Ciudad Perdida, Colombia

On our wish list of places to visit in Colombia was Ciudad Perdida (Lost City) located on one of the slopes of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountain range, near the coastal city of Santa Marta. Ciudad Perdida is a ruined city also known as Teyuna. In the Chibcha language of the Indians, the name roughly means "origin of the people of the earth". Another, less exotic, name for the site is Buritaca-200 according to the cataloging of archaeological sites in the area. This was simply the 200th in the sequence of finds.

The city is inaccessible at an altitude of 1,300 m and the only way to get there is by walking or flying by helicopter (!). Guided tours are the only option as it is forbidden to visit the site on your own. The site is located in a national park that overlaps with a reserve inhabited by various indigenous groups. There are a handful of different guide-organizers you can book and they collaborate with the Colombian Institute of Anthropology and History so that the treks in the area can be done in a responsible way, for people and the environment. Everyone has committed to cooperate with and contribute to the local population and many residents also make their income from organizing the service around the hikes such as transporting and arranging food and equipment to the various camps along the hiking trail as well as selling local products. The arrangement also means that the number of visitors is limited to a manageable level. We booked a four-day trek to Ciudad Perdida with Teyona Tours who only work with guides who live or come from the area. Here we must mention that we received incredibly good information in advance about what to expect from the hike, what to pack in the backpack and how to prepare. I was thrilled that my colorful 80's backpack that had been in my possession since an interrail trip in 1988 and that I smuggled onto Anastacia was finally put to use! 😜

Living on a sailboat means physical work and we usually try to keep our bodies going with some exercises to cope with the sailing. However, our condition is not the best. To remedy this, we tried to walk about 10 km in 35 degree heat every other day for a week, to get a little better heart activity and get our knees used to a little tougher movements. In retrospect, we can state that we should have trained more! 😊

To get to Santa Marta, we first took a taxi to Barranquilla. We shared the route with a family from Canada who had their sailboat next to ours. From Barranquilla we took a bus to Santa Marta. Once there, we thought of taking an Uber to the hotel we booked. Then it turned out that Uber is not in use in Santa Marta but in many other cities in Colombia. However, there were plenty of bright yellow taxis and we were soon asked by a taxi driver where we wanted to go. We pointed out our hotel on Google Maps and calculated that it would be a journey of about 15 minutes. The driver quoted his price as 25,000 COP and we thought that must be reasonable. We reacted that the car looked shabby but the taxi permit and fare meter looked OK so we jumped into the taxi and the driver started driving. Soon he asked to see the map again and seemed unsure of the way. We pointed and showed but he still managed to drive the wrong way. When we noticed that he was starting to drive us back towards Barranquilla instead of the central parts of Santa Marta, we asked him to turn around. By then the car had begun to cough worryingly and soon the engine died. Stressed, the driver got out and opened the hood, made a few new starting attempts, drove another 10 meters and then the car stopped again - for good. Then we thought that was enough and asked to leave. The poor driver seemed a little distraught, apologized and managed to get another taxi for us. To the new driver, in a taxi that also looked very shabby, he then said that we would pay 18,000 COP. Nice to haggle on the price for us, we thought. We had to leave him and the car at the side of the road and packed ourselves and backpacks into the other taxi. The new driver found the city without any complications and he got his 18,000 + a little tip when we arrived. An hour later than expected, we were then able to check in at our hotel. Later we found that the distance covered should have cost us around 15,000 COP. But, the first driver could probably have used what he asked of us. He needed to fix his car, or maybe take a course in map reading? Who knows... 😉 We still hope it worked out for him in the end.

The following morning, we were picked up by the hike-organizer. After all participants were registered and received the necessary information, we packed ourselves with our backpacks into four-wheel drive minibuses and were driven to the "base camp". We were treated to lunch there. Then the actual hike started.

We were a total of 14 participants of mixed ages, where Sweden, Germany, Catalonia (Spain), Chile and Colombia were represented. Three guides made sure we kept the right pace and had continuous briefings about the routes and informed about the different areas we passed. It was then that we found out that the length of the hike is probably closer to 70 km and not the 55-60 km that is often mentioned. These routes were based more on the "bird's eye view" between the different camps along the way and not actual, traveled distance. 😁 Ciudad Perdida was about 1,000 m higher than where we were, so a kilometer of climbing awaited, where the last stretch to the place itself consisted of 1,200 steps. This is when we realized that our physical preparations might have been on the more optimistic side...

Now followed a half-day hike on a wide path and sometimes road through areas that we thought were pure jungle on steep mountain slopes. It turned out to actually be farmland (!). Here the Colombian farmers grew crops such as corn, various types of bananas, various citrus fruits, coffee and cocoa. Attempts are also being made to grow a native type of cotton. Most of it was grown so that the different crops, bushes and trees could coexist on the surfaces, a cultivation method called Agrobiodiversity. The guides told us the farmers used to grow coca plants in the area but were helped and partially supported financially by the authorities to find other crops and farming methods that work after the drug cartels were defeated. As the entire Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta is an area of ​​great biodiversity and important for the whole of Colombia, you could also get a grant if you replanted trees in parts of your cultivation area or just left it uncultivated so that the jungle was allowed to reclaim the area. However, how the farmers manage to cultivate in such steep terrain is beyond our understanding. On the way we often met motorbikes and the occasional mule that was used to transport both people and goods. No cars could get through here.

Before the sun began to set, at five o'clock, we arrived at the first night's camp. Now it was time to swim in the adjacent stream, hang up sweat-smelling clothes 😜 and then eat a robust and very good supper. Then it was time to sleep under mosquito nets in ready-made beds in the lodging-like building. Day two we got up at five o'clock for a sturdy breakfast and at six o'clock, when the sun started to show, everyone was ready to leave again. After a good night's sleep, we felt refreshed and in a good mood. Now a whole day's hiking awaited, which did not only go in what the guides called "Colombian flat". That is, you keep the same height above sea level but with many ups and downs. Now there would be hour-long uphills on winding paths. We struggled on and soon we left the farmers' part of the area and entered the territory of the indigenous people, the Taironas, and REAL jungle. It was more impenetrable and there was no easy way to get anywhere other than on the uphill paths. We had to walk over several suspension bridges and wade across streams. What an adventure we were on! Everyone was enthralled despite the fatigue and we tried to take pictures of what we could. However, the pace was relatively fast and we (that is Christer and I) quickly fell behind if we stopped too long to admire the view or look at the fantastic colorful butterflies that hovered in front of us. Throughout the hike, there were fruit and water breaks where we could recover. In the middle of the day, we had a good lunch and after a little bath and a short rest at a camp similar to the one we slept in earlier, it was time to move on.

In the territory of the tairona (the hiking trails we walked on go through the territory of the Kogui people) it was only possible for mules and people to make their way on the narrow paths. The guides told us that the settlement made with the residents along the hiking trails was that in the farmers' area it was their responsibility to make sure the trails were passable. Correspondingly, the indigenous population kept the trails in their area in order. It worked well and people seemed to live in relatively good harmony. All parties could benefit from this type of regulated ecotourism.

A bit into the hike we suddenly came across a building with a Swedish flag on it! Here, the Swedish entrepreneur and influencer Rickard Deler, together with the nonprofit organization Ankarstiftelsen, has recently built a school "Escuela amore" (roughly the school of Love) for the children in the area.

After the second night, it was only a short distance to Ciudad Perdida - and luckily! We were both quite taken from the day before. Especially our knees. We had been given a good overview of the city's history by the guide Ruth Mery and Nicolas who was also a Spanish-English interpreter. Archaeologists believe that the Tairona people built the city around AD 800, about 650 years before Machu Picchu. Then it was a cultural and religious center. The city itself may have housed as many as 3,000 inhabitants in the part that has been excavated and perhaps upwards of 10,000 inhabitants in total with surrounding settlements where most have been left untouched. The area is a total of approx. 35 ha large. Under colonial time the Spanish were very interested in the Tairona people's gold and processed precious stones and quartz and they engaged in some trade with them in the beginning but later the conquerors' stance hardened and they exploited and killed the indigenous population in every conceivable way. Battles arose and attempts were also made to use the taironas as slaves. Many chose to kill themselves rather than be captured by the Spanish and large parts of the population also succumbed to the new diseases the conquerors brought with them. The small remnants that remained of the various Tairona peoples hid higher up in the mountains, where the Spanish could not reach, and the city was finally abandoned. Around 1650 it fell into oblivion. Today, four different Tairona peoples remain; Kogui, Wiwa, Arhuaco and Kankuamo who live along the mountain slopes. They themselves believe that the Taironas knew about the city all along but kept quiet about it so that it wouldn't be destroyed by more Europeans/conquerors...

In 1972, the city was "rediscovered" by looters, so-called Sepúlvedas who looted gold objects and other artifacts found at the site. Archaeologists from the Colombian Institute of Anthropology found out about the site when archaeological objects started appearing on the black market. They arrived at the site in 1976 with the help of the looters and the looting also stopped quite quickly. The city's core was almost completely restored between 1976 and 1982, also with the help of former looters who were the ones who were the best able to navigate the area and also best knowledge about how the ruins looked before the wave of looting. Those who had previously made a living from looting now instead had the opportunity to support themselves in other ways. Tayona Tours, which we hired, is one such successful example where a travel agency was built with local guides who now take care of guiding guests, teaching the history of the city and the indigenous people. The site, which today is again considered the most important spiritual center for the indigenous peoples in the area is also especially protected by the Kogui people.

The part accessible to visitors is only the central part of the city. It is built up in different paved terrace-like plateaus with paved paths and stairs in between. The central parts of the city can roughly be said to be divided into four different areas. The first area is more of an entrance and trading place where different groups could trade with each other. Two large round plateaus also mark meeting and ceremony sites where two large hut-like houses stood. One for the men and one for the women. At the top you can see the foundations of the houses/huts where the spiritual leaders, so-called Mamo (male leader) and Saga (female leader) and their families lived. Women and men lived separately - even within the family. This is how the Kogui people still live today. A third area of ​​the city is more like a quarry where it is believed that much of the stone used in the construction of the city comes from. The fourth area is thought to have been intended for the city's artisans, potters and blacksmiths. They were highly respected and had their houses/huts and workshops in a separate part of the city.

Our guides also had good contact with the Kogui people and told us a lot about their history, customs and practices. The Kogi people believe that they are the ones who sprung from the earliest people on earth and regard other peoples as their "little brothers". It gives a feeling that we all belong to the same family and a sense of responsibility for each other that we found appealing. We got an insight into their worldview and spirituality that includes all living things. Above all, they see the world as a duality, with positive and negative energies. male and female, etc. If there is an imbalance, it can cause climate change, stunted growth, disease, etc. If one of the energies dominates, you need to try to restore equilibrium and it is the task of humans to maintain the equilibrium.

We also learned about how the clothing distinguishes the different peoples and how men or women carry their bags "mochila". The men carry them like we carry a shoulder strap bag, across the shoulder. The adult women wear it with the strap around their forehead when, for example, they have to carry something heavy. We can't recount everything here, but we think some things were particularly interesting. When a man from Kogui greets another man, it is usually not with a verbal greeting or hand gesture as we Westerners do. Instead, they exchange coca leaves that they carry in their shoulder bag, as a friendly, respectful gesture. The coca plant is considered sacred and the leaves can only be picked by women but the leaves can only be chewed by the adult men. There are knowledge and initiation rites for both adolescent girls and boys as a transition to adulthood. At the initiation, the men also receive a Poporo. It is a hollowed calabash containing powder of crushed seashells and a wooden stick. The stick is used to bring the bark powder to the mouth while chewing coca leaves. The shells alkalinity reacts with substances in the coca leaves and releases its active ingredients. By stroking the stick on the gourd's neck, some of the lime from the shell powder is deposited and eventually forms a thick mass all around. This ritual is performed every time the man learns or thinks about something. It becomes a symbolic way of writing down one's thoughts and the appearance of the poporo thus becomes unique for each man and reflects, in a way, his knowledge. Incidentally, the Kogui people do not have a written language, but stories about the world, traditions and other knowledge are passed on orally to the younger ones.

Along the walk, we could see what one of their current villages looked like with huts/houses for men or women. We got to meet the upcoming Saga called Petrona. A serious looking girl who let us buy small simple bracelets she made with small colored beads. Of course we bought a small bracelet for Anastacia! We also got permission to take pictures of her. The money she received goes e.g. for transport needs when someone may need to see a doctor. Although the Kogui people are self-sufficient and do not normally use money, there are services in society or in trade with the rest of Colombian society that require money. In the camps we rested in, we often saw Kogui children bring their smartphones to charge them, so they are not completely outside the rest of Colombian society! 😊

On the evening of day three we were also visited by a Mamo. We think his name is Fermin. He sat with us and spoke to us in Spanish. Incidentally, he knew the language of the other Taiuna people and was about to learn English as well... He let us ask questions about himself and the culture of the Kogui people. He was also curious about who we were. It didn't take long before he said that the world has been out of balance for some time and that we, little brothers, are living in a way that is destroying the earth and wondered why we didn't want to fix it, but continue to live the way we do? It was quiet for a good while and we were probably all a little embarrassed. "Greed perhaps?" someone suggested. "Lack of knowledge?" someone else said. Meanwhile, Fermin sat quietly and "wrote" on his poporo. "Maybe it's hard to break a way of life," he then asked apologetically. We never came up with anything sensible, but the shame was felt anyway. The question has probably been asked of many hiking tourists who have walked the trail…. Wonder if he ever got any sensible answers? We thought that it was a bit of a coincidence that the international conference COP16 for biodiversity is to be held in Colombia this autumn... All countries must there present the national action plan for the implementation of the so-called global framework for biodiversity. Hope we won't be embarrassed by what Sweden's representatives will present. 🫤

On the last, fourth hiking day, it was just a matter of getting down to the first camp again. Walking down for so long was really a strain on our knees and now we had to give up and pay a mule driver to bring one of our backpacks back to the start camp. I thought my pastel blue-purple backpack dressed the mule really well! Once we arrived in the afternoon, we were super happy to have completed the entire hike, which was also our first real hike! 😁

Finally. We were impressed by the logistics and all the service around us participants on the hike. We really couldn't complain about anything! Our guides Ruth Mery, Nicolas were like encyclopedias and it was noticeable that they were well at home in the area and well trained. The questions and discussions spanned Colombia's pre-colonial history, anthropology and archaeological findings, and the unique flora and fauna found in the area. The honesty shown in the face of the turbulent and often bloody history the area and the country have had, with the desire that history should not repeat itself, was admirable! The guide Jhon, who went by the name Machina as he seemed completely tireless not only led the tight group that managed to keep a higher pace, but also carried other people's backpacks when needed. At one point when he was scurrying along the trails carrying three backpacks, we wondered if he used gasoline as fuel... The chef that came along with us cooked amazingly good food and everything was always prepared and ready when we arrived at the different camps along the path. The team made sure that everyone with food allergies got what they needed. Even towards those who were allergic to small portions! We never left hungry and actually had to ask for smaller servings sometimes as we had difficulty eating everything that was offered. The only thing that possibly disturbed us were the kogui children who carelessly sauntered along barefoot or led mules along the trail without seeming the least bit strained, despite the long distances they were walking. It was almost provocative to watch, while Christer and I grunted with fatigue at every uphill and downhill!

Perhaps the only thing we should have done differently, apart from exercising more, was choosing to do the hike in five days. Then we would have had time to enjoy the experiences more and maybe have time to document more.

For those who want to know more. We found a blog post written by an interested photographer that describes the Tairona and Koguie people's culture in a little more detail. Easy to read and as far as we could verify, reasonably accurate descriptions: https://tristanphotos.com/kogis-colombia/

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