Warning and day 1
Trip Start
Jun 21, 2009
1
8
15
Trip End
Jul 17, 2009
Cuidad Perdida, Magdalena, Colombia
Monday, June 29, 2009
The tour company (Sierra Tours) gave me limited info on the finer details of what to take and hadnīt mentioned that the 1 less day meant cramming the last 2 days into 1. So apart from feeling underinformed and a little disappointed that the guides only spoke Spanish.... overall it was an amazing experience.... but not one I would want to repeat!
If you are planning to attempt Colombiaīs "Machu Pichu", do not underestimate the size of this challenge. You should be warned that it is not a walk in the park but a seriously difficult hike/climb/scramble across rough terrain and endless mud! That coupled with the humidity, heat and pain involved should be carefully considered at the very least, in preparation, before you set foot on this trek
01 Very picturesque...
. The next couple of entries is my day by day encounter, which I think is a necessary read to ensure you know what to expect because as most of us know by now, the Colombia Lonely Planet was written by those that have never even been there (wtf!) .... and the description of Cuidad Perdida in the book is far from reality I can assure you...
Day 1
We had a great mix of nationalities in our group of 10, 4 from the US (although 3 originally from Colombia), 2 girls from Switzerland, 2 Dutch guys, a German girl and myself.
The start of the hike begins in Mamey which is a couple of hours drive in a jeep from Santa Marta. On the way we were flagged down by a young boy waving a length of plastic hose - turns out to be a petrol station. After a short stop for a couple of drums to be syphoned into the vehicle we then had to stop at the military check point for our bags to be searched.
The boys were virtually waved through whilst the soldiers took great joy in man handling the entire contents of the girls bags - I think they just wanted to play with our knickers!? lol
Finally after stocking up on sandwiches at the start of the trail, we set off
02 river crossing
. The first half hour is fairly straightforward and lures you into a false sense of security.... then you are faced with the first of a number of steep ascents... this one is up a sand bank for an hour or so, which in 30+ degree heat is extremely hard going! After that the sand changes to clay, which soon changes to mud. Crossing the river a couple of times you arrive at the first camp to have a well earnt dip in the river before a hearty meal cooked on an open fire and retiring to your hammock to recover.
Iīve slept the night in many a hammock before but this was the first time under a mosquito net and also in a sleeping bag! Itīs not easy to wriggle around avoiding letting the bugs inside the net and balance the hammock so that you donīt do one of those cartoon/comedy rolls and get all tangled up! Once youīre in itīs fine, but make sure you donīt need to get out in a hurry in total darkness as that would probably get messy :S ?!
I didnīt sleep much due to someones (?) snoring and the fact I couldnīt extract myself from my cocoon to rescue my ear plugs from my bag.... then up at dawn to face day 2.
Comments
Somebody snoring
No guilty on this occasion. Sounds great Jade, hope you are still enjoying it, a little behind on the logs, but catching up.