Escape to the Desert - La Guajira, Colombia
Pack light, pack breezy, if you have long hair then I highly suggest a french braid and a headband, don't forget your 6L jug of water and snacks if you want anything other than fish and rice, and get ready for an incredibly bumpy, dusty, fun ride off the grid to the desert lands of La Guajira, Colombia!
Full disclosure: If being covered in a fine layer of dust the entire trip, riding in the back of a pick up truck for hours, showering on the beach in a bamboo stall (potentially shared with a local crab), having limited electricity and zero wifi, eating nothing but fish and rice, and sleeping in a hammock doesn't sound super exciting and ignite your sense of adventure, then this may not be the trip for you. However, if it does, then brace yourself for an incredible, authentic, off the beaten path, Colombian experience!
When considering my activities for my 3 weeks in Colombia, I wanted to do as much of it on my own as possible - no large tour buses full of gringos for me. So I researched what I could, spoke with my hostel upon arrival in Santa Marta (Calle 11 in Rodadero - highly recommend!), and set off for the remote peninsula of La Guajira.
This is how to get the desert party started!
With Santa Marta as your starting point, take a taxi to the main bus terminal and buy a ticket to Cuatro Vias. The cost for this bus, if I remember correctly was 15k COP or $5-$6 USD.
Deboard the bus, pull up a chair, and practice your Spanish with the locals while waiting (in our case - 3 hours) for enough travelers headed in the same direction to fill the back of your 4x4 pickup that will then take you the rest of the way. The going rate to get from Cuatro Vías to Cabo de la Vela is 30k COP per person for a minimum of 7 people. Our group of 3 (I was accompanied by 2 Australian girls, Erin & Kate, that I had met in Bogotá) united with 2 French guys, Bryan and Matthew, that came along a couple of hours later and the 5 of us offered to pay 40k each to get on the road versus waiting an unknown amount of time longer for 2 additional people to show up. The journey from Cuatro Vías to Cabo is around 3 hours of travel time, with a stop in the town of Uribia to stock up on water. If you have a friendly, thoughtful driver as we did, this trip may also include a stop for photos. Though when the truck came to a halt in the middle of absolutely no where our initial thoughts were more like 'How much more money are they going to ask for?' and 'Are they going to make us walk from here?!'
My video skills are far from great but I've included some clips throughout anyways. Here we are leaving Cuatro Vias after a few hours of waiting, finally headed to the desert!
I'm glad they stopped and allowed us a photo op!
The desert crew!
We arrived in Cabo de la Vela for the first night and while there are options on where to stay, whoever your 4x4 driver is from Cuatro Vias will probably just deliver you to whichever homestay/hostel that they normally work with. The rates are the same everywhere so we chose to just stay at the place where we were dropped. A hammock for the night is 10k pesos and a chinchorro (a larger, comfier hammock) is 20k. In Cabo de la Vela, your hosts will organize your driver for a tour of the local sights of both Cabo de la Vela as well as Punta Gallinas, including transport between the two and return transport to the town of Uribia. This cost is 150k pesos.
I would say that after all that you've arrived! But, getting there and around is really half the fun and so that simply would not be true.
Returning after sunset we strolled down the dark, dirt road for dinner at one of the few local restaurants. After dinner, I took a shower in a bamboo stall, with a borrowed headlamp hanging from a bamboo stick to provide light, and a local crab enjoying the rain shower in the corner. (I told him that so long as he stayed in his corner that I would stay in the middle and we would get along just fine). I also conquered the challenge of putting on yoga pants (not recommended) while still wet and with sand on my feet while trying to keep away from the crab in the corner and also not fall through the bamboo door to expose a full moon to the beach - not that there were that many people around to witness anyways. The evening ended with me climbing into my hammock, a mere 10 feet from the beach and swinging quietly while falling asleep to the sound of ocean waves, feeling incredibly content, happy.
I woke at sunrise (5 AM!) to a local lady/host/I'm not sure who standing over my hammock with a tray of paper cups of coffee. I politely declined the offer as I'm not a coffee drinker and dressed in the same clothes as the day before. I decided there was no use in getting salty, sweat stains and dirt on every clothing item I brought. We piled into a 4X4 SUV to hit the...dirt, rocks, sand?..definitely not a road..and continue on to Punta Gallinas and the northernmost point of South America. We bumped along for at least 3 more hours on the rough, cacti covered terrain spotted with the occasional herd of goats and local children here and there dressed in their school uniforms and backpacks headed to school. (Where they were walking from and where they were walking to, I'm not sure as when we saw them there always seemed to be no huts, houses, schools, or the like anywhere around). We encountered 'tolls' along the way - or in other words, locals, ranging from young children alongside their mothers to the elderly, that were stretching a rope or chain across the 'road'. I suppose that they probably preferred money or for us to purchase something that they were selling but providing bread or also sufficed and they would lower their road block. (This wasn't really a problem with say one 'toll' but there was a point in the trip where we could see several tolls dotting the road ahead. As it's impossible to always have something to give or buy, if you make the trip you'll likely be witness to your driver yelling, honking the horn or off roading even further off the off road to bypass these set ups).
Before the final stretch of desert land to Punta Gallinas, we deboarded our 4x4 for a rickety 5 minute boat ride across an inlet of the sea before loading up in the back of another 4X4 pickup with a make shift ladder on the back and sides that resembled cattle guards. If you're lucky enough to experience the same pickup truck, you'll want to hold on because I'm not sure a minute went by without both my feet coming off the bed of the truck.
El Punto Más Norte de Colombia y Sudamérica!
The northernmost point of Colombia & South America!
After bouncing around for hours with stops here and there for photo ops and a swim in the sea, we returned dusty, sandy, salty, and sun kissed to settle in at our homestay. This was a covered area with hammocks or chinchorros (I splurged for the chinchorro), a shelf to pile our belongings on, bathrooms to one side (no bamboo stalls or crabs), and nothing but vast, open desert land surrounding us. The local family took our orders for dinner, 'Would you like fish or would you like goat?,' and we all crashed for a mid-afternoon siesta before sunset.
Sleeping in the desert didn't concern me but when I woke in the middle of the night to a commotion and someone yelling, I instantly felt vulnerable and my mind went to my money and passport stashed in my bag on the shelf that was holding all of our things. Not to worry, this story has a funny ending! I couldn't go back to sleep knowing that my valuables weren't in my chinchorro with me so I got up the nerve to walk through the line of the others sleeping, cocooned in their hammocks (why hadn't they woken up?!), to grab my bag. Once back in my cocoon, I went back to sleep no problem. The next morning, I asked around to see if anyone else had heard what I heard in the middle of the night. And, as it turns out, a donkey had wandered into our sleeping area and was perusing through our things (some people had bags of food or fruit on the shelf) and I had woken up when someone had yelled at the donkey to get out. I laughed at this - I had been slightly scared of a donkey. I'm glad he didn't steal my passport.
Returning the next day, the way back to civilization was no less exciting than our way out. After the final ride in the cattle guard truck, and the short, rickety boat ride, our new driver was waiting to take us back to Uribia where we would catch transportation onward. However, this SUV, unlike the previous one didn't have a nice pillow in the back for a passenger so it was 4 deep in the backseat. We were curious as to why our driver wasn't overly friendly but when it became apparent that we were trying to beat our car battery from dying, while going 60 mph across the desert for 3 hours, we realized he was just stressed. Add to that having to stop to tighten the car's wheel (was it going to fall off?), the check brakes sign that was blinking on the dash (didn't prove to be a problem for us so hopefully they didn't fail him on his way back), and the 'tolls' along the way, and we had ourselves quite a return trip. If you're curious, we didn't make it all the way without the battery dying. I think the old man that refused to let us pass his toll may have just been lonely? Our SUV died while he was refusing to let us pass. He stood outside the window of the car for the duration of our time there and just looked at us. Kind of creepy, kind of funny. We tried to speak to him but he never really spoke back; maybe he only spoke the indigenous language? We weren't sure. Anyways, we sat there for about 20 minutes or so (lucky considering you never really know when another car is going to come along) before another desert traveler gave us a jump and got us on our way.
We were eventually delivered safely to Uribia where we caught a share taxi to the bus station in Riohacha. I was only 5 or 6 days into my time in Colombia, but La Guajira had already set the bar so high. Without a doubt a highlight of my trip.
In Cabo de la Vela, we took in the sights of Pilón de Azucar, a beach I can't recall the name of, and El Faro at sunset.
Pilón de Azúcar (translates to Pile of Sugar)
Maybe my hand is raised in some attempt to brace myself from the wind? I'm not sure. I feel like the emoji.
Refreshing beer on the beach (I can't remember the name of) at sunset with new friends, Erin & Kate.
Our hammocks on the beach for night one!
I woke at sunrise (5 AM!) to a local lady/host/I'm not sure who standing over my hammock with a tray of paper cups of coffee. I politely declined the offer as I'm not a coffee drinker and dressed in the same clothes as the day before. I decided there was no use in getting salty, sweat stains and dirt on every clothing item I brought. We piled into a 4X4 SUV to hit the...dirt, rocks, sand?..definitely not a road..and continue on to Punta Gallinas and the northernmost point of South America. We bumped along for at least 3 more hours on the rough, cacti covered terrain spotted with the occasional herd of goats and local children here and there dressed in their school uniforms and backpacks headed to school. (Where they were walking from and where they were walking to, I'm not sure as when we saw them there always seemed to be no huts, houses, schools, or the like anywhere around). We encountered 'tolls' along the way - or in other words, locals, ranging from young children alongside their mothers to the elderly, that were stretching a rope or chain across the 'road'. I suppose that they probably preferred money or for us to purchase something that they were selling but providing bread or also sufficed and they would lower their road block. (This wasn't really a problem with say one 'toll' but there was a point in the trip where we could see several tolls dotting the road ahead. As it's impossible to always have something to give or buy, if you make the trip you'll likely be witness to your driver yelling, honking the horn or off roading even further off the off road to bypass these set ups).
Setting off from Cabo de la Vela for Punta Gallinas...
Before the final stretch of desert land to Punta Gallinas, we deboarded our 4x4 for a rickety 5 minute boat ride across an inlet of the sea before loading up in the back of another 4X4 pickup with a make shift ladder on the back and sides that resembled cattle guards. If you're lucky enough to experience the same pickup truck, you'll want to hold on because I'm not sure a minute went by without both my feet coming off the bed of the truck.
A snippet of our short boat ride to Punta Gallinas.
And from the truck ride!
Once in Punta Gallinas, we bumped along from site to site including a stop with the sign marking the Northernmost Point of South America and the impressive Dunes of Taroa.
The northernmost point of Colombia & South America!
Taking it all in.
Welcome to the Dunes of Taroa! They offer incredibly impressive views...
After bouncing around for hours with stops here and there for photo ops and a swim in the sea, we returned dusty, sandy, salty, and sun kissed to settle in at our homestay. This was a covered area with hammocks or chinchorros (I splurged for the chinchorro), a shelf to pile our belongings on, bathrooms to one side (no bamboo stalls or crabs), and nothing but vast, open desert land surrounding us. The local family took our orders for dinner, 'Would you like fish or would you like goat?,' and we all crashed for a mid-afternoon siesta before sunset.
Looks appetizing, right?! - with rice, a side salad, and patacon, or twice cooked green banana, first boiled then fried.
This goat wasn't dinner. This picture wasn't even taken in the same spot that we stayed but it seemed to fit here.
A romantic sunset from Punta Gallinas...
Sleeping in the desert didn't concern me but when I woke in the middle of the night to a commotion and someone yelling, I instantly felt vulnerable and my mind went to my money and passport stashed in my bag on the shelf that was holding all of our things. Not to worry, this story has a funny ending! I couldn't go back to sleep knowing that my valuables weren't in my chinchorro with me so I got up the nerve to walk through the line of the others sleeping, cocooned in their hammocks (why hadn't they woken up?!), to grab my bag. Once back in my cocoon, I went back to sleep no problem. The next morning, I asked around to see if anyone else had heard what I heard in the middle of the night. And, as it turns out, a donkey had wandered into our sleeping area and was perusing through our things (some people had bags of food or fruit on the shelf) and I had woken up when someone had yelled at the donkey to get out. I laughed at this - I had been slightly scared of a donkey. I'm glad he didn't steal my passport.
Returning the next day, the way back to civilization was no less exciting than our way out. After the final ride in the cattle guard truck, and the short, rickety boat ride, our new driver was waiting to take us back to Uribia where we would catch transportation onward. However, this SUV, unlike the previous one didn't have a nice pillow in the back for a passenger so it was 4 deep in the backseat. We were curious as to why our driver wasn't overly friendly but when it became apparent that we were trying to beat our car battery from dying, while going 60 mph across the desert for 3 hours, we realized he was just stressed. Add to that having to stop to tighten the car's wheel (was it going to fall off?), the check brakes sign that was blinking on the dash (didn't prove to be a problem for us so hopefully they didn't fail him on his way back), and the 'tolls' along the way, and we had ourselves quite a return trip. If you're curious, we didn't make it all the way without the battery dying. I think the old man that refused to let us pass his toll may have just been lonely? Our SUV died while he was refusing to let us pass. He stood outside the window of the car for the duration of our time there and just looked at us. Kind of creepy, kind of funny. We tried to speak to him but he never really spoke back; maybe he only spoke the indigenous language? We weren't sure. Anyways, we sat there for about 20 minutes or so (lucky considering you never really know when another car is going to come along) before another desert traveler gave us a jump and got us on our way.
Waiting patiently for a car to come along to give us a jump after our battery died. See our new friend over there? He wouldn't move really or talk to us and we couldn't roll up the window because, well, our battery was dead.
We were eventually delivered safely to Uribia where we caught a share taxi to the bus station in Riohacha. I was only 5 or 6 days into my time in Colombia, but La Guajira had already set the bar so high. Without a doubt a highlight of my trip.
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