Where is it? Where is it? Yeah, we've found it..(part 2 of 2)
The fourth
day was the day of the thousands steps of stairs. Well 1'200 upwards
to be exact, and for some reason, probably the same amount going back
down ;) Although steps might be a bit of a nice expression for the
differently cut pieces of stone that make up these stairs.
However, considering when these stairs were constructed and the means of constructing all the stone structures in the Lost City (breaking stones down by the river and carrying them up the whole way), it is really quite awe-striking. The whole place is!!
All those stones sticking up from the middle of the lush vegetation, with some misty feeling to the whole place even though the sun was actually shining from a clear blue sky. Beautiful! Magical! And the mystery of the place was not made any smaller when we suddenly realised that some of the green shapes around us was actually army soldiers.
They are
posted there for the protection of tourists ever since the last
kidnapping took place at the Ciudad Perdida in 2003. But the feeling
of suddenly being surrounded by camouflaged soldiers in a country
with a history like Colombia's, really was quite a experience.
The soldiers turned out to be very nice and friendly though, and we even ended up asking them to take a picture with them and got the very common reply 'claro'!
However, considering when these stairs were constructed and the means of constructing all the stone structures in the Lost City (breaking stones down by the river and carrying them up the whole way), it is really quite awe-striking. The whole place is!!
All those stones sticking up from the middle of the lush vegetation, with some misty feeling to the whole place even though the sun was actually shining from a clear blue sky. Beautiful! Magical! And the mystery of the place was not made any smaller when we suddenly realised that some of the green shapes around us was actually army soldiers.
The soldiers turned out to be very nice and friendly though, and we even ended up asking them to take a picture with them and got the very common reply 'claro'!
The time
at the Ciudad Perdida was in itself worth the whole trek there.
However, the trek was also an amazing experience in itself. And after
a few hours walking around the now-found-city, we started our way
back down.
Walking a bit more per day now as we did the return path in a day and a half instead of the three going up. Luckily we had mostly good weather, with only an hour of rain at the end of day four and none at all on day five.
Luckily in some ways, although hiking in 30° with the sun hitting down on us for 7h, soon started to take its toll and I got really grumpy for a while as a headache started up and refused to let go for several hours until I managed to immerse myself in the river during one of the last crossings of the hike.
(poisonous snake on the path! killed.)
Walking a bit more per day now as we did the return path in a day and a half instead of the three going up. Luckily we had mostly good weather, with only an hour of rain at the end of day four and none at all on day five.
Luckily in some ways, although hiking in 30° with the sun hitting down on us for 7h, soon started to take its toll and I got really grumpy for a while as a headache started up and refused to let go for several hours until I managed to immerse myself in the river during one of the last crossings of the hike.
The return
back by the Jeep was as crazy as the first time around. And at one
point we thought that perhaps we would have to walk down as the car
was stuck in some mud.
But we made it back with big smiles, swollen feet, around 50 bites each, and loads and loads of beautiful pictures. The next day was spent being lazy, picking coconuts from a tree and drinking their water, and just lying on the beautiful beach of Los Angeles, slowly trying to recuperate before heading on to Bogota.
(two people riding in the front of our jeep to make extra grip on the muddy paths)
But we made it back with big smiles, swollen feet, around 50 bites each, and loads and loads of beautiful pictures. The next day was spent being lazy, picking coconuts from a tree and drinking their water, and just lying on the beautiful beach of Los Angeles, slowly trying to recuperate before heading on to Bogota.
(Nuno picked 3 coconuts from the trees)
(after 30 minutes digging with a swiss army knife we managed to drink the refreshing water)
(there was also a wedding on the beach the grandmother was carried on special transport)
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