Earlier this week, with enormous grit, I completed a 4-day trek to La Ciudad Perdida (the Lost City) on the Northern Caribbean Coast of Colombia. It covers around 28 miles through jungle, rivers, mud pits, and Limestone pathways to the Lost City. The Lost City was inhabitated by the Tayrona Tribe from 700 to 1100 AD, and it's so remote that trekking there is a serious pilgrimage. I'll break up the sharing of adventure into 2 pieces--getting there and being there.
From the beginning of the trek, the Sierra Nevada Mountains jigsawed against jungle.
We started the hike Monday afternoon and moved through valleys, streams, and jungle day-after-day staying in camps at night. The mosquitos were among the most difficult I've experiences in Latin America.
The most amazing part of the trek were the only people around were t indigenous communities living in the area. It was a fascinating way to connect two very different worlds. Based on our guides, it is estimated that around 120,000 indigenous people live in the Sierra Nevada Range (Kogui, Wiwa, Arhuaco are three of the groups). They believe the two highest peaks in the Sierra (Peak Colón and Peak Bolívar) are both the beginning of the world and the center of the spiritual universe. You can see two poles on the top of their huts which mimic these peaks and represent spiritual antennas.
In Spanish, the informal name for this plant is called "Monedero", which refers to the tiny shape of the leaves, that resemble coins from a coin purse.
Next week we continue with our arrival at the Lost City!