Ciudad Perdida

While preparing for our trip to Colombia I came across an article on Ciudad Perdida but thought it was not feasible to hike there as we already had planned to climb to Machu Pichu. But as our trip developed we decided to give it a go. Ciudad Perdida means lost city. It clearly is not the name given to it by the indigenous population.

Trip starts from Santa Marta, an area in north east Colombia.  We began, first by highway travel of about 11/2 hours then 1/2 hour or so up a 4 wheel drive road to a place called Machete.  Ciudad Perdida was built around 500 to 700 AD. We were told a little history of the people and the area but they had no written language and any biological building materials have long disappeared.

It was the Tayrona capital and at its height 2000 people lived in the city. They traded with the Spaniards in the 1500s especially for their gold and other precious metal objects. The Spaniards were not happy with what the indigenous people had traded the Spaniards and came back seeking vengeance. They raped and pillaged and the indigenous people disappeared into the jungle as they avoided the Spaniards. The people were pacifist in nature and avoided conflict.  It became difficult to determine what happened partly because we were being told facts through an interpreter as well as dealing with a population with no written history. What is known is the city remained lost to the rest of the world until 1975 when it was rediscovered by tomb raiders.

So what we saw up in this wonderful jungle were stone objects along with about 200 stone terraces which originally were the foundations for the homes. And the jungle is fantastic. The final mountain climb to Perdida is up 1350 steep steps a number I accept as I certainly did not count them. Enough of the history of the area if you are interested, look it up on line. We were told that another lost city further up in the hills exists which is open to a very few scientists and has not been excavated.

To get to Perdida  is not a walk in the park. Everyone was tired at the end of each day and some of us were more tired than others. After arriving at Machete we had lunch and started our first day of hiking. It was the steepest hiking trail we had to deal with on the hike. Of the approximate 4 hours of hiking, 3 of the hours were uphill.  The path consisted of a hike in 4 to 6 inches of talcum powder, a path worn away by years of erosion where we were unable see over the sides for most of the uphill part of the hike. The path was about 8 feet below the surrounding hillside.

We were up early the next morning for an arduous 8 hour hike to the base of the mountain just below where Perdida is located. On the third day of hiking, we were on the trail before 6 am to climb to the site. And what a site it was. In the jungle high in the mountains;  tree covered mountains all around above and below us. What a wonderful experience. As much as I was hurting and hurt throughout the trip I would not have missed going to Perdida for anything.

Before I tell you what happened to me I want to describe our group. It consisted of 11 hikers, 1 guide and 2 camp staff.  We were fed very well and our needs were well looked after. Everything we consumed or needed was packed in by mule, horse or backpack. Permanent campsites were set up where we stayed. The first campsite had hydro power and there was no power anywhere else except possibly by generator.

The group was aged mostly in their 20s and 30s with one person being 41, Wendy in her 50s and me at 72. All were very tired at the end of each day. We had 2 young doctors from Switzerland. These young men,  Samuel and Mark were fabulous and any person who is fortunate enough to be their patients is very lucky. There was another Swiss couple Mats and Natasha along with 3 Americans one of whom had emigrated to the US from Colombia when he was 14.  His name was Arturo. The other 2 were young men from North Carolina. Debra was a woman from Mallorca along with a young Colombian (Jr.) who assisted with interpreting from time to time. Our guide, Sixtos, was a Spanish speaking Colombian with little command of English. But then again why would he be expected to speak English?  Over our journey we all bonded so closely and had a relationship that I will always look back upon fondly.

So what happened to me? I don't want to sound self centered but I'm the one that got beat up. After the hard 1st day and every other hard day I got more tired and started stumbling as I went along the trail. My pack was not heavy but everything added to my difficulty. By the end of the second day one of my fellow hikers, one of the Swiss doctors,  Samuel, took over control of my pack and wouldn't give it back until after the third day when he along with the other hikers left us behind to hike out in four days instead of the five days we chose to hike.

Coming off the mountain from Perdida I stumbled and fell twice; just the odd little bump but nothing serious. I noted on this hike something that I suspected before and now was certain about, when hiking I lean to the left and the more tired, the more exhausted I become, the more pronounced the lean becomes. Not 45 degrees but maybe 60.

I also stumble more. I usually stumble a bit when I walk or hike but with exhaustion it becomes excessive and can be dangerous. On the third day without a pack but feeling the effects of the hike,  I fell in a place one would not pick to fall. It was on a ledge beside a river bed. I say the ledge was about 25 feet above the river bed and Wendy says it was 200 feet above. It matters not. The river was more or less dry and if by chance I went over the side I would have landed upon some large boulders likely resulting in my death. Luckily only half of me, my bottom half went off the ledge and Wendy, Mat,  Natasha and our guide were there to stop me from getting up or moving in such a manner that would result in a fall to my certain death. Wendy commanded me to not move and I didn't. I think I was holding  a small bush and although I was able to move I did so slowly.

I was very upset by this and the other problems I had in our hike and at dinner I apologized to my fellow travellers as I felt, and still do,  that I put them at risk to some extent and they should not have to look after me. They refused to accept that I, in any way, had placed them in danger. Mats had told me that when I fell he was scared, I don't know if he meant scared for me or for all of us because of the predicament we were facing.

In any event we got out of the mountains, me stumbling along, but without further mishap except I still am not completely pain free when I walk. I need to assess my level of fitness and the level of physical difficulty associated with aging. If I am at a level of fitness that cannot get better then I have to accept that I will stumble around in the mountains and could cause serious harm to me or others. I cannot put others at risk and would likely have to modify what I do. From a perspective of the difficulty of the trail it was not a difficult trail to hike, although arduous, it was more about me and my balance. So when we get back from scuba diving in the Galapagos next week and taking on Machu Pichu in April I'll have to hear what the doctor has to say about what I should be doing and then decide what I can do.






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