Colombia: Guajira Desert, Santa Marta, Minca, Cartagena (Week 3-4)

Guajira Desert

I finished my workaway about a week and a half ago and officially began a different level of solo traveling in Colombia. Before leaving Riohacha, I knew I couldn’t take off before visiting the infamous Guajira desert. After all, I had been working in La Guajira for three weeks, helping guests book tours to the desert, so I felt it was only fitting that I go visit it myself. Now, I’m not much of a desert type of gal. I really don’t care much for that type of biome, but I realized I also haven’t really exposed myself to any sort of desert experience. My roommate Pikachu and my host Bea have shared with me how magical deserts are. They both seem to find so much beauty in them. Bea shared with me recently that she found her love, now current partner, under the desert night stars. I figured I should check it out, give it a chance, and who knows, maybe my perspective on natural beauty would be enhanced.

I spent three days and two nights in the desert. One night was spent in Cabo de la Vela where kitesurfing is very popular amongst tourists. The other night was spent in Punta Gallinas which is hours deeper into the desert and even more isolated from everything else. This is also the place where the northernmost point of South America is. My desert tour group consisted of our driver Bood, two British girls Lucy and Amber, and one guy from Bogota, Diego. They were a very engaging and fun group. It took around 2-3 hours to reach our first stay in Cabo de la Vela, and it was beautiful to see how the ocean water can be such a bright blue color. The contrast between the bright blue water and light brown colored sand was something I had never seen before. We slept in chinchorros both nights which are similar to hammocks. However, some differences are chinchorros are handwoven by indigenous Wayuu women using stronger material than that of hammocks. I learned the secret to sleeping comfortably in a chinchorro is to pick a one that is significantly larger than your body, and sleeping as diagonal as possible, essentially forming an X with your body and the chinchorro. My first night was very uncomfortable. From learning these two tips, my second night was a little better. After our stay in Cabo de la Vela, we then headed to Punta Gallinas. I think the drive from Cabo de la Vela to Punta Gallinas was one of my favorite parts of the whole trip. It felt like we were off-roading on a Wild Wild West adventure, trekking through fields of cactus, without any sort of clear sign guiding our way. Luckily, Bood seemed to have the whole route memorized because he knew when to make lefts, rights, drive straight, slow down, avoid holes, speed up, and everything in between. In both Cabo de la Vela and Punta Gallinas, we got to spend some time in secluded beaches that not many get to see because of the difficulty of this journey. This is where the desert meets the ocean! It was pretty impressive.

It was eye-opening to see one thing the region lacked greatly was water.  Children constantly stopped us using their homemade road barriers to ask for water or anything else we were able to give. During the three days of driving we were probably stopped more than 40 times… no exaggeration. Luckily, Diego had suggested to the group beforehand that we purchase water and snacks to hand out throughout our trip. We did this and were able to give it away to the children. One thing that really impacted me was the contrast the children showed between their persistence in asking for such an essential thing like water, and the joy they showed when Bood would crack a joke with them through his driver’s window. Smiles were shared by the children so freely. It was really beautiful, yet still very difficult to see.

Santa Marta

After saying my final goodbyes to Bea, our newly hired Leynar, and the hostel pets Palomina and Musaa I went off to my first stop, Santa Marta. I was really excited that leaving one week early from the workaway coincided with me being able to attend the Fiesta del Mar celebration Santa Marta has every year to celebrate the city’s birthday. The city was now celebrating its 493^rd birthday which makes it the oldest city in Colombia. Carlos Vives, one of my favorite singers, is from Santa Marta and many people were telling me that he always shows up to the festivities either to perform or to be amongst the crowd, so I had a good chance of seeing him. This amped my excitement by so many more levels. I searched for the schedule of events to be prepared. The first few nights I wanted to be closer to the city’s old town to enjoy the festivities held there. However, one thing I was sure of was I wanted to go to Saturday night’s concert, so I made sure to find a hostel close enough to Playa Rodadero where it was going to be held, to stay my final night.

In Santa Marta I met a few travelers who I got a chance to enjoy some of the weekend festivities with. One person in particular who I got to spend a few days with was Freek (pronounced with a short e sound, I accidentally called him freak at first). We got a chance to go out dancing, or shall I say rumbiar, as Colombians like to call any type of partying. He decided he wanted to join me in my plans to go to the concert Saturday night, so it worked out perfect because I was a little unsure how I was going to be going and staying out so late on my own. Safety has been my top priority during my traveling yet I feel like things have been working themselves out in such great ways where I usually find people to do night activities with.

On Saturday we decided to spend the afternoon at the beach before getting ready for the concert. The waiter at the restaurant we were eating dinner at found a person selling tickets and sent her over to us. We chose the second-best seating option for a total of about $9 each, so inexpensive! There were many Colombian performers that came on, most who I had never heard of. No, Carlos Vives did not show up. His Instagram page showed he was on a European tour. However, the energy was so high and fun. It was pure dancing and singing from the entire crowd, and it was great to be an outside observer and watch the excitement of so many when a specific song would come on, or a particular singer would go on stage. That was a new perspective for me, watching the crowd and shifts in energy since, besides dancing, I couldn’t partake too much with singing along. Freek and I’s energy started slowing down around 1:30am. We were both getting so sleepy so around 2am I suggested we head on back to the hostel. The concert continued for I am not sure how much longer, but it didn’t seem close to ending. Colombians sure know how to rumbiar!

Santa Marta began opening up my eyes to how kind Colombians are. I still have not met a single person that has made me feel uncared for or disrespected. It seems to be embedded in their culture to be helpful and patient. Both their kindness and patience are beautiful to witness. I notice they help out with such sincerity and care when someone is in need of assistance whether it’s a local or tourist. I am learning so much from them on how kindness and patience really go a long way in interactions between people. And even moreso, how special it feels when someone who is unfamiliar with an area receives it from someone who is a local. It is such a warm and hospitable feeling. I have felt immensely welcomed in this country by so many.

Minca

I planned to head over to Minca for the next four days and I am so glad I did because two nights of staying out late dancing really exhausted me. My body’s endurance with staying up late is really shifting. For the past few months now, I have had private talks in my head where I have realized having one good night a month of celebrating late into the night, is more than enough for me. And for me personally, it almost becomes something to look forward to and get excited about. Okay, I think it is a sign that I am definitely aging, but that thought of rumbiando on a monthly basis feels blissful to me.

Now, Minca became my little mountain getaway. It is a small village nestled up in the Sierra Nevada mountains and everyone I spoke to who had already been there said it is a must do. Minca is filled with different hiking trails and nature to immerse yourself and get lost in. I had never seen so many butterflies in their natural habitat as I did in Minca. I saw critters I had never seen before as well. For one morning, I planned to trek to a beautiful spot called Pozo Azul. This waterfall spot was two hours away from my hostel, so I knew I had to plan for a minimum of four and a half hours to be away. However, 40 minutes into my trek I began feeling light raindrops and I knew I needed to decide pretty soon whether I was going to continue on to Pozo Azul or head on back. A few minutes in I decided to head on back because I had no idea if the rain was going to get stronger or how long it was going to last. I didn’t want to be caught in heavy rain, alone, and in an unfamiliar area. Luckily I decided this, because it began pouring for the rest of the day.

Heading back to my hostel I stopped at a café where I met another American traveler named Matt. It has been rare for me to encounter an American traveling from the time I’ve been in Colombia. He and I both were left stranded in the café for the next three hours due to the rain, however this created an opportunity to eventually dive deep into a conversation on the pursuit of passions, specifically, how an individual finds their passion. Matt shared with me that he is in his final year of university studying politics and economics. He mentioned that academia has always been something he has been really good at but not necessarily something he feels in his heart he wants to pursue. Also, he shared how he is now just realizing the person that has put the most pressure to pursue academia has been his own self. He said he unhealthily has correlated self-worth with grades and academic accomplishments. He is aware and is working on shifting his mind frame from this idea. He mentioned what excites him and makes him feel happy is being out in nature and the possibility of meshing that in with working with underserved youth.

We got into a deeper conversation about finding your passion and he asked me how I knew I wanted to be a teacher. I shared with him my part-time job in an after-school program during my university studies that ignited a passion in me to teach. However, I also shared the complexity of where I am at right now with the career I have believed to be my passion. The lack of joy and happiness I was experiencing led me to make the difficult decision of quitting my job and reevaluating what I needed for myself at this moment. I had never had such a huge wake up call to make a change in my life. As difficult as it was to make that decision, I did it, and its ripple effects are where I am at now. I am in the journey of figuring out what I need and want for myself. These changes have caused my priorities to change where health in all levels from physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual are at the forefront. I know that remaining honest with myself, seeking guidance, and using available resources will help guide me in the direction that is right for me.

Cartagena

After Minca, I went to Cartagena for about two days and realized very early that I shouldn’t stay there too long. First, because it is extremely touristy and secondly, because it is much more expensive then everywhere else I had been.  During my two days there, I stayed within the walls that surround the old city and ventured outside the walls for a day to see the Castillo de San Felipe. I did go out for the nightlife twice (which continues to remind me that two nights in a row is exhausting for me).  I met Robert (German), Sarah (British), and Asher (Australian) who I connected with and really made my stay in Cartagena a ball of fun. I even got a proposal by Asher.

The past 1+ month I have been in Colombia has taught me the gift and power of connection with people.  believe myself to be an introvert because of the comfort I tend to find in my own solitude and needing mental breaks from too much social stimulation. However, this past month has pushed me to reach out to strangers, both locals and travelers to ask questions, take suggestions, engage in conversation and it has been such a rewarding experience full of learning, laughs, relationship building, and discovering the commonalities and differences that make us human. I have already met so many people who are challenging my preconceived notions of how life is, in the way I think about myself, others, and the world. I definitely know I need this to help expand my awareness on life which I am realizing more and more how little I know of. So many aha’s have been going through my mind from these connections I have been making with people. For example, the power and strength women possess, the unique relationships people have with their food, the intelligence people similar to my age have about topics I know nothing about, the different ways people budget themselves during travel, stress management, and the high importance in work/life balance I’ve heard many travelers talk to me about. My ignorance is being challenged in so many ways, and I am so glad it is happening now.

Quote: “Slimy, yet satisfying.”

Movie reference: The Lion King- baby simba