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Published: September 27th 2011
On the way to Cabo Playa
Rich's pic... on of my favourites...Cabo de la Vela, Colombia
The day started off meeting our guide Alvaro, and Daniel (from Bogota) who was not a backpacker, but actually going up to Punta Gallinas to work with the native Wayuu peoples living there. He was a fantastic travel companion over the next few days, teaching us about his country, the scenery, and the people.
The drive into La Guajira province was amazing. We drove along dirty, rough roads, getting lost a few times eventually arriving in Cabo de la Vela. We passed endless cacti and sand.
Cabo (as I call it for short) is a remote Wayuu (native) fishing village. It is slowly developing tourist infrastructure - it just got power within the last year, and new "huts" are springing up for backpackers. It is becoming the next place to visit in Colombia, and I am glad I got here before if becomes developed. It is still more or less "off the grid".
Upon arrival we had a celebratory beer on the beach and then went off to explore the local attractions. We went to the Ojo de Agua (a small fresh water pool of water, which is the only fresh water
Getting gas in Uribia
Half way between Riohacha and Cabo de la Vela around). Here, Daniel and I went for a swim. The water was very warm, but it was so windy, that the sand stuck to my body for the rest of the day! The highlight here, was not the beach, nor the water hole. It was the scenery. It is full of rocky cliffs, with sandy beaches below, with the colours of the desert making it surreal. We even saw a mother and her baby fox! Before even decided on coming to Colombia, Rich and I had rented a movie about an accordion player who traveled around Colombia... don't ask... but we finally realized this is where a portion of it was filmed! The wind was very powerful here, but the experience was rewarding.
After we went to El Faro, the lighthouse and snapped a few more pics of the scenery.
We stayed at Playa Cabo - which consisted only of our hostal. It was about a 20 min drive from the main village. Here our accommodation was in hammocks, directly on the beach. We had the place to ourselves and drank rum, and I practiced my Spanish drunk with Alvaro. Later in the evening, a group of "Italians" came
Uribia
The unofficial Wayuu capital (in brackets cause we actually found out they were really Colombians who lived in Italy) and were quite rude not letting us join there fire! Anyways, that evening, they were robbed by a 10 year old drunk boy from a neighbouring community for approx $400 US. He was caught by the owners of the hostal, but pulled out a machete and ran off with the coin!
(Sidenote: later in the trip we found out that another couple was robbed at the same hostal!)
Had a great sleep oceanside - my first night sleeping in a hammock - and woke up to get ready for the trip to Punta Gallinas.
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