What I found in a Lost City...

Two years ago, early in the morning, I set out on a steep ascent of 1200 steps, the only way to reach La Ciudad Perdida, a "lost city" deep in the jungle of Colombia's Sierra Nevada and I've been thinking about what it felt like to climb those 1200 ancient steps on that narrow path.

They were bumpy, often threatening to dislodge, sometimes missing. The rough stairs had irregular elevations – at one moment requiring barely any effort, at other times a precipitous scramble.

There was too much variety to keep up a steady pace. Sometimes we had to stop, in order to keep going.

As we ascended there were patches of bright sunlight before green shadows enveloped us again, the air intense with biting insects.

Eventually we arrived at the magical city of 169 terraces, tiled roads and circular plazas carved into the mountainside in about 800 CE and once a thriving home to at least 2000 people. Our guide, whose forebears had founded this place, conducted a brief ceremony.

What more do I recall of that day?

Our sense of #wonder, our #teamwork and a profound #gratitude for the privilege of the #experience.

Plus the #power of putting one foot in front of another, even if, especially if, the steps are uneven.