La ciudad perdida

oh where to begin! What a wonderful time!

The bus trip to Colmbia only took 50 hours instead of 60. It wasnt that bad and we had no problems aside from the mysterious disappearence of our animal crackers and the man that decided that it was necessary to change his ring tone at 3:30 in the morning. I woke up to Nokia´s 30 different ring tones blaring in the back seat. I looked at the guy and said ´Seriously you´re changing your ring tone RIGHT now.´ However the sarcasticness of my tone in spanish did not translate over so he continued. Our trip consisted of 4 buses, 4 taxis, 2 bottles of codine cough syrup, five movies, and countless terrible MTV music videos and about 5 whole hours of sleep. Laura´s feet swelled up so much that she looked like an obese person. Finally, we arrived in Taganga which is located in northern Columbia. We were there for about two hours and booked the next trip to see ´La Ciudad Perdida´or in English ´The Lost City¨

La Ciudad Perdida
Brief history - this is the Machu Pichu of Columbia but way less traveled and just as fantastic. It was discovered in 1975 and has not been traveled to much due to the fighting bw FARC and the Columbian government.

If I had to describe the actual ruins of La Ciudad Perdida in one word it would be indescribable.
If I had two words to describe the trek there and back it would be fucking intense.

Warning - Parents of you cont to read you cant get mad :)

First, understand that this trip was in fact very dangerous due to the fact that FARC (gorrillas that kidnapped people) was still present and the actual trek that we had to endure was not safe. As a matter of fact before we began our guide told us that id we were bitten by a snake then it was pretty much game over.

The trek there started and ended with our transport breaking down in the middle of the jungle and having to wait for about an hour each time to get the mobile unit they called a car started. No cell phones. No triple A. No help, nothing! Just a shit ton of cliffs and jungle. On our way there the police stopped us and told us to have a good time and enjoy Columbia and it´s beauty. About ten minutes later we saw two indigenous people beating the shit out of each other right next to the highway.....Yep the beauty of Columbia..

The trek was about 40 kilomenters which is about 25 or so miles which doesnt seem too bad when it is split up into 4 and a half days. But it was some intense and insane trek! The inclines were long and at about a 45 degree angle. Literally we would walk straight up for about an hour then down and right back up again. Once you thought you were done with an incline you would turn the corner and see that you were not even close. I swear I passed heaven bc I climbed to hight! There is no treadmill that can create or train you for the kind of incline that we climbed! My calves can crack walnuts now. It would get so steep that you would have to kinda crawl up. Mind you, too, that I had a 20 pound pack on my back. And of course what comes up must come down! We had to crawl down the steep slopes as well. There were tons of loose rocks which caused ample amount of rolled ankles. You would here someone in front of you or behind you yell ´shit´and you would just say careful and continue. However my knees are killing me and my quads scream when I try to sit down to use the bathroom. It doesnt matter though because once you got to the top the view of the mountains were breath taking which made the pain and frustration worth it.

It was either burning hot or pouring torentail rain. When it rained our quazi trail would turn into a stream and the streams we had to cross would turn into swift rapids. We would have to grab onto each other´s hands to cross in waist deep water. At the beginning we would take our shoes off but after the first day we accepted that our shoes would not stay dry or clean. So, we would stomp through deep, I mean almost knee deep, mud and wade/swim through the snake infested rivers with our kicks on. And btw Nike shocks are not made for hiking. The rain was my favorite part. It was so cleaning. It was almost a sexy and freeing feeling. However, I was not so sexy! You{ll see soon from the pics. The question of falling wasnt What if I slip and fall? but When I slip how I fall? Each day we started with dry clothes and ended with clothes dripping with water, sweat, mud and cow manuer. My deoderant lasted for about 45 minutes as did my insect repellant. I took two showers while I was there and both were in the river. To add to the misery, on one of the days my stomach had a wretched pain. It lasted for a while and did not subside so I went to the bathroom (in the jungle)
And what to my wondering eyes should appear
but my period coming loud and clear!

On the second day we went to an OLD cocaine factory. When they said factory I expected a building with maybe AC and I dont know a sign that said cocaine here. When we got there it was a tarp with 4 sticks holding it up. Obviously I did not try or buy but it was more of a history lesson on what was really going on in Columbia and a chemistry lesson on how to make cocaine using acids and bases. The actual ´factory´is not longer in use as much and the guy, who wouldnt allow pictures for fear of getting caught, is now a coffee farmer and much happier.

Our tour group meshed with another tour group and we had such a grood time. It was about 12 people from 6 different coutries helping each other get through the climb. We all got along superbly and were sad to say bye at the end of the trip. Lots of rapport and TONS of laughs. It is amazing at how fast strangers can connect after hiking together for only a couple of hours. Our conversations went from shallow to deep quite quickly!

The nights were actually the best part of the trip. Nights were spent looking at the stars and playing cards for HOURS by candle light (there was no electricity), dodging hundreds of bugs and applying liters of ineffective bug spray. You should see my legs! Each night we slept by a spring that was so close you could hear it while falling asleep. When the sun finally set hundreds and hundreds of fire flies would come out and stay out. It was stunningly beautiful to see the millions of stars above and the fire flies lighting up the sky. We slept in hammocks with mosquito nets drapping over us. Each night I put on bug spray and burritoed myself inside a thick blanket. And, each night several mischievous cricket size mosquitos crept through my net, up in my hammock and tip toed in my thick blanket to eat my ankles and legs. Pretty persistant bugs.

The most difficult and def most dangerous part of the trip was the day before and day of the trek entering the city. The trail turned into huge rocks that you had to scale and jump through and over. If you fell you would fall about 30 feet. Each step and climb there was a constant reminder to look for snakes. It wasnt until we were half way done with the trip that we found out that lots of people get injured or dont make it to the top. The Lost City was amazing and very well guarded by the Columbian government. We had to walk up 1200 loose, rocky, mossy, wet and rediculously small steps to get into the city. The Incas were so smart and efficient. They actually had a rock that they carved in the map of the city. The view was amazing and the guides told us that there was still tons that was not discovered. The Interent cafe is about to close to I ave to hurry and I could go on for hours about the city. Ask the the next time you see me. Shoot I know there is so much more I could write!!!

I absolutely loved LOVED this adventure and would do it all over again. The challenge was enbracing and refreshing. It was so so so so so much fun!!! I enjoyed everything right down to each mosquito bite! I plan on finding places in Austin to hike and doing other hikes in other countries to come.

We leave tomorrow for Cartegena for a couple of days then to Cali!
I hope you all get to release your inhibitions and live with your arms open!
Cassi