Cuidad Perdida

Early this morning we set out for the ruins. Up till now I've taken up the rear, too engrossed in a plant, bird, or insect to be bothered to hurry but this morning I was the first one to climb the thousand slippery steps up to the ruins. My powers of description wouldn't adequantly convey the sweaty discovery of a vast city buried in the jungle so I won't try but there were layers of stone terraces, footpaths, trails, and aqueducts honeycombed all over the mountainside.

I gave some attention to a friendly local pooch at the last camp and he followed me the whole way up the mountain. We had the place to ourselves before anyone else and it felt so magical. Soon the other hikers arrived and we all snapped some photos and took in the views. We couldn't have asked for a more gorgeous morning to watch the mist roll off the shaggy back of the mountainsides punctuated with spiky wax palms standing atop the ruins of a vast ancient city....yes, indeed. My canine friend was rolling around in the grass in joy as happy dogs like to do in perfect agreement.

Exploring the ruins up the hillside I found there are actually people who live here still. Not Tayrona or Kogi but Colombian soldiers I was surprised to find. Only recently has this area become safer to visit and a few years ago a group of tourists were kidnapped by the FARC here. Since then the military has kept a small group of soldiers stationed and they've set up camp in the ruins. I chatted with this young guy and asked if he'd like a photo. "Muy guapo ", I said....very handsome, and he grinned back at my joke.

Dense jungles, lost cities, and lots of men with guns. Welcome to Colombia folks!

Enseriamente....me encanta.