Well, well, what can I say about the final week of travels. Many beautiful places. Let`s see, when last we spoke I was on the way to the Sierra Nevada, to a small coffee growing town called Minca, specifically. I went with Will and Rachel and as soon as we arrived, we headed straight to a swimming hole, a half hour walk up into the jungle on a gravel road. The river was beautiful, huge rocks and deep pools where we could throw oursleves off 20 ft. rocks and land gently. SO that was lovely. We stayed at a hostel run by a british dude that was up on a hill surrounded by coffee and plantain trees and with an unbelievable view all the way to Santa Marta (an our below) and the sea. The next day we walked up another trail to another waterfall next to a shade grown coffee plantation, where I bought a bag of freshly ground beans. The walk was great- following the river, passing some enormous trees with big vines hanging of them, seeing big woodpeckers and ant hills built onto the sides of trees the size of a mini refrigerator! That afternoon we caught a ride back down to Santa Marta, bid fairwell to our kind host Camilo and his family, and headed to the crossroads to catch a bus to Riohacha, capital of La Guajira department, our next destination. From there, the next morning, we joined with Rachel and another ETA Diana to go to the famed Cabo de la Vela. Getting there involved a 3 hour ride in the back of a truck with a dozen other people, including a Wayuu (indigenous herders that are the main population of the semi dersertic Guajira) woman with her 4 adorable daughters, one of which m,ade the trip on my lap fast asleep despite the joloting bumps. We finally arrived and what a place!! Cabo is a bay where sandy flats meet bright blue ocean and there are beaches where you can walk out 300 meters and still be just up to your waste. It is a very popular destination these days, but luckily we arrived just at the end of the last 3 day weekend holiday, so things were pretty relaxed. In any case, it`s a pretty isolated location with little fresh water. All that`s there is a strip of shacks (just years ago it was just a tiny Wayuu fishing village nobody had ever heard of), and huts with chinchorros (big hammocks that are the main accomadation). So we wandered along the beach out to the lighthouse, watched the sun set, watched a full moon rise over the water, and fell asleep in hammocks at the edge of the beach (although a few Colombian tourists in their trucks blasting vallenato down the way all night broke the peace a bit). The next day we decided to go to a similar though even more isolated beach area called Punto Gallinas, the northernmost point of South America. That involved an even more harrowing 5 hour truck ride, this time with an open top and incredible bumps, so much that I stood up most of the way so as not to bruise my arse, although we also had to duck thorny bushes too. But again, when we arrived, we realized why it was worth it. Even more spectacular beaches, white sand dunes, and nodoby around except for the occasion Wayuu family hut and of course goats everywhere among the straggly vegetation. We spent 2 nights with a large Wayuu family with a view of the bay, and again in chinchorros. The second day we splurged on lobster, which is not too expensive and soooo delicious! Mostly we just lazed around on various beaches, collecting shells, body surfing on the waves, getting stung a bit by small jellyfish, and reading and stargazing at night. By the time we took the boat back to Cabo on Thursday we were all just sort of in a trance by the beauty and isolation of the place.
Then I went into return mode. A long riude in various cars back to Valledupar where I spent a night with Natalia and family, and the next day gathered dozens of the last of the mango harvest off the roof of the neighborhood church, guided by a short, scruffy, laid back priest who sent us home with a bucketful! One last dip in the river Guatapuri and then I caught the all night bus that brought me back to TUnja! I`m about to meet with Milena, so things are swell, except for being exhausted and a bit stuffy nosed. But I`m ready to settle down a while after so much being in transit. Cheers!! Stay tuned for semester 2 from UniBoyacá!
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