The Lost City

Ciudad Perdida
(The Lost City)

When the Spanish arrived in the ‘New World’ there were about 100 million people living in the Americas. While the Spanish sent military conquestaro to subdue the indigenous peoples, it was the introduction of European diseases, which the local population had no natural resistance to, that lead to the near annihilation of the native people. Within 70 years of the first Europeans arriving in the Americas, the original local population was reduced by 95%.

I had to try the trek up to this ancient city in the Sierra Nevada, 650 years older than Machu Picchu. Max told me it was hard, but after trekking for 21 days in the Himalayas, I thought this would be a “walk in the park” !

I was mistaken…it was not a simple hike uphill or walk in the woods, but a series of long uphill climbs followed by steep descents. Rain made the trail very slippery, and you got used to walking in wet clothes. At several places we had to cross rivers on hanging wire bridges while others required removing out hiking boots and wading across. On the final morning of the climb to get to the lost city, over 1,200 steps have to be climbed.

On the way down from the ancient
ruins I had a problem with my knee and couldn’t bend it without excruciating pain. The guides told me I could hire a donkey to take me down, but you all know I hate giving up or quitting, even when things get tough.
The locals put a cream on my knee made of coca leaves & arnica, a fellow hiker lent me a tension bandage, and I decided to walk slowly, with walking sticks and see how far I could manage to get.
I decided I could do the big climb up one mountain for 3 hours and then see if I needed the donkey. Then I made a decision to push through and try going down the other side for 2 hours, then I pushed myself up the next mountain, and one step at a time, I kept going. At least 30 or 40 healthy young people rode past me on donkeys, just too exhausted to complete the trek, but even though I was the last one down, I made it walking all the way.

I have to tell you that building Surge isn’t much different. There are going to be times when you’re exhausted, when you don’t think you can keep going, when you want to quit because it feels too hard and you’re not sure you’ll be able to make it, but that’s when you need to reach deep down inside yourself and look for that inner strength you have buried inside, and make a decision that you’re NOT going to quit on yourself & your goals, the you are going to push through and succeed.

The achievement of reaching the top of Ciudad Perdida, and imagining what the enormous site must have looked like in its heyday, was well worth the pain of getting there…and it will be the same when you reach your goals with Surge…

But let me tell you, when I got to civilization after 5 days in the wilderness, I checked into a 5 Star hotel, took a hot shower, and got a full body massage to soothe my aching muscles !