During our trip along Colombia’s northern coast, we traveled -through the “desert”- to the village of Cabo de la Vela in La Guajira.
Through the desert to the “middle of nowhere”
As we slowly wake up, a little boy around 8 years old with an intellectual disability approaches us shyly. He sits down a few chairs away from us but slowly seeks contact by occasionally moving up a chair.
That Colombia has much to offer is widely known. However, what we did not expect was that Colombia also has a desert area: La Guajira. Before our trip we never thought we would make this trip, but as always everything turns out differently than planned in advance 😉
Bumpy ride
We left Santa Marta for a few days to the northernmost part of Colombia. From Santa Marta we took a bus to Cuatro Vías (COP25.000) and then changed to a bus to Uribia (COP8.000). The last part of the trip we drove on dirt roads in a jeep (with very hard seats) to our final destination Cabo de la Vela (COP15,000). Cabo de la Vela is a small village located on the coast, with a few huts and restaurants. Many people come to Cabo de la Vela as a stopover to Punta Gallinas in the desert area. However, we didn’t.
Being in Cabo de la Vela feels like going back in time. There is not much to do and experience in this small village with three streets, yet it made a big impression on us.
Minimalist bars
After the long trek, we decided to treat ourselves to a drink at one of the minimalist bars in the village. Soon we started talking to the owner of the bar. He said that if we could teach him some English, he would brush up our Spanish in the evening. As everywhere in Colombia, everyone is incredibly friendly and helpful, but in a village where there is fairly little to do and you rely more on each other, it creates more of a bond.
Want to dance?
After the necessary drinks, he asked if we wanted to join him at a pub to do dance. As we felt like dancing and were very curious where we would end up to dance in this small village, we accepted the offer. A hundred meters away was then THE pub: a container with some disco lights and a CD player with no one on the dance floor. So, who wants to dance?
Special meeting
The next morning, we woke up with a slight headache. We realized that we had a bit too much too drink and that the alcohol didn’t quite leave our bodies yet. As we slowly woke up, a little boy of around 8 years old with a mental disability approached us carefully. He sat down a few chairs away from us, but was slowly seeking contact by occasionally moving up a chair. He started pointing to my camera that was on the table and i asked him to come closer.
A beautiful smile from ear to ear appeared on his face. I took pictures of him which I then showed him, he started blushing and giggling. I give my camera to him and showed him how to take pictures of us. He jumped for joy and for an hour we took pictures of each other, showing them to each other, while communicating with gestures and smiles.
These are the encounters that make travelinf so incredibly special! How a visit to a simple village turned into a trip with special memories for us……
Written by Mellijn
Travel date December 2017, updated September 2025
Would you like to go on an organized tour to Cabo de la Vela (and Punta Gallinas), check out the options here. Look here if you want to know more about la Guajira.
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