La Ciudad Perdida

Thursday, February 10

We packed up our stuff and said goodbye to paradise, walked up the hill to the main road to await our ride to the start of the hike. We had done some research on hiking ciudad perdida but overall I imagined backpacking with a small group of people and a couple guides and sleeping out in the forest in hammocks. We quickly realized that it was more of a scout camp experience, with many people and picnic bench type infrastructure, which was fun in its own way. We waited by the side of the road for a while until finally a van pulled up and somehow recognized us and told us to get in. Inside was a Colombian family- mom, dad, and teenage daughter. We were quiet at first-not knowing whether we were in the right van and whether we were all going to the same place- but finally we started talking with the family and learned that they lived and worked on a guesthouse/farm about an hour outside of Cali and they had never done the lost city hike before but were very excited for it. After about an hour in the van we got out onto a busy commercial street that was crowded with other tourist vans and huge tourist buses. There was about 100 people there- getting their wristbands for the hike and buying last minute waters, flash lights and candy. Our Colombian family quickly adopted us and herded us to the right spot as they were able to hear and understand what was happening better than we did. We got our wristbands and climbed back into the van for a very windy hour long drive to the base camp, a tiny town called El Mamey. It was about 1pm at this point and we were wondering when we were going to get on the trail and were eager to get walking. They told us we would have lunch first and then hike in the afternoon. This seemed like a terrible idea to me- to go uphill with a full belly during the hottest part of the day- but days later could see the logic to the schedule. It was about this point that we realized we were with a large group, I think 24 people and 3 guides. Over the next 4 days we met nearly everyone:

Guides:
• Eddie – guide who normally guides Tyrona park but it was closed. He spoke Spanish, English, and French.
• José – the main guide, part of the indigenous group, the Wiwa.
• T – another Wiwa guide who at first seemed very serious but quickly became the smiley one of the group

People:
• Our Colombian family: Mom: Esmeralda, dad: Juan, and daughter: Sara. Juan was a very fit and fast hiker and was always in the lead, often going ahead of the guides which I’m not sure they liked. Esmeralda was a little slower but always ready to go. She would be the first to say after a break “let’s go now??!” and on several occasions looked after Carl and I including making sure we got beds one night. Sara had just finished high school and was about to start college for graphic design. Before we lost service she showed me her beautiful nature photos on Instagram. She had a nice camera and was pointing out animals and birds along the whole trek.
• There were 8 Colombian women who at first seemed like they all went to the same college but then we found out some of them were quite a bit older. They spoke so fast I could never understand what they were saying and we didn’t get a chance to talk to them much because they were in their group.
• There was a German couple: Susie and John (pronounced: Yawn). John had recently broken his clavicle and ripped all the tendons in his shoulder while snowboarding in Austria so he had his right arm in a sling and made everyone very nervous when he ascended and descended steep slopes. Susie carried their large bag and was good at looking after him because she had just finished medical school and was about to do her residency as an OBGYN.
• There were three Canadian women who worked at the Canadian embassy. They were very nice and interesting but only gave pity laughs when I asked how much I needed to bribe them to get me Canadian citizenship and free healthcare. We spoke with Elodie and Corina, but didn’t get the name of the other one or her boyfriends name. The BF lived in Colombia with her but he worked remotely for a tech company somewhere in North America.
• There were several young Europeans traveling solo: Nicholas was French, Josh (pronounced Yash) was German, and Rosanne was Belgian. We spoke with Josh and Rosanne a lot and relied on them for their superior Spanish skills.
• There was also an older French couple from Paris. The man took many videos with his super tiny (spy?) camera and the woman didn’t speak much Spanish or English but seemed to enjoy herself despite painful looking blisters on day 2 and having to take mule or moto for the end of the hike.

Finally we set off and it was mostly uphill for 2.5 hours to the first camp. The trail was wide and dusty. The whole group marched along together. We stopped many times which frustrated the eager hikers but was probably for the best because the beginning was not very shady and we were all dripping with sweat. This beginning helped us realize the hike would not be easy but that we were in it together. At one point I bought some fresh squeezed orange juice from a woman in a stand by the trail (in the middle of nowhere) and it was soooo good and gave me enough energy to get to the end of the day.

When we got to the camp I was a little disappointed with how it looked – function over form- but it ended up being a comfortable place to stay. There were 4 long picnic tables, an open air kitchen, two long rows of bunk beds with mosquito netting, and several toilets and showers (with cold water). They offered hammocks but Esmeralda sagely warned us against them, noting we would sleep better in a bed. Choosing beds was a free for all and Carl and I got stuck with two top bunks. The mosquito netting was tied to the roof which was so close to the bed that Carls net hung in his face. They fed us dinner – delicious Mojarro Roja again! and we went to sleep very early at 9. I was grateful for earplugs because there were two snorers and one guy sounded like he was dying.

Friday, February 11

They woke us up at 5 and served breakfast at 530, telling us to get on the trail at 6. It was beautiful to watch the sun come up and we were eager to walk before it got too hot.

From this point the trail narrowed to a single track and we felt more like we were really backpacking. We trekked through the jungle- mostly shaded by large tropical trees and sweeping vines- but hot and humid as the devils armpit. There were some parts where the banana trees were taller than a two story building. It was interesting to see the dirt change from gray mud to white sand to red rock and mud. There were many mules being led to carry bags or people up and down the trail. When we saw one we would yell ‘MULA!’ so people behind would know to make way. (We still got dangerously close to the back of a few as we passed by and I could practically hear Carls heightened fear of large hooved animals).

Some parts were rolling flat but most of it was steep uphill to a beautiful vista followed immediately by steep downhill to a river crossing, and over and over again. We crossed through many farm areas and indigenous villages. We would often hear something as we came around the corner to see that there was a cow or a child hiding behind a tree. The indigenous people all wore white tunics and had long straight black hair parted in the middle. The girls wore many layers of beads and the boys always had a bag slung across their shoulder. We were surprised at how often we ran into indigenous people from different indigenous groups on the trail and it made us realize we were truly guests walking through their land.

The first part of the day was 3 hours to a hut near a river and waterfall. I’ve never sweat so much in all my life and Carl looked like someone had poured a bucket of water over him, his ‘white’ shirt was completely see through. When we got there we got to swim around the waterfall and then walked down to the river where we could jump in. The water was very cold but it felt so good after being drenched in sweat.

We ate lunch at the camp here and then had an intense four hour afternoon hike to the next camp. We walked fast, my motivation was to get a better bunk spot that night. But when we arrived they said beds would be assigned once everyone got there. It seemed the Colombian women had also been unlucky to all get top bunks so the guide waited for them to get there and assign things more fairly. When it came our turn to get a bed, José asked us each for a hat. He then went into the bunk area and put the hats on the beds. He didn’t tell us where they were or ask us to follow so we had to go look – bunk by bunk- pulling up the mosquito netting to see which was ours. The two rows of bunks were very close at this site – about a foot apart and the ladder to get to the top bunk was on the side between the bunks so it was so congested. We discovered we could access our top and bottom bunk from the back, outer side and found ropes to hang all our clothing which was wet with sweat or because we had washed it in the shower. I’ve never smelled so bad in my life so clean wet clothes were better than smelly wet ones.

That night after dinner they made a campfire and talked about the indigenous tribes in the area (there are 4 that share rights to the Ciudad Perdida), explaining customs and answering our questions. They explained how men carry around a Dom Burra – a gourd that has lime powder which helps with absorption of coca- and that they use to fiddle with to contemplate life during down times.

Saturday, February 12

Finally on the third day we made it to the Ciudad Perdida. From the camp it was a short walk to the base of the stairs where there were ~2,000 steps to the top. The steps were varying heights and some were slick so it was like being on a treacherous stair stepper for about an hour. Luckily we were able to leave our bags at camp so we felt much lighter for this especially steep ascent.

Finally we reached La Ciudad Perdida, the Lost City, which is a misnomer because the local tribes had known of its existence but the Europeans ‘discovered’ it and ‘relocated’ found objects back to museums in Europe. The current site still has round rock foundations where buildings used to sit, and has been cleaned and maintained for tourists to marvel at. Our guides explained some of the areas and spoke more about what they believed life was like for the people that used to use the site.

We followed a series of ascending circular platforms to the top of the city which had a great view of the lower areas and the surrounding mountains. There was also a friendly cat lounging in the sun on one of the terraces that I think everyone took a picture of. They served us some snacks – fruit and chips- at the top before we descending back down the staircase of death.

The entire trail is out and back so from this point on, we would be retracing our steps. We got down the mountain and made it back to the camp where we slept the night before in time for lunch. Some of us dipped our bodies in the river while we waited for the rest of the group to arrive and for lunch to be prepared. Some of us formed a sort of coalition to try to make it to the night camp before 6 (sunset) so we could hop in the river again. Me and Carl, Susie, Yahn, Rosanne, Corina, and our Colombian family practically sprinted to make it in time.

I hadn’t slept well yet so I was starting to drag. At lunch I had a coffee with extra sugar and was hyper and ready to hike – until we got to the large uphill and then I felt like I wasn’t going to make it. This is where the psychic power of being part of a group of motivated humans kicks in and I could see past my pain to imagine the glory of jumping into that river. As we sprinted it started to rain and Carl and I lost some distance from the group when we stopped to cover our bags. The cold rain water motivated us but it seemed like we were going to make it in time. But, when we got to the camp it was only 4:45! We were all so happy! Then our guide T, who had led the sprint, said we couldn’t swim because the rain might cause the current of the river to be dangerous. The ironic disappointment! Oh the sad faces of the crushed hearts of our weary friends! Some members of the group debated whether to go anyways, despite being told we weren’t allowed to. Then T said he would ‘check out the conditions’ with us which meant we could go in. Without waiting, me, Susie and Rosanne got our suits on an headed down to the river with T running after us to be our lifeguard. Then the boys joined us and we were only swimming for about 20 minutes, but it was a glorious 20 minutes.

That night, again, we had bunks assigned haphazardly (thanks to Mama Esmeralda who saw me and told the guide I still needed a bed). This time the bunks were arranged side by side with the ladder at the foot so that neighbors were sleeping parallel with bed frames touching so bodies were about a foot apart. Luckily the mosquito netting creates a barrier so it wasn’t so awkward.

It was about this point people were breaking down- realizing they were sunburned, having diarrhea, feeling the exhaustion post-excitement. After dinner I crawled into the top bunk to read but could barely get through one chapter before falling asleep. Carl was in the dining room for long enough to hear joke time which he repeated to me later. The best joke was (in Spanish):

What’s the funniest fruit?

The naranja ja ja ja !

Sunday, February 11

The last day. It hurt to stand up, sit down, and especially taking the first few steps I was like a baby deer with shaky legs. But once we were on the trail we picked up our fast pace again and trucked on. Up, down, up, down. Finally we arrived at the last break stop, which was the camp we had stayed on the first night. They served us fresh squeezed lulo juice and then we had the final descent. My knees felt like jelly and although the morning had gone by faster than expected, the last bit of trail seemed to drag on and on. We were passed by several of our friends who had opted to pay for a motorcycle ride to the bottom. Finally we made it to the lunch spot- same as the very first day before we had started- and the people that had arrived already cheered us on and congratulated us for making it to the end. It was so sweet and warm hearted that it made me uncomfortable and want to cry with joy. When everyone had arrived we had lunch – Mojarra Roja! And then got in vans for the 2+ hour journey back down the windy road and along the freeway to Santa Marta. T was thoughtful to get everyone’s WhatsApp just before we departed and he started a group chat so we could stay connected, share photos, and travel recommendations for future adventures. I had thought we would be doing a nature-oriented backpacking trip and although I had originally been disappointed that the trek seemed like Girl Scout camp all over again, by the end I was so grateful to have met so many kind, adventurous, interesting people and gotten to spend good quality, sweaty time to get to know them.

We rode back with our Colombian family and Yash to the travel agency office in Santa Marta where we collected our bag we had left behind and walked to our hotel, Casa Verde. Exhausted and smelly x 1,000, the first thing we did was shower and dump all our dirty clothes out of our bag.

Santa Marta

Though we could’ve slept at 5pm we decided to see a little bit of Santa Marta. Our hotel was perfectly located. We walked just a few blocks to the beach where it seemed everyone in the city was playing in the calm water or burying each other in the sand. There were also throngs of people walking along the promenade with their nice outfits and their little dogs. Sunday at the beach!

From there we walked to a main square called the Parque de los Novios Centro. There were so many people out, strolling around and enjoying the perfect temperature of the late afternoon. We decided to go to Radio Burger because we saw it listed on a best restaurant list. We sat outside and got a passion fruit margarita and a really good red craft beer. We got a really good chorizo app and a burger that ended up not having much on it, but the sauce was good. Although there was night life to be had, we were extremely exhausted so we decided to have an early night.