Week 8: Minca, The Lost City & Palomino

Monday – On the first day of week 8 we went to Minca. The first thing we did was go on a motorbike which was a really bumpy ride because it was a really rocky dirt road with heaps of obstacles to avoid. Where we were heading was 3 different waterfalls. In one of the waterfalls we got to swim in it! And for lunch we had Mexican. But wait, classic Nore (mum) accidentally ordered 10 moré margaritas than what it should have been! 🤣😂🤣CLASSIC NORE! Anyway back to the story. The Mexican was really good BUT Nore ordered way more food than she thought she would!😂 Well now we definitely know in Minca we had a lot of classic Nore moments.😂😂 Sadly after lunch we left Minca, ☹️ but we had to get warmed up for the next day because it was a big day; we were going on a 5 day hike!!😮🤯🫢

Day one of the hike – On the first day of the hike we went on a really bumpy car ride to start. When we started the hike I noticed that there were lots of mules, motorcycles, and that I was the only kid there doing the hike!😂 I was probably the most sweaty I have ever been after hiking 10km!! I definitely looked like it because mum poured a bottle of water on me to try and cool me down, but all she did was make me wet.😂 She definitely tried. But luckily when we arrived at the first campsite there was a nice and cold river to cool us down! After the river we got some nice cold watermelon for a snack 🍉.

Day 2 – This day was so tiring because we did another hike for 20KM!! I was so tired because we had woken up at 5am and after walking 10km before lunch, I thought we were finished. I then found out we had another 10km in the afternoon. I nearly couldn’t walk because that is the most walking I have ever done in my whole entire life. For lunch we had slow cooked chicken which was really good. And we even got dessert! At the camp after dessert we went to the river to give us a cool down before we had to start walking again. Sadly on the second half of the walk I fell onto a root and hurt my groin!😢☹️ After a little while it started to feel better!😅 We were heading to what was called “The Lost City”!

Day 3 – Then we arrived in The Lost City!!!🥲 Arriving at the lost city felt really special because we were standing on lots of generations!! 🎉🥳🎊🍾🪩🪅

It was a very pretty sight to see toucans in trees and humming birds in bushes!!

This is how generations went on in The Lost City… First, there’s a house, and then when someone dies, they bury them underneath the house. Then the other people who lived in the house would move out of there and wait until the house would disintegrate or blow over. When it is all blown over or disintegrated they put another layer of dirt over it and then build another house on top of the person who died. That is a tradition that went on for hundreds of years.

On the way back from The Lost City I got to die my hair purple with tree leaves! I know, very unbelievable ha ha. When we left The Lost City, we saw a person who was on the 50,000 Colombian pesos note! He also had a really cool hat, too!🎩 I got a mule ride for half of the day in the afternoon to the next camp! On the mule ride it was a very bumpy road, so it felt scary at first but I got used to it after a few minutes. Later it was still really creepy because we were reversing on cliffs and everything like that!!

Day 4 – Today we walked 10km. Sadly we also got separated from the group we were in 😢☹️. At least two people stayed for the 5 day hike too. What we saw on the way was 3 waterfalls and we got to swim in 1 of them! On the way we went across lots of river crossings but on most of them I got a piggy back ride from the leader of our group. 😂 When we arrived at the next camp everyone went to sleep except for me. 😂😂 Then we went for a swim at a creek after everyone had woken up. While I was waiting for dinner I played with the cats with a stick, and they chased it around everywhere. Then we had dinner and went to sleep. At night time we heard howler monkeys 🐒. Howler monkeys sound like an engine starting. Brrrrrrrr brrrrrrr!!

Day 5 – today we did a 10km hike like the day before. In the morning we had a really early start, big river crossing, and we also finished the hike. I couldn’t get up because I was so tired! But I got up a few minutes later after I woke up.😂😴 It was downhill most of the way but to get there there was also a lot of uphill. Luckily I got a piggyback on the steep bits by mum. Before we finished the hike we went in a really cold river to cool us off. Also on the way back we saw 2 toucans and about 3 hummingbirds! When we arrived at lunch I had a 1 hour nap 😴, and we had to book accommodation for that night! We decided to have two nights in Palomino.

We didn’t have our clothes for 2 whole days because they were in Santa Marta. So we bought new clothes in Palomino to wear for the next 2 days!😂 Lukily we booked accommodation just in the nick of time. All we had to do now was chill. For dinner I had my first rib I have ever had, and one of the best hamburgers in Columbia! So that means I had one of the best dinners ever!!

Day 6 – On Sunday I had my first day at school!!! We went to a cafe to do all of my school work in one day and it only took me an hour!! It wasn’t just my first day of school but it was my mum and dads 13 year anniversary! For most of the day we just had chill-time because of the big hike. At night time I had a zoom orientation with my new teacher (Miss Kenny) and another new classmate, but I have no idea what his name is!😂 Then we went to sleep ready for a new week.

Fun Facts:
How old is The Lost City?

Answer: The Lost City was built 1223 years ago and only discovered around 50 years ago!!!!

How many steps is there to get to the The Lost City after you cross the river?

Answer: 1200!

How do you say “would you like me to take a photo” in Spanish?

Answer: “Toma una foto”
Not like mom offered because she said “pollo foto”which means ‘chicken photo’.😂😂😂 Classic Nore!