Ciudad Perdida, part 2

THE TRAIL (cont'd)

We have two guides and two cooks on the trek with us. They don't speak English but we have several Spanish speaking people on the tour who are happy to translate for us. And Jens understands most of what they say as well. The guides are taking good care of us and make sure we have regular stops where they serve freshly cut pineapple, oranges, watermelon and sometimes chocolate cookies. We also have the chance to stop each day for a swim in the cool mountain stream. It feels so good to soak our hot and tired feet in the fresh running water.

As we get deeper into the mountains the path becomes narrower and the vegetation more dense. Every now and then we come into a valley and pass by a Kogi farm. They keep pigs, chickens and cows. The children watch us walk by and ask for sweets.

We see the banana trees, avacado trees and mango trees growing wild and the occasional smell of cilantro. The sound of rivers on either side of us as we trek along a ridge. Waterfalls, leaf cutter ants crossing the path, frogs and toads, the sounds of hundreds of different birds, beautiful butterflies flitting about and surprisingly few mosquitos. All of this helps to keep our mind off the fact that we are sweating and tired. On the third day we are told the path is uphill for one hour, then downhill for one hour, and about an hour of crossing streams and pastures before we get to camp for a swim. The good news is that we will sleep in beds and we now know the food will be delicious. But we have left the luxury if electricity behind the day before so it will be dinner by candle light and no cold beer.

Next ... Arriving to Ciudad Perdida