Another trek..another amazing life adventure!! The tour started off with a bang. We left santa marta in our carnivale like super HUGE landcruiser without windows. It took us 2 hours to get to the dirt road, and from there we would be really off the trail. We would then off-road for another 2 hours.
We got to this little village called machete, yes like the real machete. We ate a quick lunch and from there we started our 6 day trek thru the heart of the jungle. Now the porters packed food and supplies on 2 or 3 donkeys but we had to carry our packs. Mine which was small but i still could have not packed a rain jacket. For when it was raining it was also very hot, and i hardly wore a shirt while trekking.
The first day broke us in quickly. We crossed small streams which taught us very quickly to balance ourselves and our backs as we tip-toed over the safe dry spots on the various rocks in the stream. We ascended a steep trail for about 1.5 hours, maybe 2. There were long steep zig-zag paths that made all of us very tired, very quickly.
After 2 hours of ascending we reached a little camp with hammocks. We were given the option of staying here if we were too tired to continue or to push on for another 1.5 hours. We chose the latter. Some of our group, i think 3 or 4 out of 12 had dumped their packs on the donkeys, for a charge of course, and 2 were too exhausted to continue on foot and chose the a donkey ride instead.
After the ascending part the trek was really beautiful. It had cooled off a bit, and the natuaral ¨exercise¨ high felt amazing. We were now on top of a range of mountains and we were walking thru clouds. We met a group of paramilitaries patrolling the pass, as the threat of F.A.R.C. (the notorious drug cartel) is always present. We also passed a small heard of cattle. When we arrived at our camp it was about to get dark. I was the 3rd one to arrive, as the first 2 are professional dancers and extremely extremely fit young men from colombia and kazhakistan. We all were dripping is sweat and it felt amazing to jump into the natural swimming pool.
The 2nd day was our short day. While it was shorter it was not easier. We ascended more and the path was much more steep. Ater an hour of intense ascending we would then be given no rest as we would descend for 2 hours. The path was extremely steep and after 10 mins. of descending my legs were spent. Continually i had to take care to step in the right place as my ankle is always on my mind. We arrived around noon at our 2nd camp and enjoyed the rest of the day near another swimming hole, this time by a large river we would b crossing many times the next day.
The 3rd day would be the most amazing day yet. This day we would reach the lost city. Right away were were thrown into intensely technical trekking. There was a massive rock wall that we would literally tip toe, with our chests inches from the rock, and our footing that was only inches wide, all without trying to look below where certain critical injuries would occur or even death as the fall would b at least 20 yards down to the river. That part of the trek was the most scary but it forced you to concentrate exremely hard and it was my favorite.
The rest of the day we tracked along the river, sometimes hiking the old river bed and sometimes trekking right next to the river. Climbing over massive rocks and finding anyway to keep along the river. We did this for about 4 hours and crossed the river about 8 times, sometimes the river was as high as ¨my¨ waist and traveling very fast.
We also met an indiginous family which was very interesting. The one lady was quite young, maybe in her 30s and already had 8 children and was pregnant. The village was super basic, just huts of reeds and roofs of thatched grass.
After 5 hours of trekking we finally came to the famous steps of ¨Ciudad Perdida¨, the lost city. Now we would have to ascend these small slippery steps, all 1300 or more of them, before we got to the lost city. This took about 40 minutes and then we arrived. The feeling was amazing because the trek to this place is very difficult, defintely not for everybody. Sooo much heat, insects, river crossings, sweat, slips, falls, and exhaustion all are worth it once you reach the lost city.
The city was lightly covered in fog which made for great photos. The military also had a small compound on the lost city grounds to give the tourists a feeling of safety, not that i was concerned. We stayed at a real primitive lodge on the outside of the ruins.
In the morning we would explore more and now we would have to return. We all knew the return would be more difficult. As the adrenaline of a new discovery would push our adrenaline and will to reach the lost city. Now all we had was exhaustion and a desire to return to civilizaiton. The first day of our return, our 4th day, was all done in steady rain. One must accept being wet, your shoes, your shorts, everything is wet. Trekking in the mud makes it much more difficult but that part of the trek is for me the most beautiful because we are mostly trekking thru the heart of the jungle.
The 5th day was defintely the hardest! A full day of rain made the trekking path incredibly muddy and sloppy. We would have to make our greatest ascent yet. For 5 or 6 hours it was a constant will battle to push on and keep trekking. It was difficult but satisfying also.
The 6th day we would return. Two of our colombian friends in the group decided it would be fun to have a few drink on our last night. A few turned into 9 bottles of rum, all with no coca cola. Bad idea. Although the last day would be our easist, it was not easy with a serious hangover. It was hot, muddy, and i had to trek with a hangover. This is a hangover i will never forget. I fought it for hours and eventually the quick dips into the river cleansed my system. We eventually finished our trek, got onto the jeep, got stuck, had to get towed out and eventually reached back to santa marta at 7pm.
The experience was like no other for me. Thru the jungle, with your pack, and the terrain we went thru was incredible. The difficulty of the trek made it even moreso satisfying. To think that more people visit macchu picchu in one day than visit the ¨Lost City¨in one year is quite the proof one needs to realize that the lost city is still more or less ¨Lost¨to the rest of the world. I will never forget this trip and i feel blessed to have experienced this once in a life time experience.
