The very north part of Colombia was on my list of places I really wanted to visit. It’s extremely remote and hard to get to, but I’d heard the scenery was incredible, so I looked into how to go there. Going on a tour is the most recommended way to see it- and now having been, I don't think it'd be possible otherwise.
It was harder than I thought to find a tour there, but managed to join one at the last minute through Magic Tour, who actually outsourced the tour through Alta Guajira Tours. The reviews of most tour companies that go up there were bad, so I set my expectations low (and yet still the company managed to disappoint!)
The tour picked me up at 4:30 AM (ugh) from a hostel in Santa Marta, and continued to Riohacha for breakfast, and to switch from a van to a 4WD SUV for the rough roads ahead.
Our trusty ride!
The first day we drove to Cabo de la Vela; I wish I’d recorded how many hours it took. I don’t remember, but it was A LOT. Once you get past a certain point, there are no roads. The drivers clearly have a lot of experience taking cars to the area, and they basically just follow each other’s tracks. It’s bumpy, curvy, and generally not a super pleasant way to spend 5+ hours. For anyone prone to car sickness, this would have been a nightmare.
Along the way, local kids hold up little ropes that block the car’s passage, hoping for cookies or candies in exchange for letting the rope down. Our driver brought lots, but not enough for everyone! Luckily they let you pass even if you can’t pay the toll :)
Paying the "toll" (these kids were actually super hard to get a photo of)
Our first stop was Manaure, a salt harvesting place? I am not really sure exactly what anything is, because our driver gave us literally no information! Anyhow, it made for a nice place to stretch our legs, and some cool photos. It looks better in photos than in real life. There was a lot of trash all over the place!
Manaure salt
We finally arrived in Cabo de la Vela, whose landscape varies from Africa-looking barren dessert, to turquoise waters, to a coastal area that looked like Mars with an ocean, all within a 10 minutes' drive:
We stayed in the “town” of Cabo de la Vela, it’s a few rustic buildings, a few hostels and restaurants since the area is one some come to for windsurfing.
Cabo de la Vela
After watching an extremely windy sunset, we checked in to Happiness Hostel, where I paid an extra $7 to have a room with a bed, instead of sleeping outside on the hammocks. I felt a bit like a princess for this luxury, but I think it was worth it in the end!
Next morning’s wake up call was at 6 AM- never thought that would seem like sleeping in! We got back into the 4Runner and continued our trek through the dessert to the end of the world! I was not in an awesome mood on this day, I had a mild migraine and some stomach issues (not helped by the car drive) but tried to enjoy it anyway.
There was less driving today, luckily. Near Cabo de la Vela, we stopped at a super crazy place. It’s a big sand dune that looks like a desert from a movie, and then when you walk over it, there’s the ocean with red sand beach. It was like nothing I have ever seen, but it was so windy that it was actually painful to walk there- the sand blew up onto you at high speeds like tiny little bullets. Ouch!
It looks pretty, but it hurts!
The guide said we would be spending TWO HOURS there, but after about 30 minutes I think we had all had our fill, so we continued along to the most northern point of South America- Punta Gallinas.
People built little stone stacks at the point which were fun to see. I think they should make a sign for people to take photos with, because there isn't really much else here. I guess that might not be very eco-friendly though :)
The most northern point of South America
After taking a few photos at the end of the world, we drove a short distance to a super remote hostel. My guide book says that only about 100 total people live in this area, and I can understand why, it’s impressive they can get any kind of basic necessities all the way up there, and that they have a hostel at all!
Our hostel. Not sure why the military and their big trucks were there, but a bunch of army guys were eating lunch there.
After a nap in the hostel, we went to another viewing point to see the sun set on our final day in Guajira! The drive back to Santa Marta took less time than getting to Punta Gallinas (about 8 hours total, 20 minute boat ride and the rest by car). I never thought I'd be so happy to be driving on a paved road, but it felt like heaven after all the off-roading.
Overall I am torn as to whether I’d recommend this experience to other travelers. The scenery was definitely very unique but it was hard to enjoy due to the harsh weather, and required an extremely long and uncomfortable ride. And, as I alluded to earlier, the tour company was total crap. The guide didn’t tell us anything. I didn’t expect a bunch of knowledge about nature or local people, but he didn’t even tell us basic things like when we needed to be ready to go in the morning, or where we were driving to. I’ve read bad things about all the tour companies, so I don’t think there is currently one that does a good job with this tour. But they did get us there safely, arranged all the accommodations, and the included food was tasty and plentiful (and maybe made me sick).
I'm back for another layover night at The Dreamer in Santa Marta (nice hostel, terrible WiFi). Tomorrow I'm flying back to Medellin for two nights to do a day trip to Guatape, and then move on to the coffee region!