Teyuna - Ciudad Perdida ... amazing, challenging, but oh so worth it.

On the morning of my 51st Birthday, I woke up to Eliseo, our reliable guide, moving his flashlight through the narrow passages of our wooden bunkbeds, softly saying "buen día" in his low rusty voice at 4:40 am. Snug in my cocoon of warm blankets and mosquito netting, the idea of getting up and changing into my rain-soaked bra, pants, shirt, and shoes from the previous day's downpour didn't exactly fill me with enthusiasm, but with the Lost City just 2 kilometers away, my excitement overtook my comfort, and I said to myself, "Let's do this!" I was determined to finally lay eyes on La Ciudad Perdida.

What is Teyuna - Ciudad Perdida?

In a brief synopsis, the Lost City was the central hub of a cluster of villages occupied by the Tairona, an indigenous group from the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta who were known as skilled artisans with elaborate and stylish attire and said to be the most warlike tribe ever known in South America. They engaged in conflicts with Spanish conquistadors, ultimately forcing them to retreat to Santa Marta; however, by the mid-16th century, they vanished entirely.

The site itself was constructed around 800 AD, predating Machu Picchu by approximately 650 years, it likely accommodated a population ranging from 2,000 to 8,000 individuals and served as the political and industrial hub along the Buritaca river. Encompassing 80 acres (30 hectares), it featured 169 terraces etched into the mountainside, interconnected by paved roads, and dotted with various small circular plazas.

The Discovery

This next section reads like a movie script. There had been rumors of a lost city full of gold, but up until the mid 1970's, it was virtually unknown to the outside world. The rumors led to the area crawling with about 5,000 looters or "guaqueros" employed by various patrons searching for Tairona gold, but the son of one of them by the name of Julio César Sepulveda was the "lucky" one who actually found it. He was hunting and a bird he shot fell on an exposed stone step of a staircase. This staircase, that I know well, led to Teyuna -Ciudad Perdida. The Sepulveda family began quietly and systematically looting the town, but soon other "guaqueros" began to hear word. As happens with rival looters they sorted out who has rights with shotguns and poor Julio received the wrong end of a bullet and died. One of the patrons of the looters by the name of Jorge Baron contacted the Bogota Gold Muesum and proposed a "joint venture" where they would share the profits of the finds. The director of the museum, perplexed over this offer contacted the Colombian Institute of Anthropology, who contacted archeologists Louisa Herrera and Gilberto Cadavid. They set up an expedition to "the green hell" as the looters called it for its wet remoteness. The team consisted of Louisa and Gilberto, an architect by the name Bernardo Valderrama, another archeologist, Lucía Rojas and two guaqueros / guides who agreed to show them where it was named “El Negro” Rodríguez and Franky Rey. (Franky later on became the first foreman and site administrator for Teyuna-Ciudad Perdida Park and is known as “the grandfather”). It took them five grueling days sleeping under plastic tarps and palm leaf shelters. Lucía had to stay at homestead due to blisters covering her entire feet making it impossible to walk. (I’m familiar). But the five of them did make it and stayed three days until they ran out of food. What they found soon became Colombia’s most important archaeological find in the 20th century and an iconic archaeological park.

The Hike

Okay, now to me. What is the hike I did? Well ...I, apparently, didn't read the fine print, such as the difficulty level being an 8 out of 10. I thought, 29 miles in 4 days. I can do that. I've done that in just one day, but I did not take into account that it was straight up and down and then up and then down in mud and either so hot and humid that all my clothes were wet with sweat or raining so all my clothes and shoes were wet with rain. The elevation gain and loss came out to about 7,500 ft (2,500 m) Let's just say this is not an easy hike but worth it all. Here is a representation of what the elevations were:

The Scenery

Teyuna-Ciudad Perdida is situated in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta coastal mountains. (Yes, I'm excited to say I have hiked both Sierra Nevada Mountain ranges). They are the highest coastal mountain range in the world reaching 18,700 ft (5,700 m) just 26 miles from the coast with the tallest peak being Cristobal Colon Peak. It was declared a UNESCO Bioshpere Reserve and World Heritage Site in 1979 due to its variety of ecosystems, topographical elevations near the sea its singular beauty and historical and cultural wealth. It is also home to the Quindio wax palm, the world's tallest palm tree and the national tree of Colombia. They can grow over 131 feet tall. We walked along and even got to bath in the River Buritaca for a couple days crossing it over sketchy little bridges many times. The pictures don't do it justice. Absolutely spectacular!

The Accommodations

Our expedition fared much better than that of Louisa and Gilberto. Every night, we enjoyed the comfort of a soft mattress and a warm blanket, all while being protected from pesky mosquitoes under our nets. Our campsites featured concrete platforms complete with bathrooms, showers, a kitchen, and our beds, as well as tables and chairs for eating and meeting under a tin roof. We even had electricity. The delicious food, cooking gas, snacks, and most importantly, beer, were delivered daily by a reliable mule train. My favorite was our first camp, Vista Hermosa because of well .... the beautiful view. I experienced one of the most beautiful sunrises I have seen in my life.

The Indigenous Tribes of Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta

For the 3,0000 + indigenous peoples living on the slopes of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, sustaining the balance of the spiritual and ecological world is their sacred task. They consider themselves the guardians of the earth, while the rest of modern civilization´s abusive practices are destroying the ecosystem and by extension, the remainder of the planet.

The four indigenous groups of this region – the Kogui, Wiwa, Arhuaco, and Kankuamo – deem the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta to be the beating heart of the world. What happens here happens universally and when its rivers run dry, its ice caps melt and its endemic species disappear, and so do all the others in the world. Though the tribes speak different languages, they have nevertheless retained a common spiritual tradition. Eliseo, or Sawakin in his native language, our guide, belongs to the Kogui tribe, while Francisco, our other guide, is from the Wiwa tribe. That is the reason I chose Wiwa Tours. They are the only ones with indigenous guides. Highly recommend. During our trek, we visited the Wiwa village of Gotsezhy, where we observed the traditional circular houses constructed from stone, mud, grass, wood, and leaves, showcasing their coexistence with nature. The white attire worn by the villagers holds symbolic significance, indicating their tribe and life stage. To differentiate between young boys and girls, who both wear long hair and similar clothing, girls adorn themselves with beaded necklaces, while boys carry the mochila or shoulder bag commonly seen in Colombian shops. I could write an entire blog, or book for that matter, on the information Eliseo taught us about his culture, but I will sum up by saying that they are our big brothers who have much to teach us how to live in harmony with our, Pachemama, or Mother earth.

My People

By far, the best part of the trip was the people I was with. Our name was ... "Dónde ésta Mario?" (inside private joke). We were 12 hikers, 2 guides, 1 translator and the cook (she didn't hike with us but was very important). There were 4 couples from the Netherlands, Romania, Switzerland and Colombia and 4 single ladies from Austria, Romania, Colombia and America (that's me). We ranged in age from 20 to 56 and were equally spread out. There were at least 8 different languages spoken with only a few of us speaking only one language (me included). But the best part was that we all got along so well. We encouraged each other, helped each other, laughed, talked, and cried. It made the tough parts not so tough and the great parts even better. I don't know how I got so lucky, but this group made the hike to Teyuna-Ciudad Perdida an amazing adventure. They made my birthday so special. After climbing the grueling 1200 stone steps to reach the actual city I first got a glimpse of the amazing city and then heard the "Feliz Cumpleaños" from above, and when we were all finished with the hike, they had a cake with a firework in it. Something I will never forget.

Row 1: Eliseo (Kogui), Francisco (Wiwa), Phillipe (Colombian)

Row 2: Niklas (Switzerland), Catalina (Switzerland), Gabby (Romania)

Row 3: Mario (Colombia), Sandra (Colombia), Manuela (Austria)

Row 4: Claudiu (Romania), Silvia (Romania), Andrea (Colombia)

Row 5: Martijn (The Netherlands), Ellen (The Netherlands), Gillian (USA)

So, was it worth the blisters, sore muscles, sloshy feet and pounding heart? Yes! Yes! and Yes! Highly recommend as a way to spend your birthday. I am incredible grateful to the universe for making it happen.

*information and some pictures are totally stolen. However, the info on the history came from: Giraldo, Santiago, et al. “A Tale of Cities Lost and Found.” Popular Archeology, 5 June 2014, popular-archaeology.com/article/a-tale-of-cities-lost-and-found/.