; I should have simply stripped and gone in without time for hesitation or second guesses. Should have, could have, but didn’t.
