Tuesday, May 7th, 2019.

Day 11 of Colombian Caribbean Highlights by Bamba adventures

Todays itinerary:

“Riohacha to Cabo de la Vella

At around 8:00am, you will be picked-up from your accommodation in Riohacha to begin your trip towards Cabo de la Vela. Along the way, visit Uribia, also known as the indigenous capital of La Guajira, famous for the indigenous market of Wayuu handicrafts and clothing, and Manaure salt mines, famous for the huge flocks of flamingoes present during the rainy season. Upon arrival to Cabo de la Vela, enjoy a delicious typical lunch before continuing your visit to Pilon de Azucar beach and onto the lighthouse for a fantastic sunset. Dinner and overnight in Cabo de la Vela on traditional Hammocks.”

We are, with a german boy, the only guests in the hostel. Breakfast is served in the small bar, cereals and a breakfast plate.

With my own bufallo yogurt from the supermarket and cereals breakfast is super. The maracuja marmelade was good, too.

At point 08.00 am the driver is there. The car looks promising.

First we drive to the office of Alta Guajira Tours, where we meet the rest of the tour. 4 Colombian ladies from Bogota in the early 50ies on girls tour. One of them (Marcella) speaks a little bit english, the others (including our driver Jonathan) donot.

They sign something, pay and off we go. 7 in a Toyota Fortuner, only small luggage possible. They put me in front, because of the legs.

First stop on our way up north is Uribie, where we stop in front of the tracks of the coal train, one of the two last operating trains in Colombia.

We buy water (there is no water further up north) and Venezuelan contraband fuel. No ethanol, with lead, good fuel, who cares about catalysers. Fuel station is very manual.

Meanwhile the empty coal train passes by. 70 wagons.

We drive on, where people are it is full of plastic. If there are non, there is beautiful desert.

We arrive at the salt flats of Manaure. It is superhot. Idigenous Ladies do a tour for 2.000 pesos, Spanish only. There are certain families who work there. The men get paid 5.000 pesos per day (1.5 eur) for standing in the sun and super salty water. They di the salt raw from sea water and bring it to a factory, where it gets cleaned, refined, iodized and is sold. The evaporation need 40 days.

We drive on to cabo de la vale to our sleeping place for the night and have lunch there. I ordered fish. They do only deep fried (they do everything only deep fried, except the rice). Bogota ladies are very friendly and helpful with choosing a dish. I always take, what Marcella is taking. And always all 4 – sin salad, no salad, they don’t trust, what isnot cooked or peeled).

We drive on through the desert, to a beach, with a hill and a madonna. We walk up the hill and have a swim afterwards. The we go for the sunset.

Finally we go for sunset. It is only 18:10. All the tourists go there. All 20.

This guy really tries hard to sell me wristbands. In the end, we share my cookies. Fine for him. I get nothing.

Afterwards dinner: I ordered goat (that was what I understood). It could have been anything. It was deep fries, of course.

Accomodation: Cabo de la Vela

Then I go to sleep: