The Lost City - part 2

A scorpion in the shower, frogs around the camp kitchen, ticks trying to suck themselves into your skin, a poisonous snake in the path, blood thirsty mosquitoes and rats racing between the bunk beds at night were all part of the Lost City adventure.

As it got slightly cooler the more we went up into the mountains, the longer it took before my t-shirt was soaking wet and sweaty. The vegetation was getting denser and the jungle got more and more beautiful. Lunch at camp 3 was delicious again and the swim in the river refreshing. This time we share the camp with a group of 10 trekkers with their guides. With them we would be the only tourists visiting La Cuidad Perdida that day.

Then we started the last bit to the City. We walked for about 15 minutes alongside the river, crossed it and there they were; the famous 1200 stone steps to the Lost City. The steps were made for very small Indian feet and therefore small and uncomfortable for our very big European feet. We went up faster than I had imagined though. Sooner than expected I saw the first of the many stone terraces.

Arriving at the Lost City gave me an incredible feeling. I was stunned by the beauty of the site and felt privileged to be up there. The wow-feeling lasted for the rest of the trip and is still with me. Besides the main terraces and the wide stairs of the queen (100 steps) there were countless paths, rings, stairs, terraces and walls to be seen. The city was as a green labyrinth. Back at camp 3 I slept like an angel and dreamed about what it must have been like to live in the city in the jungle and mountains.

At night it started to rain. Also during breakfast it rained, but just before we started our descent it stopped. Lunch was at camp 2 and after a swim in the river we continued to walk to camp 1. We all crawled into a hammock early, tired but satisfied. Again it rained at night and we had some drops the first 20 minutes of our last walk. We had been very lucky, as I understood that the group before us and the group after us, had rain while visiting the Lost City and no clear view.

I’m back in Santa Marta right now. My legs are recovering, not from muscular pain, as surprisingly I have not had any, but from the many insect bites. But despite of the itchy bites and the getting very dirty and sweaty, I would go up again any time as the Lost City adventure was such an unforgettable experience.