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Grenade launcher
They let me hold a grenade launcher.
They REALLY must not know me...Into the Jungle
Bas talked me into taking my first trek. Well actually, I talked myself into it, but I wanted someone to blame in case I didn´t like it, so I told him it was his fault.
We were joined by a reticent Englishman named Jack and a cheeky Belgian polyglot who mastered 7 languages seemingly simply to commandeer conversations in as many tongues as possible.
By the end of the trip I was simultaneously wishing she would either shut up or get eaten by a jaguar. I didn´t really care which.
The trip started out very easy, with a splash in a river swimming hole and a nice lunch. After that it was a FIFTEEN MILE HIKE straight up into the SUN (truestorysweartogod).
Ok.
Maybe it wasn´t THAT bad, but it was a rather steep climb with no shade. Add that to the fact I had somehow let myself get dehydrated, and it was a tad unpleasant.
Me and Bas was beefin´ right ´bout then.
As a respite, we got to stay in one of the tour guides houses who showed us a coca ¨factory´. In truth, it was a little tent with some coca leaves and waaaaaay to many chemicals to name. The guy showed us
Ciudad Perdida
The post card shot. the process for making the cocaine base which included coca leaves, salt, calcium powder, gasoline and SULPHURIC ACID.
Yeah the stuff people use in movies to melt bodies and disfigure cheating spouses..
If I hadn´t already resolved not to take drugs, THAT woulda kept me off cocaine right there.
When smoked, it gives a heady rush that was described as indescribable, but then was described as somewhat similar to crack.
More reason to stay away.
The locals, by the way, don´t really touch this stuff. This is only for city folk and foreigners. The locals use the coca leave which is really not addictive (until it has been concentrated and chemicalized...)
The second day was uneventful as I was better hydrated and the trek was shorter. In fact, I even noticed how gorgeous the Colombian countryside is. I was happy with Bas again.
Day three was fun as we had to cross 8 rivers.
Actually it was one river 8 times, but that just sounds so counterproductive that I want to believe that it is 8 different rivers.
Yay self delusion!
Ciudad Perdida
The Lost City.
Unreachable except by a 3 day walk and 19 Million stairs.
Mosquitos the size of small dogs.
Ok, the last one is an exaggeration...the mosquitos are the regular
size...there are just a damn lot of them.
The city now known as Ciudad Perdida or Teyuna to the natives, was founded around 800 A.D. making it at least 650 years older than Machu Picchu. As usual, the locals never really lost the place as the local indigenous tribes claim that they visited the site often. It wasn´t ¨discovered¨ until 1972 when graverobbing looters stumbled upon it. The ensuing fight for the baubles left the original discoverers dead and had the military and scientists move in to protect and research it. The 169 terraces are believed to have house some 2,000 to 8,000 people. While these people were decimated by the disease and wars of the Spanish Conquistadores, the Spaniards never found this place. And so the City had been lost for centuries...
Actually, I don´t think the city was ¨lost¨...I think the remaining Tayrona just got sick of climbing the stairs.
There were 1200 stairs to get to the first terrace. I didn´t count the multitude after that. We got a great tour and were able to speak and trade knicknacks with the soldiers.
On the walk back to civilization we got a taste of why this place is named a RAINforest. It
poured on us for about 5 hours straight.
I found it refreshing.
The Belgian got mad and started cursing the skys.
I kinda found that refreshing too...
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S.Marie
non-member comment
So beautiful!
I enjoyed equally your storytelling and photographs. Thank you for sharing of the "Lost City." (Not to neglect "Cocaine 101," I had no idea about the sulfuric acid). ps Tu ropa de expedición es muy atrayente.