Galapagos – Isabela island

The second half of our trip involved escaping Santa Cruz (& the island’s biggest city of Puerto Ayora) in favor of hanging on Isabela, the largest island with 5 active volcanoes but limited population & a tiny little sand-road capital town of Puerto Villamil. It seems many people visit the island on cruises but don’t stay overnight & those who do, only stay a night or 2. We fell in love with the place, enjoyed some insane day trips (snorkeling & an active crater volcano), snorkeled daily at the magical Concha de Perla, celebrated carnival & even had our own local go-to restaurant.

The sweet little town of Puerto Villamil

Our first snorkeling experience at Concha de Perla, a little lagoon-like atmosphere bordered by lava rocks, featuring these cool tunnel formations good for exploring & reached by walking through mangroves.

Playful penguin

https://youtu.be/10pfRMcl5Co

5hr hike to top of Sierra Negra, an active crater volcano

Malene, a cool ass chick from Denmark we met on the boat, hung with us for awhile on Isabela & for this incredible snorkeling trip to Las Tuneles which included a first stop at this dope place containing quite a surprise.

We dove down to a shark den filled with white tipped reef sharks. OMFG it was amazing!!!

Please take the time to watch this 10 second video of the shark den. Trust me, it’s worth it.

https://youtu.be/i57FA33hzbY

The biggest sea turtles I’ve ever seen. And lots of them.

This one was as long as me & its head was as big as me. Yes that’s me.

We saw a couple massive eagle rays in a tunnel as well as the large white tipped shark below

Blue-footed booby showing off. We were lucky enough to watch 2 blue-footed boonies perform their mating dance.

Relaxing at happy hour after an amazing day of snorkeling

We rented bikes & hiked uphill to a nice lookout point over Isabela

We were finally able to see flamingos. We had tried a couple other times to see them in their typical habitat but they were a no show.

Isabela’s carnival celebration started the Saturday before Ash Wednesday & continued for 4 days. Lots of body paint, spray cans full of foamy body paint, water balloons, loud music, salsa, drinks & food til the early morning hours.

On our second snorkeling trip to Concha de Perla, among several other types of marine life, we swam real close to penguins. For once, they weren’t darting every which way being their elusive selves. Rather, they were floating much like ducks in a group of 3 & floated right up next to us. K, G&I had our masks half out of the water silently watching when after about 3 minutes, G asks “What are those?”. Trying not to drown due to laughter, I quickly responded “they’re penguins!”. It was first & only time of trip where those little guys weren’t zipping past us so it was real nice (& unusual) to get a real close look.

On our last snorkeling outing to Concha de Perla on our last day on Isabela, K&I came upon the little dock after a tour group had just arrived. People everywhere. We both silently cursed as we assumed we wouldn’t have the same amazing experiences given all the people. Boy were we wrong. After about 15 minutes, a young male sea lion slid into the lagoon from the lava rocks in low tide & slipped in right under me. Of course we attempted to follow him but clearly he was pretty quick. We guessed right & followed him into the mangrove tunnels where not only did we find him, he proceeded to swim & play with us for the next 15-20mins. He’d come swimming quickly right at me, making this intense eye contact & then within 4-6 inches of my mask, he’d quickly dart away. He was doing spins & twirls & flips, swimming all around us, darting every which way. He was rolling on the sea floor, then tried to pick up shells & other debris before he blew a big bubble that came directly up towards me. I reached out my hand & popped it & he seemed to respond kindly as he proceeded to continue blowing multiple bubbles at us. He’d disappear for a minute & then we’d think the games were over & K&I would celebrate with high-fives, when all of a sudden, he’d appear out of nowhere to seemingly surprise us & the games would start all over again. It was the most amazing magical experience being so up close & personal to this little guy. We kept our space, respected his, let him take the lead, & weren’t frantically moving about sticking cameras in his face to get the best shot. Perhaps it’s ridiculous but I think he responded to that. Eventually it had to end. But by this time, we considered him a friend so we nicknamed him “Jugue”, short for “jugueton” which means “playful” in Spanish. I love Jugue.

Galapagos – Cruise aboard Nemo III

The girls & I decided it was a must to get on a boat as part of our 1.5 week visit to the Galapagos in order to visit islands inaccessible via day trips from the main island of Santa Cruz. Because the cruises can be quite expensive & we wanted a nice boat with a limited number of passengers, we decided to roll the dice & wait to book a last minute deal for a reduced price given it was low season. Gina & I had success while basking in the sun in Montanita & booked us a cruise aboard the Nemo III, a gorgeous catamaran with a capacity of only 15 passengers, a phenomenal crew, amazing food & an informed, energetic naturalist guide Sara. What was out of our control were the fellow passengers but we were thankfully blessed with the best group of people who were fun, laid back, interesting, excited to explore & embracing of our goofiness… so much so, the group ended up endearingly calling us “the weirdos”. This was perhaps due to the fact that we were always overly excited to discuss, witness, document on video & laugh while rehashing later many fascinating yet normal parts of nature including mating rituals of various species, failed attempted mating rituals of giant tortoises, & odd bathroom behavior of land iguanas, penguins & golden rays. It’s all a part of nature so why not embrace it?

It’s not everyday you can read 0 degrees N/S on the compass. The equator is pretty dope.

We reached Darwin Bay in Genovesa to hike the Prince Phillip Steps to bird watch. Who knew I’d get so into birding?

The elusive red-footed booby. And yes, of course towns sell tees emblazoned with “I love boobies”. Keeping it klassy everywhere.

The less famous masked Nasca booby has boring grey feet but she was protecting her eggs which was pretty adorable.

The male magnificent frigatebird inflates its red sac & makes a loud noise to try to attract females in its mating ritual. Apparently female frigatebirds are drawn to the males with the biggest sacs. Interesting.

This is one of the maybe 40 big hammerhead sharks we saw snorkeling up close & personal. Within 5 minutes in the water, Captain Henry helped G&I find a pack of 12 hammerheads swimming awfully close. It only got better from there with a pack of 30+ manta & golden rays circling us so of course that means I have to dive deep to get as close as possible to the mantas. We saw a Galapagos shark, supposedly the most dangerous in these waters, yet minding its own business. And at the very end of the session, I spied a sea turtle & I swam off after him only to lose him but thankfully was met by another school of hammerheads. The entire experience was unreal. I’ve never seen so much action before involving large marine life, even diving. I’d just stay in one spot with my eyes trained on the deep blue watching for shadows that almost always turned into something really fantastic. It was K’s first true snorkeling experience & I told her it was all downhill from here.

There was no motivating this sleeping sea lion into coming to swim with us. Next time.

We woke up to this view between Santiago & Bartolome Islands after an overnight cruise from Genovesa.

Explored the lava flow fields on Santiago Island.

We snorkeled at Sullivan Bay in Santiago & saw sea turtles, penguins (quite elusive & darting all over while fishing), white tipped reef shark & sea lions (see below; quite curious & into close swim-bys).

My number 1 marine life I was dying to see was the giant manta ray. After snorkeling & right before lunch, I was alone on deck chatting with Pedro, the 2nd captain, when he abruptly pointed & yelled “orcas”. I ran to the bow to check it out while he ran aft to notify all the other passengers. They certainly looked a bit like orcas but only bc they were so big. But they were indeed giant manta rays with wing spans of 25-35ft. There was a school of them swimming with our boat. Word is that when they’re in a group, they are quite curious. So of course I was repeatedly asking, no begging, Diego, the first captain, if I could jump off our (moving) boat to swim with them. The answer was consistently no, accompanied by a knowing smirk, so while I didn’t get to swim with them, I did get a pretty incredible bird’s eye view. Love love love the Galapagos. It makes dreams come true.

Here’s a video of the giant manta ray (& our funny reactions)

https://youtu.be/G-mkbroR2Mc

A little post-lunch triangle dominoes with Owen & Griffin, 2 great kids & lucky nephews of Patty & Cameron.

We hiked on Santa Cruz Island at Dragon Hill with the goal of seeing land iguanas (we were very lucky seeing upwards of 15) as well as marine iguanas, lava lizards, & some quite interesting / revolting dragon poo porn (of course captured on video bc we’re weirdos but I’ll spare you the gritty details).

Nemo III group photo staged by a land iguana

To cool off from the hot hike, GK&I jumped from the front of the boat & swam under the boat through the 2 hulls. It reminded me of doing the same thing with Sara in Croatia. Gotta love catamarans.

Another rousing round of triangle dominoes with Owen!

We happened upon 2 giant tortoises mating. We knew bc the male was making a really loud sound. So we scrambled through the forest to find them, led all the way by our guide Sara who, by this point, had fully embraced our weirdness. These creatures tend to do everything real slow so thankfully we came upon them towards the end of the session. I waited with a few others to watch the dismount bc the male dwarfed the female in size. Only then did the real fun begin & we noticed the male tortoise had mounted the female backwards. We could see the female’s head, still hidden deeply in her shell with an imagined look of disgusted shame. There will be no baby tortoise as a result of that session. Kate, who works for the WWF, said it great by “no wonder they need the research center to help with breeding bc these males in the wild have no idea what they’re doing”. Hysterical. And again, video-documented of course.

Montanita for (watching) extreme surfing

After an exhausting visit to Quito (sarcasm), Gina & I headed to the coast for some beach time at Montanita, Ecuador, a tiny little surfing community. I had hoped to take some surfing lessons. And then I saw the waves. Massive. We agreed we’d never seen surfing like this before. We called it extreme surfing. This was no chill sport. These local dudes were badasses doing & landing 360 spins with their boards on a steady lineup of massive waves. Waves so massive there were red flags vividly waving on the beach warning swimmers yet despite that, the lifeguard crew kept really busy all day long fighting these massive waves & ensuing undertow to rescue people who were panicking after being swept out. I think the record was 3 rescues in one hour. So we decided this wasn’t a place for beginner surfers but boy did we have a blast watching in awe as these guys attacked with their boards.
There’s another side to this tiny little surfing mecca. It seems to be a party destination for South Americans as clubs raged til the early morning & spilled out onto the tiny little streets, quite charming by day. As a result, people sleep til noon, had breakfast & then hit the beach by 3pm. G&I sampled the crazy fiesta one night but generally, we stuck to the quiet charming beachside restos serving fantastic fresh seafood, cold beers & live music & had the beach largely to ourselves until mid-afternoon.

I think this photo, that perfectly captures the spirit of Montanita, is my fave photo I’ve ever taken. Yep I’m pretty proud of this one.

This is maybe in my top ten. Good subject matter obviously.

Fresh ceviche served right on the beach. Earlier in the day is preferred for obvious reasons.

Tiny little surf town no more than 4 streets deep

I found I can still find great fresh fruit juices in Ecuador

Great fresh seafood, delicious mojitos, live music & triangle dominoes with one of my BFFs?!?!!?!! Yes please!!!

Video of beach scene (pay attention to surfer at end)

https://youtu.be/QnNHlVubmGM

Quito in 1 day 2 times

I visited Quito twice on this trip. The first time with Gina for 1.5 days. The second time with Kristin & Amy for 1 day after the rest of our Ecuador adventures on our way to Peru. I played the role of tour guide the second time during our 10hr layover. So while I know there’s more to see, I’m fairly confident I can give a pretty good overview of Quito’s old town in a day, including plenty of time for food & drink, as we all came away loving the city.

Teleferico ride up to the mountains surrounding Quito, specifically Volcan Pichincha, for a fabulous lookout over the city & hike. Or in G&I’s case… a closer look at the cloud enveloping the mountain top.

The view from El Panecillo, a hilltop overlooking the old town, featuring a statute of the Virgin Mary.

Climbing stairs & frighteningly steep ladders to the top of a gorgeous Basilica del Voto Nacional w stunning views of the old town & El Panecillo. Due to my bizarre fear of ladders, this was no easy task for me so I chose to sit out the second round & grabbed a drink at the base while waiting for the girls.

The basilica may now be my fave church toured due to the unusual concrete animal statues diving off the facade. How boring are gargoyles when you can instead have anteaters, monkeys & alligators? I’m a big fan of the unusual.

Unlike G, I did NOT have a smile on my face when tackling the ladder

Wandering the streets of the old town & exploring its lovely plazas including Plaza Grande featuring the Presidential palace & political rallies (especially the week before the national election) & Plaza San Francisco.

Traditional Ecuadorian lunch of fritada sitting outdoors in the lovely Plaza San Francisco (my personal fave Quito plaza) & perhaps a game (or 5) of triangle dominoes, the addicting game I discovered in Bottle Beach, Ko Pha Ngan that G heroically stashed in her backpack to Ecuador.

Drinks on the rooftop of Vista Hermosa restaurant overlooking the old town, it’s plazas & El Panecillo.

Wandering La Ronda, a beautifully quiet pedestrian street during the day featuring shops & art galleries that transforms at night into a raucous array of cafes, bars & live music.

Otavalo day-trip… although next time I’d stay much longer

While not ready to leave Colombia, I was quite excited to move on to Ecuador, not only bc I was so looking forward to visiting the Galapagos, long on my must-see list, but also bc 3 close friends were meeting me. I had a day+ in Quito to kill before the first arrived so of course I decided to get out of the city & into nature. It was a Saturday & that meant the largest outdoor market in all of South America dating back hundreds of years was happening up north in Otavalo so I headed there on a 3hr cramped local bus. I wandered, found the Ecuadorian version of street food, shopped too much given I only have a small backpack & then decided to hire a taxi driver to run me to Cotacachi, a dormant Andes volcano 30mins away that especially piqued my interest when I flew directly over it the day prior, for a couple hours of hiking at 4,500m (ugh) before returning to Quito to meet my girl, G. My only regret? Not spending more time up north. The Andes scenery was beautiful & very unique as it was quite lush & featured several massive volcanoes dotting the horizon. I could easily spend a week+ up here hiking & exploring. Next time.

Cute little dude from whom I bought a couple hippy handmade bracelets

Colombia recap

So if you can’t already tell, I really like Colombia. It has so much to offer. Some say it has all of South America packed into one little country, from grand bustling cities to charming historic colonial towns, from imposing Andes mountains to relaxing beaches, from coffee & chocolate to natural fruit juices, from 2 coastlines to otherworldly deserts & all the adventure sports one could want including diving, hiking, trekking to ruins of ancient cultures, kiting, rafting, etc. I agree. On my ever-changing list of fave countries, it probably now falls inexplicably second to only the elusive Vietnam.
Internal travel was on point – cheap intercountry flights always on time, cheaper buses always on time (at least for me)… although I did skip out on extended bus trips over what I’m told are less-than-ideal roads – why would I do that to myself when I can take a flight for 1/20 of the time at USD$40?
People are absolutely incredible – after visiting Cuba, I admit I wasn’t relishing in the idea of dealing with the machismo that so often comes in Latin cultures (a nod to Italy & Spain as well), but everyone I encountered in Colombia, as a traveling solo female, was not only kind, accommodating & helpful, but very respectful & that was such an overwhelmingly wonderful surprise. In fact, I had several Colombian men inquire about how I’ve been treated as if they were making sure their fellow countrymen were acting appropriately.
Bottom line… I could NOT overstate the extent to which I recommend you visit this country. I felt blessed to spend one month here but it wasn’t nearly enough. So I will be back.

Bogota – better than expected but go for the street art

I admit, I wasn’t expecting a whole lot from Bogota. It’s a big city of 8 million & I had heard it was very well established, as opposed to Medellin’s growth arc, lots of traffic & smog, frequently rainy & overcast, & not much to see. Most of that is probably true although perhaps I lucked out in terms of weather as I enjoyed sunny beautiful days & no rain. The city was far prettier than I expected with much less smog. It featured stunning views from Monserrate overlooking the city. IMHO the old town leaves a lot to be desired, is unsafe at night & relatively uninspiring during the day so I stayed north near the great restaurants & nightlife. Perhaps it’s a sign of my humble digs during the prior 2 weeks, but I greatly enjoyed my Bogota hot showers & great experimental food but it’s also the first McDonald’s I’d seen on the trip.
By far my fave part of the city is all of the street art. Bogota is known for having the most street-artist friendly laws (i.e. it’s not illegal & building owners often commission murals) attracting famous street artists from all over the world. Of course this is the case after a truly unfortunate event in which a 16yo kid was shot in the back by police in 2010 when caught late at night painting a building. But since, the close knit street art community worked hand-in-hand with law enforcement & now in the eyes of the law, it’s viewed as an art form, so they’re allowed to do their thing with full support of the community & during the day when it’s saf. So I took a graffiti walking tour of Bogota & learned about the various artists & their signatures & then just had fun wandering the streets on my own in search of other artwork.

Monserrate, reached by cable car or funicular, & Bogota city views

Alta Guajira’s Punta Gallinas… its eerie end-of-the-world landscapes make the journey a can’t miss

I’ve always said the places really worth visiting are difficult to get to. Difficult travels keep the casual tourist from visiting. Those are the places I like to find. Punta Gallinas takes that to the nth degree both in terms of travel & payoff. It is LITERALLY one of the most beautiful & wild places I’ve ever been to in my entire life (no hyperbole, really). The desert environment is harsh but so odd bc it’s unlike any desert I’ve ever seen with its aqua lagoons & plateaus, rocky cliffs & reddish-hued sand dunes rolling right into the sea. Temperatures are extreme but that’s the alta Guajira and Punta Gallinas is the Northernmost tip of Colombia & South America.
Cabo de la Vela is the most visited place in alta Guajira. In fact, I met many people in Cabo de la Vela who fell in love with it (& kite surfing) & have therefore stayed for 1wk to 1mo but haven’t bothered to head N on the trek to Punta Gallinas. Even kiting instructors who’ve been there for months haven’t ventured N… “no time & I hear the road is terrible”. Those fools clearly don’t know what they’re missing. Well the “road” is terrible. I’m not sure you can even call it a road. The 4hr drive is in a massive 4WD w a seriously insane driver ripping through the desert, sometimes following prior tracks & sometimes creating new. The drive, which starts at 5am, leads to a 30min boat ride on a wooden skiff before you arrive at 1 of 2 hostels in Punta Gallinas. Then there’s not much to do right around the hostel but for a beach 2km walk away w a stunning view of Bahia Hondita providing for lovely sunsets. To see what Punta Gallinas has to offer, that involves piling in an even more massive 4WD on a day tour. So again, it’s more work while at Cabo de la Vela, the shack you’re staying in overlooks the water. But wow is it worth it as my jaw dropped further & further in wonder & awe with each stop.
There’s no one around in Punta Gallinas. Only 8 Wayuu families live there & operate the hostels & run the tours. Not too many tourists venture this far N & those that do, are awfully cool. You bond rather quickly, even at 5am, when you’re crammed in a 4WD together, getting bounced & thrown nearly on top of one another w each turn & rut. We banded together over the next 2 days exploring during the day, enjoying sunsets at dusk, & playing rousing hands of cards at night. Surprisingly, the lodging conditions in Punta Gallinas were an improvement over Cabo de la Vela. I was expecting worse due to its difficult accessibility but it actually had running water & electricity (solar power & generator). It really makes me question what’s going on in Cabo de la Vela. While it has 50 Wayuu families & 1500 people, the ratio of tourists is probably consistent so I can’t believe the worse conditions are due to a cost issue. Sleeping conditions were the same but I sleep so well outdoors in chinchorros, I don’t mind it. And I hit a record for cheapest lodging per night as a chinchorro cost the equivalent of only USD$7 (Cabo de la Vela was a whopping USD$8).
Definitely one of my fave trips ever.

One set of headlights following us on the early morning drive to Punta Gallinas.

It was a bit bumpy on the drive

https://youtu.be/mzLF5gdDxSQ

I just couldn’t get over the color mix – orange / red sand against the aqua sea & bright blue sky

Arriving by boat through the mangroves

https://youtu.be/xbcnJxbZikc

The craziest coolest lagoon in a desert I’ve ever seen.

https://youtu.be/M2Hlbjze54o

This was the showstopper… we walked up & over the biggest, steepest sand dune that rolled right into the sea below. Running down the steep incline & face planting into the water was really a terrible time.

https://youtu.be/glDXDiNZuXg
It felt as if you were walking over the edge of a cliff as you couldn’t see the very bottom til you’d committed

https://youtu.be/EnZmPb7xITM

https://youtu.be/0vR7sm7Uugc

Alta Guajira’s Cabo de la Vela… visit only if you really love kiting (or as an overnight before Punta Gallinas)

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.

The ride from Uribia to Cabo de la Vela w my backpack at the top of the heap.

Being chased down by the lazy well-off gringos in their SUVs. They’re missing out on half the fun. You appreciate it more if you work for it.

Video of the drive:

https://youtu.be/fxskFbcpiGk

View of town from my hostel. If you’re going to do remote, you might as well go all in. My headlamp was critical on this trip.

View from other side of town, towards my hostel

The 2 Wayuu bags, or mochilas, I bought in Cabo de la Vela as well as a bracelet made by a fun 13yo boy. I made him tell me about school & what he was learning & we talked for 30mins before I’d buy a bracelet. Then we made up our own secret handshake he was always so excited to show off the countless times we’d run into each other. The bags are so interesting. Each pattern has a special meaning. Upon a girl’s first menstrual cycle, she’s locked away w her mom & grandma for 6mos to 1yr as they teach her how to be a Wayuu woman which includes learning how to crochet these bag & the meaning behind the patterns. Don’t ask me what my patterns mean. All I know is the white one is about 2x cost of the multi-colored one due to the quality of the materials. I think they’re gorgeous. I’d have bought 20 if I could to bring them home for everyone. But they weren’t super cheap. Many Colombians carry them – all Wayuu do – both men & women.

Casa Playa on Los Naranjos beach… there’s nothing wrong with treating yourself every now & then (or 2 wks into your trip)

I was a bit indecisive when it came to choosing lodging for my Parque Tayrona visit. I tried a couple spots but they were shockingly booked up. Meanwhile, I had been emailing w this dude for a couple weeks… at first regarding availability about one of his properties (booked) & then regarding my questions on Tayrona. He was pitching me a room in another property that was more than I wanted to spend, but I found him to be helpful as he offered to buy my Tayrona ticket & coordinate the taxi. So I decided to splurge a bit on a room in Casa Playa, only a 10-min drive E from Tayrona right on the beach near where a river intersects the sea. I had the bus drop me at the drive & found the lovely casa w it’s private pool perched atop a bluff directly overlooking the sea to the front & the river to the rear, flanked by crazy ridiculous beaches & equipped w a house man Benedicto. Best part? I was the only one to rent a room so not only did I get the best room but I had the whole place to myself which was perfect after an exhausting day at Tayrona. Only downside? The house was so close to the sea, the waves crashing below were pretty darn loud at night. I can’t even type that with a straight face. No the downside is I only had 3 days / 2 nights here.