What I'll never forget about the most extraordinary day of my life
Awake from 3am, the Colombian jungle blackout like a blanket. I could hear the river, perhaps the rain on the iron roof and a few muffled snores, sighs and curses from the hammocks swaying gently on either side. Our wake up call was 4.30am because we were leaving for the La Ciudad Perdida at 5.
I lay awake inspired by a new product idea - something to address a very pressing need - drying out rain sodden clothes (more of that in the future perhaps!). I was also reflecting on the previous two days of our trek. We were a diverse group - the Cass MBA Expeditionary Society- with various levels of experience, fitness, age, background and let's call it "insects appeal".
We’d discussed, at some length, the difference between being on vacation and an expedition. While we might have started with plans to spend evenings teaching each other to salsa, after a couple of challenging days, we'd instead given way to reflecting carefully on how we could support each other, how we were feeling, what we were learning about leading, following and sharing. Yet this matter of vacation or expedition still bothered me. My working definition of an adventure (I don’t claim originality) - is “an experience with an unpredictable outcome”. But haven’t we all had vacations like that? Perhaps more usefully we could think of “a journey with a purpose.” Our purpose was not primarily recreational but instead Leadership Development, to learn to speak honestly to each other and to work at learning faster how to become more effective - whether in walking energy efficiently, giving and receiving feedback or motivating ourselves and others. In my own mind at least, I was on an expedition, not a holiday and so my first take-away was about framing. The way we frame our experiences influences what we can learn from them.
We left camp at 5am to wade across a fast flowing river and begin our trek up to the Lost City. Paths were narrow and slippery from heavy rain the preceding afternoon and the river already swollen. We walked in single file, mosquitos hungry but the group in high spirits as we knew we’d reach our goal that morning after we’d climbed the legendary 1200 steps (surely more?). Our guide from the Wiwa Tribe conducted a brief ceremony to ask permission for us to enter La Ciudad Perdida - founded some 650 years before Machu Picchu - and our visit to this most magical, enchanting place felt like a true privilege. Once home to more than 2000, the Lost City resonates with quiet spirits. It feels sacred.
We spent a couple of hours there before starting our descent and it was during the afternoon the rains started again. Torrential, teeming and relentless rain with speed, force and volume pouring, cascading and punctuated with frequent lightening. We counted aloud the pauses until the thunder, dreading the gap would fall below 5 seconds. Jungle paths in stream beds were now rising from trickles to coursing brown water flowing over our boots, rain beating the foliage overhead, occasional creaking and crashing of falling branches. We trekked on calling and shouting to each other, passing warnings of conditions, hands often reaching out to help one another navigate an uncertain footing. And all the while laughing, joking and enjoying the challenge. Framing is all, again.
As the journey went on and we retraced our steps towards our base camp, we reached the narrow paths of the morning. The violent weather conditions had prompted a small landslide - our path had disappeared and all that remained was a narrow ledge, a fallen tree with branches and vines dangling down to grab, the river 5m below a churning, roaring deluge. Ahead I could hear team members scrabbling up a rock face back to what remained of the path.
And this is where I reached my limit. My heart started to pound in my ears, my breaths became short. Terror took hold. I could not move my feet. To scramble up that rock was just too much for me. I started to shake.
Fortunately, as Expeditionaries, we always travel with a professional guide who now spoke to me in the most calming way and authoritative way. I will never forget what he said:
“Take a deep breath. We are all here with you Sionade. Just look up. There’s your team.”
He then unclipped my rucksack and gave me an almighty leg up - my colleagues reached down and, somehow, grabbed my hands. They pulled me up to join them, as I was gasping and I admit crying. God knows their hugs and words of reassurance felt very good.
I am still not quite sure how they did it but I know because of the Cass Expeditionaries I somehow went well beyond what I thought I could do. A deep sense of trust in a group of amazing colleagues had been developed through disclosure and shared experience and it was realised at that point. It was one of the most extraordinary moments of my life and I will never forget it.
Thank you to the peerless Gabriel Becker and the exceptional Cass MBA Expeditionaries of La Ciudad Perdida 31 July 2018. Thank you.
Cass MBA #LeadingTheAdventure.