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“The Lost City” |
Amazingly, we are now well passed the half way point of the trip, so I am effectively on the way home. In one respect it seems like only yesterday we set off but, in another, Alaska feels like a lifetime ago.
Much has happened since Havana, most of it time spent talking about just how amazing Havana is, so I will begin.......
I flew out of Havana on the Monday evening, 3 September, and after an astonishingly uneventful flight to Panama, then on to Cartagena, in Colombia, I rocked up at the Hotel San Martin, in the Bocagrande area of town, at 11pm.
Next morning I went about exploring what the guide book describes as "an absolute gem" ie. the walled City of Cartagena.
I have to admit, my first impressions were underwhelming. I think I must have been suffering a hangover from Cuba because, whereas I felt I had hardly scratched the surface of Havana after 6 days, Cartagena felt "done" in well less than 6 hours. The walled city is certainly beautiful and enjoys many interesting buildings and squares but it lacked atmosphere (I was to discover later that this was probably due to it being a Monday).
I decided to leave the following morning for the 5 hour bus ride to Santa Marta, from where I could book the Lost City trek. On the taxi ride to the Bus station you pass the "other face" of Cartagena. The ghetto is huge and poverty, rife. The taxi I was in passed a girl riding a motorbike. Nothing too unusual in that but when I tell you she was carrying a 6 month old baby in her arms the story becomes rather more disturbing. To complete the picture the girl was in the process of breastfeeding the baby as she drove along. You realise you are immersed in a completely different culture.
Arriving in Santa Marta at 4.30pm I went straight to the offices of Turcol who run the 6 day trek and booked to join the group leaving at 9am the next morning (Thursday). The cost for all you adventurous types was 460,000 pesos (about £115), which included Guides, food and hammocks for sleeping.
At 9.30am next morning a group of 7 of us (we were soon to become a final group of 17) set off in a Toyota Landcruiser for the 2 hour journey to the starting point of the trek. The first hour of the journey was a fairly serene affair and then we turned off the main road and on to a track for the last leg. Then things changed. We are still in the rainy season here and the track was a sodden mass of rocks and clay. The track was vertical mountain on one side and huge drops on the other. We were thrown to the four corners of the truck on many occasions and at one point, when the driver turned to speak to one of the passengers, the offside rear wheel of the truck slipped over the edge of the precipice. Everyone held their breath as the driver hit the accelerator HARD. Below us was a 600 metre drop to oblivion. Luckily the remaining wheels found some purhase on the treacherous surface and we crawled forwards until the offending wheel caught on the edge of the cliff and catapulted us forwards. The look on the drivers face told us how close we had come to disaster. Apart from getting stuck in the mud and clay 3 more times, and having to dig, push and drag the vehicle free, the remainder of the journey was uneventful.
On arriving in the small village, from where the trek begins, we were joined by another group of 10 to start the hike. Our group consisted of 5 Germans, 3 Dutch, 2 Italians, 2 Canadians, 1 Portuguese, 1 Spanish, 1 French, 1 Colombian and li'l ole me. At this point we shared a "waiting" area with the previous group who had just completed the trek. Their general demeanor (should that have a "u"??) and exhausted faces hardly filled our group with confidence. I was shocked to find that, due to the nature of our trip, I was one of the best prepared of all the group eg. by the end of the second night people were offering to rent my head torch from me. We started walking at 2pm.
At 3pm I was knackered, shagged, goosed, buggered and on the verge of passing out. GO PAUL! In my defence................ .ok, I have no defence.
The trek starts very gently, winding its' way through a few village settlement and crossing a river. After the second crossing you start to climb, steeply. The trail is open to the elements at this point and with temperatures approaching 40 (I have forgotten the symbol I use for "degrees" so lets go with *), so that is 40* C, and me being one of lifes great perspirers, it would be fair to say I was a bit damp. The climb continues unabated for 1 1/2 hours up the wet, slippery clay hillside. About 2/3rds of the way up (I was by now wringing my sodden t-shirt out every 30 seconds or so), I began to feel faint. I realised I had by now sweat most of the minerals and salts out of my body, and was in a little bit of trouble.
Fortunately one of the group had brought some electrolyte replacement powder and after taking a 5 minute break, and guzzling a litre of the aforementioned "miracle powder", I was off again (ok, actually it was a bottle of Gatorade. There I was dying and imagining myself at the end of the World and at the top of this horrific climb was a bloody shop).
The first days trek is only about 4 hours long due to the severity of the climb. At the end of the day there is a descent equally as demanding before reaching camp. This basically consists of a covered area where the hammocks are hung, a cooking area and a couple of tables. The camp is also in a small village consisting of 2 houses and a bar (actually the "bar" was a girls bedroom with a fridge in it). Incredibly the "bar" also has a pool table. Have you ever tried to carry pool table??? How they EVER got it up there, even in pieces, is completely beyond me. There is also a stream running between the camp and the bar which made "getting the round in" a lot of fun as the evening wore on. When we arrived we all went down-stream a little to a waterfall and natural plunge pool for a swim. It was a great way to finish the day. We were lucky in that the rain arrived an hour after we arrived.
Our guides provided us with a huge quantity of a natural herb to facilitate the sleep process. It was very welcome.
The following morning we were invited to visit a local factory, which we all enjoyed immensley, and then we were off for the second days trek. Although easier, I was better prepared than the first day, it did have 2 demanding climbs and I must admit, at the end of it, I felt completely drained. The camp that night did not have electricity but we again had a fantastic bonding session by candlelight. Most of the evening remains a little "hazy" but I know we laughed...a lot!!!
The third day started early, at 7am and you are faced with a 7 hour trek with the arrival at the Lost City the ultimate goal. There are, again, numerous river crossings. Some of them require you to pull yourself across on a rope due to the strength of the fast flowing water. En route you pass local indigienous Indian villages and the Guide (Rodrigo, awesome guy), gives you insights into their history and customs. I was a tad concerned after feeling washed out the previous night but found the day increasingly easy (in fact the rest of the trek was a piece of cake).
Around lunchtime (cheese and ham sandwiches) we arrived at the river crossing from where you could see the bottom of the 1200 or so steps that ultimately lead up to the Lost City. We ate and took the opportunity to bathe in the beautiful swollen, fast flowing river and waterfalls. It was a spectacular setting.
I guess the final climb is a tough one but by this point the adrenalin is flowing and, despite struggling up the 300 or so perfectly manicured steps to Whitby Abbey, the road to the Lost City seems easy by comparison.
The view from the top of the Lost City ( which is actually a series of platforms rising over half a mile) is stunning. You stand above the jungle canopy looking down over 6 of the main platforms. Clouds sit amongst the mountains and the rain that was threatening ensured that the vista changed every minute. When the rain inevitably arrived we made for the shelter of our camp for the night, some 600 metres from the summit of the Lost City. That night we slept on mattresses on the floor, shoulder to shouler. How I longed for my hammock ( the only way to sleep).
The morning of the 4th day was beautiful sunshine and a cloudless sky. Rodrigo gave us a 3 hour tour of the "site" and we wandered around enjoying the splendour of the City. Just before lunch we made our way down the stairs, ate, swam in the river again and set off for camp (the route back is the same as the way there). Heavy thunder roared around the mountains. Rain was inevitable.
When it came, at about 1pm, it stared gently enough. After half an hour or so, and with the deafening thunder and lightening happening simultaneously, the heavens opened and, oh! my word, did it rain! It rained so hard it smudged my Beauty Flash Balm (now you know that is serious, girls!!!). I know it is hard to picture the scene but......all of the ascents/descents we had made had been rutted and gorged by the rain of many, many storms. As a result, when it came, the rain immediately filled these channels and sent torrents of water and rocks hurtling down the same paths we were trekking. At times we were wading through knee deep brown sludge up a 1 in 2 hill, for an hour. It was amazing, and absolutely fantastic. All you could do was laugh and enjoy it (and hope the next rock did not do you any serious damage). It was my favourite day!
Towards the end of the day you have to cross the river, which by now was a raging torrent and impossible to ford by hand, so the Guides had built a simple cage and pulley system 50 feet above the river to transport you over the maelstrom below.
Arriving at camp after 7 hours, drenched, filthy and utterly exhillarated, everyone was feeling a sense of real achievement. That night we had the biggest party EVER!. It was fantastic and a memory that will stay with me (what I can remember of it!?!?!), forever.
We slept in the next morning and took our time hiking to the next camp for our last night on the tour. We took the opportunity to swim at every river crossing we could. The rain from the previous day made several of the crossings rather more interesting than they were on the outward journey, but they were great fun. We partied the last night too. Our guides had introduced us to a flower we knew as, well THE FLOWER. Boiling it up with water and drinking it like tea puts a whole new perspective on the World. It certainly is a "brighter" place after a cup, or two!!!
Next morning I set out with Jean and Leyne (by now 2 very good friends) and we decided to attempt to arrive back at base first. A few people set off before us but the initial climb of well over 1 hour, and extemely steep, took its' toll on everyone and we arrived at our starting point before anyone else. Quite an achievement for the old guy.
Our return in the 4x4 was equally as exciting as the outward journey, and that night we went out as a group in Santa Marta and partied HARD for 24 hours. I really do not know how we stayed awake sooo long....or do I?????
And that was it, my Lost City adventure. It is true what they say, that the journey is equally as incredible, and enjoyable as the destination, but as a way to spend 6 days in fantastic company and as a jouney of self discovery it is hard to beat. I would recommend it wholeheartedly.
I checked my emails, the truck was still en route but the group were holed up in Cartagena. That sounded familiar so I decided to give the City another chance and..................... .......................
'Til the next time, take care one and all
Paul XXX
previous travel blog entryComments or Questions for the Author
Twickers Chick says:
You're looking rather slim on these photo's Mr Connor...! Are you eating ?
Mark & Trish says:
Great to hear from you. Look forward to receiving your news.It always makes me laugh. Now everyone in the office is reading about your adventures. Keep having a good time, Im sure you will !!!
ourandrea says:
Where are the photos? I want to know what everything looked like and theres no way i'm doing that trek! If you hadnt smoked that cigar you would have found the walk a piece of cake. Its good to hear from you. We are moving this Friday (12th) at last. You take care and i'll get you some nicotine patches ready for when you get back. lots of love, Andreaxxx PS: Bring some of that nice herbal tea back with you! x