Obtaining Colombia’s Lost City

A trek into the jungle in search of Colombia’s “Lost City.”

Our group grabs the packs from the top of the Jeep’s rusty roof ahead of we set off for Ciudad Perdida, or Colombia’s Lost City. Our guide, Tunyi, decides to start the six-day trek by telling us about eight tourists who were kidnapped on September 15^th, 2003, by the Nationwide Liberation Army (ELN) on the quite trail we were hiking. “Three months they held them captive,” he tells us. “They had been lucky to be launched.” The 3 Australians in our group locate this humorous although the two boisterous Russians turn out to be quiet and pensive following I translate this bit of info for them. Perhaps Tunyi ought to have commenced by pointing out the names of some native fauna.

Right after the kidnapping incident, tourist treks to the city stopped until eventually 2005. However an air of danger nevertheless lurks on the forbidding trail, Colombia’s army now patrols the path, and in accordance to our guide, the quantity of robberies have taken a dive. Inside the to start with hour we pass a modest group of soldiers wielding semi-automatic weapons. The Russians seem to be particularly agitated by the troops, and they request in broken English that I inquire our manual in Spanish their goal.

We venture into Colombia’s Sierra Nevada mountain array along narrow and seemingly not possible trails in saturated air. Right after a few hrs we have crossed the similar river a dozen times as it snakes along our tricky path.

The jungle canopy offers no relief from the ruthless heat. I am shocked at the volume of sweat pouring from my skin. I understand way as well late that I’ve overpacked by about thirty lbs. My 80-liter pack dwarfs every person else’s diminutive daypacks. Dave Foster Wallace’s 1100-webpage novel, Infinite Jest, ranks at the top of my bad packing choices. Right after a single notably grueling stretch of the trail, I take into consideration ditching the book.

The trail is exhausting, but it is the exhaustion we have paid for. We came to truly feel our shoulders ache, our feet blister, and our sweat to pour from our bodies. We came for that little voice in our head that says, “you can do it,” to a skeptical physique. In contrast to the less strenuous trek to Machu Picchu, there is no bus choice right here. Barring helicopters, the only way to get to The Lost City is along an ancient trail the moment applied by Tayrona Indians.

Teyuna, as the Tayrona originally named the city, was “found” in 1972 by treasure hunters. At the time, its location was currently widely recognized to tribes living in the place. Founded possibly as far back as 800 A.D., it is believed that at its peak it was house to about 10,000 Tayrona. Contrary to several of the magnificent ruins dotting Latin America, The Misplaced City is not just a story of what when was, but in lots of methods the story of what nonetheless is. Along the way, our trail prospects us by means of little villages inhabited by the Kogis, the blood descendants of the city’s founders. They are nevertheless living in the identical widely romantic way of their ancestors.

As cautious outsiders, we observe the inhabitants of these villages as they herd their small children within the huts when we pass, commanding them in 1 of the a hundred dialects of their nonetheless-intact ancient language — a language they are reluctant to share with the keen anthropologists who come to review their way of life.

Right after eight hours, we reach the spot wherever we will be investing our initially night, beneath a thatch roof, hanging in hammocks. Our guides serve us a divine dinner of chicken, rice and fried plantains. But my hunger is this kind of that substantial-college cafeteria foods would have tasted as good.

The Russians, who at first were anxious that they may not be ready to fall asleep in a hammock, speedily obtain out that soon after a day of trekking on such trails, rest is inevitable and intensely restful.

* * *

Both the 2nd day is less complicated than the first, or my entire body simply has provided up on feeling pain. I understand from our guidebook that all the villages along the way are component of one tribe, and that once a 12 months in February they have a month of celebration in which they all meet to drink fermented fruit juices and perform several rituals.

At a single point our manual stops and demonstrates me a coca plant. It is really hard to believe all the difficulties this very little leaf has brought on the world. He factors off into the jungle to the place he says he knows of a cocaine factory many kilometers off the trail. Unite States drug aerial fumigation is banned in this area, producing it an best spot for this kind of unlawful actions. He tells me that on the way back, for 20 dollars, he knows another person in the factory who will give me a tour. Apparently even the drug organization desires tourism bucks these days.

When we pass through a further village, he tells me that a Tayrona bride will shell out her wedding night with the chief prior to obtaining relations with her husband so that she can be taught how to enjoy.  It sounds like a fantastic gig. I request jokingly how I can grow to be a Tayrona chief, only to be solemnly informed that due to the fact I am a gringo, I would never be permitted into the tribe.

* * *

In the afternoon on the third day, we cross the river for the last time and see moss covered stone steps tucked away beneath the foliage. These are the starting of a stairway of over 1,200 steep actions major straight up the mountain to The Misplaced City. Just before my foot falls on the first phase, a Kogi, dressed in his regular white garb, emerges from the measures and ignores me as he disappears into the jungle. I seem at the prints his bare feet have left in the mud. My heart jumps and I see which means spanning a thousands many years in individuals footprints.

With my pack weighing me down on the slippery stairs, I pretty much fall quite a few instances, a blunder that could have disastrous consequences in this remote area. The stairs are by far the most tough obstacle nonetheless. Aching legs are becoming commanded up narrow stairs cutting into the steep mountainside. My cardiovascular system demands a rest, but I ignore its plea. This has develop into my Mecca, and I will make it up in 1 uninterrupted jaunt.

Heaving, I reach the prime. Surrounded by ancient stonewalls, I have attained the sky — the ancient stomping grounds of the Tayrona. A waterfall can be viewed on an adjacent mountainside flowing, it would seem, from the clouds. With my mind’s support, I see much additional than stones and a gorgeous view. I consider solutions to issues we may well by no means know.

In which did the inhabitants of the city go? Unlike quite a few other ancient cities, the Spanish in no way came here. As the conquistadors settled around the Caribbean coast, the men and women right here simply just left and had been under no circumstances heard from once more. Some speculate that the direct descendants of the city’s inhabitants are nevertheless thriving somewhere in a distant, undiscovered jungle haven.

How the city was developed is a different mystery. From samples of the rocks, archeologists have concluded that some kind of acid was utilized to reduce completely shaped blocks. Because of a probable industrial worth, jungle plants have been collected in throngs to uncover the acid, but it, like the city’s inhabitants, appears to have disappeared into the jungle forever.

Our group spends the night in hammocks atop the city in quiet contemplation. We are alone to pass the evening here in the city — a thing unheard of in comparable sites across Latin America. As evening insects start off filling the air with their sound, our conversations wane and then end. The ancient city seems to have provided everyone a whole lot to believe about. For all of us, it is a great deal a lot more than stacked stones on a mountainside. It is a transient glimpse of a former planet that in a compact way looks to dwell again tonight.

* * *

What to bring:

A superior pair of sneakers, various pairs of socks, lengthy pants, shorts, a t-shirt, a jacket or sweater, and a water bottle. The guides will carry meals for you and the river water is risk-free to drink. Even if it does not rain, expect your perspiration to soak your garments inside minutes. Hammocks are provided for you, but if you are sensitive to the cold, you will want to carry a blanket or sleeping bag.

How to get there:

Going without the need of a guidebook to the city is strictly prohibited, and you will have to guide a tour with 1 of the two businesses authorized to deliver groups: Turcol Travel Agency or Sierra Excursions. Both have offices in Santa Marta and Sierra Excursions has a 2nd office in the dive town of Taganga. For the 6 day guided trek, each firms charge about $240.

 

In which to guide a tour:

Sierra Excursions is more sensitive to making the Trek eco-friendly and respecting the regional tribes along the way. In Taganga, Colombia: Calle 17 1-80. In Santa Marta, Colombia: Calle 22 16-61.

All tours are performed in Spanish.

Get hold of details:

Sierra Excursions

Phone: 5-421-9401 / 317-417-1797

E-mail: info@sierratours-trekking.com

Internet site: www.sierratours-trekking.com

By Luke Armstrong

About the Author

Luke Maguire Armstrong lives in Guatemala directing the humanitarian support organization, Nuestros Ahijados. His guide of poetry, iPoems for the Dolphins to Click Residence About (offered for sale on Amazon.com) is specially appreciated by men and women who “don’t read poetry.” (@lukespartacus)