I completed a three night, four day trek in Northern Colombia to the Lost City or "Cuidad Perdida". I completed the trek with about fifteen other people. My fellow trekkers were from the US, England, Germany, Holland, Ireland, Italy, 
Canada, Spain, and Australia. We were accompanied by three Colombian guides, the wife of one of the guides, and one cook. This team
arranged our sleeping arrangements, safety, and meals. I had the choice of a three night, four
night, or five night trek, and I chose the three night trek. Although it was challenging, I am glad that I chose that route.The start of the trek is located
approximately two hours from Santa Marta, the
city I ventured to after Cartagena. Among many other things, I crossed over about thirty rivers, went on a cable car across a raging river, and lost and found a shoe in the mud.
After having a welcoming lunch and
becoming acquianted with my fellow travelers, we began the trek. Among the first thirty minutes, we had already crossed two rivers and 
the rain had already started. I changed my shoes for the first couple of river crossings, but after the rain started and the rivers didn't, I just wore my trusty Merrells right through the rivers.
We arrived to the first camp at about 5 in the afternoon. Here we all took a welcome bath in a water hole, and rested for the evening. We all slept in hammocks that were covered by mosquito nets; the Lost City trail is notorious for bug bites. We had a satisfying meal prepared by our chef and all slept tight in our hammocks.
We voted and decided to hike to the third camp
on the second day. This decision gave us more time
to visit the Lost City ruins on the third day. We stopped for lunch on the second day in the second camp. I, of course, was the only one to see a snake.
We also passed by an indigenous community. The indigenous in this area of Colombia are called the Tayrona. I do not have a picture of a Tayronan person because I don't like taking pictures of people, but I do have pictures of their homes. The boys and girls both wear long white shirts or dresses until they are 15 and both have long hair. The only way to distinguish the two
as children is that the boys where a book bag made from a local plant.
Again, it rained on the second day from around 1 to 4, but I didn't mind because it took way the heat and bugs which could have easily made the trek unbearable.
One of my favorite parts of the trek was the butterflies. I saw more varieties of butterflies on the trek
than I have ever seen in a butterfly farm.
We slept in the third camp, this time in beds. We had a hearty dinner and slept soundly. The third camp was located thirty minutes from the ruins, so we didn't have far to travel the following morning. I spent the night conversing with two Italians and one Spaniard.
We ate breakfast early, crossed another river, climbed about 2,000 stairs, and arrived at the
ruins. Little did we know that the president of Colombia was visiting the ruins the following day, so the presence of soldiers and police at the ruins were overwhelming. It is always shocking for me to see a soldier walking around with an
AK-47, and I'm American. So I can only imagine how strange it is for a European to see soldiers with these weapons
walking around the streets. Gun laws in most, if not all, European countries are much stricter than in the US. In England, most of the police do not carry guns. But, that's another story.
We arrived to the ruins and walked around the structures. We were lucky enough to have a free presentation, in perfect American English, from the world expert on the Lost City. The circles that you see were each plots of land for
homes. It is believed that the ruins were built somewhere in the 1200s. He gave us the history of the ruins and told us that the Lost City will not be the next Macchu Picchu. He stressed the fact that the trek, and an expensive helicopter ride, will continue to be the only ways for people
to see the ruins. And, finally, that there are many other ruins such as the LC close to the site. These ruins are very hard to find and the paths to these places are hid by hundreds of years of brush.
After the hike, we all jumped a waterhole. When we got there, about five guys were swimming there. I thought that they were just regular local guys swimming until I saw the AK-47s sitting on a rock, then I realized they were soldiers. The irony of the situation... Anyways, the water was soooo cold. I jumped in for ten minutes and then got out!
We made our way back to camp three on the third day and ate a quick lunch. We then walked
quickly through a DOWNPOUR and crossed a river over a cable car. We arrived to camp two tired, soaking wet, but very happy. The last forty minutes of the day were the best, and we were all exuberant from the thrill of crossing the cable car and almost falling into a rushing river.
Our last night we slept in beds. During the middle of the night one guy slept walked and another guy screamed - all in a matter of three minutes - Needless to say, there was a lot of unfamiliar noise in our campsite. It was a very funny situation... The next morning! At the time, we were all scared and thought that the FARC, a Colombian militia who kidnapped Lost City Trekkers in 2003, was attacking our campsite. Well, I may have been the only one who thought this, but we all woke up and were all a little scared.
The final day, we trekked for about five hours and ended where we began. Overall, it was a fulfilling experience. Besides dealing with wet clothes, walking through rivers, loosing and finding my shoe in the mud, getting rained on everyday, and battling with my fear of heights, I really enjoyed the trek!
Lessons Learned: the green Gap rain jacket from year 2000 is not sufficient for the rain forest, a sarong is not a towel, always bring feminine hygiene products on long hikes, and don't lose your headlamp in
the jungle! I lost at least four things on this hike. The lack of structure in my life is causing me to lose everything. It's like 2002 all over again! This was honestly my first backpacking trip. Yes, I lived in Boone for seven years and never took a backpacking trip. I will, however, be camping and backpacking a lot when I return home.
Speaking of North Carolinians, I have not met one on the road here. I have heard that there are a lot of us traveling around here, but I still haven't met one... We keep missing each other. It would have been nice to meet someone from
home (NC) on the trip, but I have met some refreshingly delightful Americans from Colorado, Texas, Maine, Minnesota, California, and many other states.... So, its been all good!
I'm currently in Salento, Colombia right now chillin' out! I am in the best hostel I have ever
stayed in - in my life. People here are on average,
28, my age, and we eat meals together.
Yesterday, I went on a hike through a Wax Palm valley with a group of very cool people.
I have also temporarily frozen my Facebook account. I was spending too much time on Facebook, and I decided I want to spend the next week and a half in Colombia and not in the lives of other people on Facebook. It is a great technology, but again, like all technologies, it needs to be used productively, so I had to take a break from it. I am obviously, still writing on my blog.... I am also teaching yoga classes to people staying in the hostel, which is marvelous. I'll be in NC in a week and a half... I'm excited about going home, but I'm loving Colombia.
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