24 - Ciudad Perdida (The Lost City)

Ciudad Perdida (The Lost City) was built by the Tayrona people in the years between 500 and 700 AD (before Macchu Picchu). Getting to Ciudad Perdida was a three day hike up and down and up and down and up the mountains of Tayrona National Park.

Here are some pictures of the hike...

Banana break

MoooooooOOOOooooooooo

Beautiful tree with the sun shining through. Check out all those epiphytes.

A rooster looking out over the land

Jose, our guide, found this giant river crab.

Every now and then we stopped to swim in natural pools along the river. These swimming breaks were amazing because the hike was so hot and sweaty and the refreshing water was just the thing to get my energy back.

We also stopped to see this beautiful waterfall.

I was pretty smelly at this point, so I went and got a waterfall shower.

On the third day of our hike we had to go back and forth across the river 8 times.

Every night we slept in hammocks. I wasn´t sure how comfortable sleeping in a hammock would be, but I soon found out that it is a great nights sleep (could have also been because I was exhausted every night).

Here´s the group getting ready for breakfast in the morning. All our meals were cooked by the guides. In the mornings we usually had eggs, for lunch we had sandwiches or big soups, and for dinner we usually had rice, beans, salad, and either chicken or beef. The food was delicious.

Some mornings I got out of my hammock early, grabbed my binoculars, and sat for a while watching the birds. I saw 15 species one morning (not counting the chickens).

Beautiful sky

One morning one of the girls put her shoe on and felt something weird moving inside. She took her shoe off and this giant scorpion crawled out. She was really lucky. If it had stung her then her leg would have been paralyzed for 24 hours and she would have been bedridden with a fever, headache, and chills. Que suerte!

The Kogi and Arsario are two tribes that live in the Tayrona mountains. We passed a lot of these indigenous people on the trails.

We also went to one of the Kogi villages. Their houses are made out of mud, sticks, and palm leaves.

An indigenous family lived in one of the places we stayed and I got to play with the kids. I loved making them smile and laugh. Playing with them was so much fun, and definitely one of the highlights of the trip for me.

After three tiring days of hiking we finally arrived at the steps leading up to Ciudad Peridida. But the hard part was still to come. To get to the main area of Ciudad Perdida we had to walk up around 1800 steps!

Actually 1800 steps!

This is believed to be a ritualistic site where people had to bathe before they were allowed up into the city.

Keep going up and up and up the steps

Keep going

Finally we made it to the top, and what a sight it was to see.

There were some army men stationed at the top and some indigenous people, so I pulled out my tourist card and asked to get a picture with them.

The area of Ciudad Perdida is mostly made up of thousands of steps leading to over 200 terraces. The Tayrona people were admirable engineers that built structures according to the environment. They took advantage of microclimates and resources at different altitudes. We walked all around Ciudad Perdida taking the steps from terrace to terrace.

Here I am sitting in the cheif´s chair pretending to be important.

Here´s a photo of the fountain of youth. Apparently swimming in it can knock off twenty years. I didn´t go for a dip because I think I prefer 23 over 3.

Making like Tarzan and swinging on the vines. WoooHoooo

After seeing Ciudad Perdida we headed back down all 1800 steps, recrossed the river 8 times, and hiked three days down and up and down the mountains back into town. It was another great adventure, and I'm so fortunate to have had the opportunity to see it.
Right now I'm in Barranquilla with my friend Rosita who lives here in Colombia, but we met my freshman year at Boston University. It's great to see her again. Tonight I'm off on an overnight bus to Medellin. Hope all is well in the good old USA.