Getting Ready
Meditation comes in different shapes… For me, it is through hiking in the nature.
The unforgettable moment of solitude I found at the glacier lake in Patagonia during Torres del Paine W Trek in Chile has always been cherished. During the trip research on Colombia, I came across to “La Ciudad Perdida (The Lost City). Well, more likely Google AI had figured out relevant topics and brought it up to my search list. The fact that this city was built 650 years prior to that famous Machu Pichu in Peru was impressive. But the more thrilling part was the thought of walking through the dense forest for four days! Total trek is about 44 Km (28 miles). I yearned so earnestly for this four days trekking to disconnect me from the world, but to re-discover and re-charge myself that has been burned out.
In the excitement & nervousness for the trip, I found myself at the campsite without any trekking gears I had prepared for, but woke up to realize it was only a dream!!
After making my first stop in Medellin for three days, I flew to Santa Marta the day before the trekking. Picked up my luggage, I took a cab from the airport and went to the old town. Driving through the winding roads, I saw the white buildings and people crossing, inhaled salty scent from the Caribbean sea and felt tropical breeze on my face. All of these were reminiscent of my past time living in Panama and working in the Caribbean islands.
After all the yearning and determination, I was having second thoughts on the eve of the trekking. And it was all because of this potential encounter with a snake in the jungle! Silly, yet it was a bit daunting to me at that moment. A quick texting message from a friend erased this thought. Gracias a Dios, no lo vi en el camino!
Day 1, Putting the first step on the trail
There are six agencies in Santa Marta that organize this almost daily trekking group to the lost city. Baquianos was the agency I went with. In the morning of the first day, they picked me up from the hotel and took me and the others to their office while finalizing everyone’s entry documents.
After we left the office, the driver picked up three guys on the road then two more joined us at the lost city ticket office.
We were total of 14 people: guide-Carlos, chef-Carlito, interpreter-Andrea, five Austrians, two Germans, two Colombians, one Scottish and myself-Korean. The beauty of traveling is meeting new people in the most natural and admiring way. We come as strangers, but soon we build the comradeship which sometimes turn into a lifetime friendship. I thought of faces of my dear friends from the past trips.
After a lunch that was prepared at a local restaurant, we all put our backpacks and started walking the trail. The first few miles on slightly inclined hills felt like my usual weekend hiking in California. Back at home, I hiked carrying my twelve years old dog, Alex on a backpack. Must have been a good training for this, I was thinking! The green landscape in every step was indescribable. The vibrant color of green in the jungle simply can not be labeled. A subtle different shade is forming depending on time of day and sunlight.
The trail became steeper and harder. Soon these mules were passing us, transporting the foods and other necessities for our four days’ consumption. The mules and horses are invaluable to the locals and the trekking group. Yet… I felt bad watching this poor mule sweating to carry the heavy sacks and boxes.
To be continued…..
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