Palomino was in the low region of La Guajira. The high region or alta Guajira is like nothing I’ve ever seen before. Riohacha is the launching point (i.e. not a destination in & of itself) for the alta & its highlights include Cabo de la Vela, population 1500, & Punta Gallinas, far smaller. The region is home to the Wayuu tribe & bc they live in the desert, they can’t grow anything so while they sell their beautifully handmade chinchorros (large hammocks) & bags, they have also welcomed tourism. They invite you into their homes to stay. You sleep in chinchorros outside under a wooden roof for protection from the unusual storm & typical winds but in full view of the starry sky featuring more stars than I’ve ever seen in my life x 10. It’s hot during the day & cold at night thanks to the desert climate. It’s a brutal environment that scares away most tourists. So of course I wanted to visit. 
In the recent past, few tourists ventured as far as Riohacha. Now most tourists who head further NE to Cabo de la Vela & further to Punta Gallinas do so courtesy of 3-day organized tours from Santa Marta in fancy SUVs for a lot of money, much of which does not make it into the hands of the Wayuu. I decided to do it on my own on the cheap & devoted 6 nights, although I wasn’t sure I’d need them all (or could stand them all). For the first time ever, & leveraging my Chicago-honed taxi hailing skills, I flagged down a bus heading E on the main road near the Palomino center, told the driver I was headed to Riohacha & he waved me aboard. 1.5hrs later I made it to Riohacha & pulled out the trusty LP to guide me the rest of the way. Hailed a taxi to run a few errands including cash as Riohacha is the last place I’d see an ATM for a week & everything operates solely on cash up N. Taxi then dropped me at a corner w colectivos looking to fill rides to Uribia. It took about 2 mins to find one w a spot for me, negotiated price & we were off, arriving 1.5hrs later. My colectivo driver seemed most concerned with helping me find the next transport heading to Cabo de la Vela & thankfully his other local riders didn’t seem to mind. 
Now this was the fun part. I was loaded onto a 4WD (bc that’s the only kinda vehicle that can make it any further) & “enjoyed” a bone crushing, teeth chattering 2.5+hr journey to Cabo de la Vela. The truck was like those you see in movies. A big cab w a metal frame in the bed containing wooden bench seats along the side & thankfully metal safety guards to keep you from bouncing out. Then on top? It’s piled high w anything & everything the driver is bringing back to Cabo de la Vela on behalf of various business owners along his route. This includes massive styrofoam containers filled w ice & refrigerated items (bc there’s no refridgerators & barely electricity in Cabo de la Vela), gasoline (a LOT of gasoline including a massive drum that traveled w us in the rear – I chose not to consider what would happen in the event of an accident – bc there’s no gas stations beyond Uribia), various food items & a massive amount of beer (noted). Perched atop everything was my backpack secured w rope. The driver’s 3 sons served as the packers who piled things perfectly in a mound atop the frame & rode atop it until each delivery stop where, in a jenga-like game, they had to carefully remove the intended package without everything else toppling over. It was really quite fascinating. All the while, I’m crammed in the back as the only tourist accompanied by 11 Wayuu women & 5 children on laps w more packages, fruits & veggies, eggs & the massive gasoline drum in between us. It was a trip. We must’ve looked amazingly ridiculous bc all of those rich DBs who paid USD$1k for a 3-day trip were racing up in their fancy SUVs as we neared Cabo de la Vela just to get photos of the circus on wheels & the gringo along for the ride. 
The driver kindly dropped me right at my hostel located a 10min walk outside of town right on the water bc of course, it was on his delivery route. The hostel was recommended by the coffee finca owner & is owned by a couple who’ve been in the area for years & operate a kite surfing school. So my plan in Cabo de la Vela was to finally learn how to kite. I was sure it probably wouldn’t go well but I was down for a challenge & always some laughs. Unfortunately, the owners left last minute due to a family emergency & left the place to some overwhelmed volunteer backpackers & the remaining kiting instructor was far too busy &/or did not excel at time management. He was unable to accommodate all of the kiters on his own so after repeated promises that kept falling through, I decided to call short my time in Cabo de la Vela & head N to Punta Gallinas via a supposed even more harrowing trip. You see, while Cabo de la Vela is a lovely place & the hostel was located right on the water, there is really nothing going on in that town unless you are very into kite surfing. The desert heat leaves you constantly seeking shade & while waiting & hoping for my lessons to begin, I wandered the town, watched other kiters (but that just made me envious), made friends w some local Wayuu kids & of course bought some Wayuu bags.
After the rustic nature of the accommodations in Cabo de la Vela – showers by bucket, toilets as you can imagine (SE Asia prepared me well), no / minimum electricity, few resto options so cooking on your own in a rustic kitchen, occasional mice & cockroaches – given the fact Punta Gallinas is far more remote, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but I was down for it & excited. 

https://youtu.be/fxskFbcpiGk