Hoʻopuka ʻia: 22.08.2019
After 4 days in the Colombian jungle, we arrived safely and healthy at the hostel :)
We had a super cool group, a lot of fun, and the muscle soreness of our lives :D
But let's start from the beginning... So we were picked up in the morning at the hostel because we wanted to do a 4-day trek to Ciudad Perdida, the lost city in the jungle. Of course, you inform yourself on the internet about the tour and it says that it is manageable. At this point, we didn't know yet that we would be on the brink of death from a heart attack several times :D well, we were picked up and met our group and then arrived in El Mamey after a 2-hour drive. We had a delicious lunch there (our last meal) and then the trek began for us 11 Monos (that means monkeys in Spanish :D). On the first day, we hiked for 4 hours. Sounds really good and exactly right... but unfortunately, we underestimated the altitude difference that we had to overcome and so the entire trek turned into a detoxing cure because Laura and I must have changed our entire body water about 8 times :D we sweated so much that our shirts were soaked and yeah, with an air humidity of almost 100 percent, they just didn't dry anymore... So if you're up for a great detoxing cure, you should do this trek :D
It is important to bring at least 4 shirts, as the combination of sweat, rain, humidity, sunscreen, and insect repellent creates a stinking, non-drying liquid that creates so much friction on your skin that you end up looking like you're going through puberty... on your butt🙈
But back to the interesting stuff :D... Day 2 and 4 turned out to be the worst because we walked a total of 7 hours each day, but you have to say that it was really worth it, as you will see in the pictures :) On day 3, we started towards Ciudad Perdida... For this, we had to cross a river with a strong current, which everyone survived without any injuries, and then the ascent with the 1800 steps to the city began :) it was very exhausting, but when we reached the top, we had an amazing view that made us forget the effort right away :) The city itself consisted only of the stone slabs on which the houses of the indigenous people used to stand. But truly astonishing and beautiful in the middle of the jungle!
All in all, a really cool trek, but also the most exhausting thing we have ever done... I think we both have exceeded our limits :) The evenings in the camps were also nice, where we could swim in the river and chat with everyone while having dinner before falling dead into bed :)
Our guides (Antonio and Isidro) were great, the food was super delicious, and the weather was amazing (I had a sunburn before and my skin started peeling, and now my new baby skin has a little sunburn again :D)
We are super happy and proud that we made it because our hearts were beating so fast and heavily at times that we thought we were going to die :D but we weren't the only ones... our new friend Paul from Canada felt the same way :D that's why the three of us almost died together all the time :D and I cursed a lot... you know me and can imagine how I was in between :D
Next, we're going to Tayrona National Park and then it's time to relax on the beach :)
Until then, hasta pronto
Laura and Chrissie