Ciudad Perdida y mas

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Cuidad Perdida
Day 1 got picked up just after 9 am the guide is old, overweight, has bad teeth and doesn't speak english. I was initally a bit worried. Our group for the next several days was me, Hils ( who I volunteered with at lost and found) who I then found out has bad knees a bad back and a sensitive stomach, a kiwi guy whos only backpack was a plastic grocery bag with two plastic straps he tied on, 2 spoiled rich guys from Belgium (in one's defense he didn't speak much English so he might have been nice, but the other was annoying enough for both). It was sunny and hot, we spent 2 hours walking up a mountain in midday. It nearly killed me, for most people it wasn't that bad. We often stopped and got fruit. Some people swam in the river. We spent the night in a really nice camp with clean showers, toilets and big hammocks with good mosquito nets. We got tons of food, by the end of the trip I was so sick of chicken.

Day 2 started with a demonstration on how to make cocaine. We were told this is highly illegal, but they offer it to every tourist who comes through, so I'm sure the authorities know. It was actually quite interesting. Now it has been a while so I don't really remember the order. There are 6 chemicals 4 of which are illegal in Colombia. Some of them are: sulfuric acid, gasoline, some kind of base (to neutralize the sulfuric acid), condensed potassium ( I think it was purple) and I don't remember the rest. Basically you crush, mix, let settle, mix, mix more, strain, mix strain again and end up with cocaine paste. This is when they sell the paste to people who make it into powder. Paste gets mixed with 2 other chemicals (he didn't do this part, and he didn't tell us those chemicals) to make 80% cocaine, which is already nasty. By the time it gets exported and snorted in countries all over the world it has who knows what, and gone through many many middle men. The farmer sells 1 oz of paste for $4. After that we had breakfast and hiked, more up hill, lots of mosquitoes. About half way the farm land turned into native reserve land. This means more trees more mosquitoes and less sun. It was beautiful. We crossed through a few rivers and swam. Camp this night had a bed, my mosquito net didn't fit right a a corner fell so it wasn't too comfortable. The river was right next to camp so we got to swim. Best mosquito protection is this soap like substance that dries on skin and keeps them off... I should probably buy some. Best candy bar GOL bar. like a kit kat but also with caramel and crunchies, we got them often to keep up moral.

Day 3 more up hill. several river crossings, at one river I noticed a "cable car" which is giving it too much credit. It is a metal cube with 3 pieces of wood not attached ( remember this for day 4). We walked through this river it was just about waist high. We started seeing indigenous people and houses around, this is their reserved land, I'm sure this is corrupting them and making them money at the same time. Got to camp just in time for the rain to start. It was decided we would got to the city in the morning before hiking back what we had just hiked. bed at camp had holes in the mosquito net. They gave us popcorn which made things better.

Day 4 Walk through a river atleast 4 times in 20 minutes then start on the stairs. There are about 1,900 stone steps to get to the city from there everything is separated by more stairs. It was beautiful and sunny. Military men are on patrol all the time like most places in colombia. I was informed that what used to be the shamans land is now a helipad. There are no houses left in the lost city just grassy areas plotted out with stones and stairs where houses used to be. In the main town area women were not allowed. There is the "Sapo stone" which kind of looks like a toad - sapo in spanish- it has some kind of meaning. Ask me if you want more info and check out my facebook for pictures.
From here we hiked back to camp from the day before, EXCEPT it started to rain, then rain turned into thunderstorm. 4 hours of hiking downhill in the streams of mud. Lots of slipping, lots of people passing me because I was going slow. The teenaged cook from another group took a fancy to me and helped me in the mud but then he kept trying to stop and talk. He had hard accent, mumbled alot and I just wanted to get out of the rain! Then we got to the river with the "Cable Car" it was uncrossable. REALLY UNCROSSABLE. So we had to be pulled across in the "Car", the problem was getting out had no platform and was pretty much crawling onto a rock with little space.

Day 5 Everyone else in our group decided to do the hike in 5 days like most people do. Hils and I decided why not do it in 6, for the same night, save food and accommodation costs. The boys ran ahead like always and we were climbing up (some how I never remember the down hill on the way there) and down in gorges created by the rain from the day before. There are trees and leaves down, we are walking on mud and rocks. The day before was obviously a big storm. After slipping in the mud we got to camp around 10:30. It was just me Hils, me, Archie the guide, and the locals who awn the camp. We showered put laundry to dry talked to a local, the brother of the camp owner, and waited for another group to come the other way so we could hang out. Another group never came. It was jsut us all nigh. Since she has a bad back and can't sleep in a hammock she slept in a bed in their house, I didn't want to stay outside with just the locals walking by and our guide, who like many men, especially men in Colombia, is a bit of a perv. So I stayed inside with her. The bed smelled like pee and there were tiny ants crawling all over it.

Day 6 more down hill in the mud, got to town around 10:30 sat, had lunch and waited until 12. A jeep was coming to pick us up sometime. Archie got bored and decided we should go by motorcycle to the main road then take the public bus back to town. It was fun. I was tired, wet, and stinky. I probably haven't mentioned just how amazing and beautiful it was. If anyone is thinking of doing it, DO. It is great. It was easier for others, I just suck at climbing uphill.


Since then I spent more time in Taganga, went to Tyrona National Park, flew to Medellin with a lay over in Bogota, Stayed in Medellin for 7 days went to Guatape and el Penion, went back to Medellin for 5 days, stayed in Solento for 5 days, then realized my atm card was with someone in Medellin so I went back for 1 more night, came to Cali have been here for 2 days it is a dry weekend because of the election so it will not be very active so unfortunately leaving cali quickly and heading on a bus for 15 hrs and a border crossing to Quito. I will write more later, but incase I dont feel like catching up. All in all Colombia is great, on to Ecuador again!

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