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La Guajira – Colombia’s Wild, Wild East

Playa Taroa, Punta Gallinas, La Guajira, Colombia

Playa Taroa, Punta Gallinas, La Guajira, Colombia

La Guajira – Increasingly Popular

La Guajira’s reputation as a place beyond civilization is easily understood when looking at its past and modern history – A place where centuries ago pirates attacked Spanish ships loaded with precious cargo and strong-willed Wayuu never surrendered. Modern days see different kind of adventurers: large scale smuggling is so widespread, extensive and above all, so obvious that it is almost beyond belief…

The desert-like peninsula on Colombia’s northernmost point is still the home the Wayuu “Indigenos” who have inhabited this extremely hot and barren land for centuries, resisted all intruders and on their part raided towns like Riohacha as late as the 1930s. Things have calmed, but the area still exhibits an aura of lawlessness that – as least for me – seems unparalleled. Continue Reading →

Cabo De La Vela – A Place To Chill Out

Who has not been to one of the many ?Ends of the world?? Ushuaia claims that title as many other places, but here on the tip of La Guajira, at the northernmost point of South America, it feels absolutely real.

Who has not been to one of the many “Ends of the world”? Ushuaia claims that title as many other places, but here on the tip of La Guajira, at the northernmost point of South America, it feels absolutely real.

From Punta Gallinas, we headed southwest again. After a four hour rocky ride, we stopped for lunch in Cabo de la Vela, a fishing village that has become a popular destination for travelers to chill out. It is best described as two long parallel rows of wooden huts running along the ocean. Lots of simple cabanas for rent, restaurants, and even Internet has found its way here. Continue Reading →

Deserted Beaches & Starry Nights In Punta Gallinas

The next morning we set out for Taroa Beach, which even outdid Bahia Hondita. High-towering dunes roll into long stretches of golden sandy beaches. Naturally we tumbled, ran and slid down the dunes. Climbing up was less fun though. It was just us, and nobody anywhere near us

The next morning we set out for Taroa Beach, which even outdid Bahia Hondita. High-towering dunes roll into long stretches of golden sandy beaches.

Who has not been to one of the many “Ends of the World”? Ushuaia claims that title as many other places, but here on the tip of La Guajira, at the northernmost point of South America, it feels absolutely real. Continue Reading →

Sal Y Carbon – The Riches Of La Guajira

 

There, the salt is collected in artificially made pans. In the nearby plant it is cleaned from sand and then piled up in a huge pure white mountain, a majestic sight. It is finally scooped into bags of approx. 50 to 60 kilograms and then heaved onto trucks

Manaure, the biggest “Salinas” (salt fields) on La Guajira Peninsula

Before heading to Punta Gallinas, the very tip of the Guajira Peninsula and the northernmost point of South America, we turned north to the salt fields of Manaure, the biggest “Salinas” on the peninsula. There, the salt is collected in artificially made pans. In the nearby plant it is cleaned from sand and then piled up in a huge pure white mountain, a majestic sight. It is finally scooped into bags of approx. 50 to 60 kilograms and then heaved onto trucks. Continue Reading →

La Guajira – Columbia’s Wild, Wild East

 

The small town of Uribia, only an hour?s drive from the border town of Maicao, is teeming with smuggled goods. Gasoline is the prime merchandise, easily available at every street corner for 35 cent a liter, cheap, but still ten times the price of what it costs in Venezuela

The small town of Uribia, only an hour?s drive from the border town of Maicao, is teeming with smuggled goods. Gasoline is the prime merchandise, easily available at every street corner for 35 cent a liter, cheap, but still ten times the price of what it costs in Venezuela

La Guajira’s reputation as a place beyond civilization is easily understood when looking at its past and modern history. A place where centuries ago pirates attacked Spanish ships loaded with precious cargo and strong-willed Wayuu never surrendered. Modern days see different kind of adventurers: large scale smuggling is so widespread, extensive and above all, so obvious that it is almost beyond belief. Continue Reading →