Tuesday, July 19, 2022
This morning I’m leaving Costeño and venturing out on the Lost City Hike! I’ve known about this hike for a long time and after hearing the reviews (and considering my previous hiking experiences here…) I questioned whether I would do it.
I always knew in my heart that I would do it, but I just put off planning it until the last second. After going on my other adventures, it was time to commit to it. My original plan was to do it last, right before flying to my next destination, but when I thought about it, it just made the most sense to do it now.
The start of the Lost City hike is pretty close to Costeño, so if you leave from here, you’ll get picked up around 10 am, instead of having to take the shuttle all the way from Santa Marta early in the morning. If I do the hike now, I can also come back and use the remaining days to recuperate from it on the beach, instead of hopping on a plane to my next destination. Also, the exchange rate is really good right now and the hike is expensive, so I’m saving a lot of money. This is a win in all aspects. I might have waited another day or two to do it, but I want to be back in time for the weekend.
I booked my tour with Magic Tours per my friend’s recommendation, and they told me they would pick me up at 10 am. They ended up coming closer to 11 am. I ate avocado toast in the hostel, and then packed my bags. I brought them with me on the hike and stored them in a room as directed by the tour guides.
We drove quite a while in the shuttle to a little town which is where everyone starts the hike. Then we ate lunch and packed our bags. We met our tour guide and interpreter, as well as our second guide who for us was a trainee, but was just as capable and knowledgable as the other guide.
Then we set off. The hike is steep and in the direct sun the first day, but it’s not very long. You really could eliminate a day of the hike if you started out right in the morning on the first day. Anyhow, it’s a nice warmup for the next days.
Our tour guide also started warning us about the rain. We’re supposed to be in the secondary dry season just about now, but this is the rain forest. A couple weeks ago, one of the camps on the tour was actually flooded and damaged from all of the rain. I actually met someone in Minca who was in the camp at that time! They brought all of the beds from that camp to the closest one, so it’s going to be a bit cramped one of the nights. My main point here is: the first day you’re not in the rain forest, so don’t let the good weather trick you into thinking there won’t be rain. There will be rain.
We made it to the first camp and swam in a swimming hole before eating a delicious dinner. They had good vegetarian options, which I have been opting for recently. Then we played cards and went to bed.
Wednesday, July 20, 2022
We woke up bright and early and hiked to the next camp for lunch. On the way, things started getting muddy. I ended up having to buy rain boots, which I really didn’t want to do, but it didn’t look like I had much of a choice. The translator gave me some oil and baby powder to put on my feet to keep blisters from forming, and things felt pretty good.
After a quick swim in the river and lunch, we’re back to hiking. The rain starts, and it’s pretty bad. My boots fill up with water and they’re also starting to hurt a bit. There’s practically no padding and we’re walking on rocks. We make it to the next camp (the crowded one), and everything is wet.
We hang up our clothes and prepare for dinner and bed. The lines for the bathrooms and the showers are long, and it’s cold waiting, but we manage. We pretty much go straight to bed because we’re tired and need the rest.
Thursday, July 21, 2022
We wake up bright and early in order to make it to the Lost City. The morning will be dedicated to hiking there and touring it. Then we go back to our camp for lunch and collect our stuff, which had some time to dry in the morning sun.
After visiting the Lost City, I want to warn you that there’s really not much to see. The coolest thing to me was a slab of rock that had lines engraved on it. Our guides told us that it’s a map. The real purpose of this hike is to hear the stories the guide tells you. You also get to meet some indigenous people along the way, which was my favorite part. The leader of the Cogi tribe gave us each a bracelet to represent who we are.
Then we do the same hike as yesterday afternoon but in reverse, back to the second camp where we hiked yesterday. Today it’s downhill though, which I think will be better.
I realize I’m wrong about this as soon as it starts raining. Hiking uphill has to do with your fitness, but hiking down in rain is technical, and also bad for your knees no matter how strong you are. Even with hiking poles, it was just so painful to walk on the rocks without padded shoes. I barely made it back to the camp, but with the help of my guide I did. He was practically pulling me down the hill as I winced in pain with every step.
When we made it to the camp and I took off my backpack, I felt a bulge in the seat of my pants that was VERY concerning. I discretely walked all the way to the bathrooms to find that water had made it into my underwear and panty liner, and the absorbent beads had EXPLODED in my underwear. Not to be graphic, but thankfully there was barely any blood, so I just put the remnants of the pad in the trash. The thing is I thought the rain was bad yesterday, and somehow it got worse today. The fact that it was so bad that it fully got into my pad and caused it to explode is just proof of the situation that is pretty satisfying to me. I’m just glad the pad stayed in my underwear and didn’t fall out on the trail…
After that, we pretty much ate dinner and went to sleep. I felt a lot better knowing that I had just one day left, and it was over a trail I had already hiked the opposite way.
Friday, July 22, 2022
This morning we hiked back to the first camp, and it wasn’t too rainy so it wasn’t so bad. We were pretty exhausted when we got to the camp so we decided to just eat our snack and continue on instead of taking a swim. It would have been nice to swim, but it would have put us in a rush to avoid the rain on the way home (the roads can flood, and we didn’t want to get stuck).
After lunch there was a stint of the hike that I didn’t note on the way in because it was downhill and I wasn’t super tired. On the way back out, it’s pretty difficult. We all walk single file in silence for a while because the hill is just so steep.
When we make it to the top though the difficult part is over and it’s all downhill. I opt to take a motorcycle down with one other girl from the group for several reasons. First of all, I know I can hike down this hill after hiking up it, but it will just be painful for my feet and knees. I don’t need to prove to myself that I can hike down the hill. Second, I would never hike at this time of day even if this was the entire hike I was doing because the sun is at it’s harshest and there’s no trees to shade the hike. I don’t want to end a fun trip with a sunburn.
After we got back, we ate lunch and I discovered that my toenail was purple. That was pretty satisfying seeing as I had been complaining about it for the past two days, but it looked completely fine. I wonder how long it will take to go away. (Edit: It took a couple months and then my toenail fell off.)
We took the shuttle back to the main highway, and most people continued in the shuttle. I’m going to Rio Hostel nearby, so they pay for my mototaxi there. I have to carry my backpack on my back, so it’s a struggle but I make it there.
As soon as I get there, I unpack and get my massive laundry load together and shower. I practically have no clothes left. Then I get some food, and pretty much call it a night. I hear techno music playing, and it is Friday night, but I really just need to rest.
All in all, this hike was difficult but I am glad I did it. It would have been a lot better if I had proper hiking shoes, but still not prefect since they would still have filled up with water and that would have been pretty difficult to dry out afterwards. The hike is difficult because of the conditions (rain and mud). We hiked pretty quickly at times and we went uphill quite a bit, but it’s definitely the rain that pushed the difficulty over the edge for me.
Check Out My Guide to The Lost City ⧉
My Google Maps Guides have all the important locations I mention in my blogs, and you can open them right in Google Maps to make it easy to plan your own trip!