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Cabo de la Vela

Colombia

Latin America shoestring ~$30/day
How to get there

Fly to Riohacha, then shared 4x4s through the desert as the roads dissolve into tracks in La Guajira.

Where to sleep

A chinchorro — the Wayuu double-weave hammock — under a palm shelter meters from the sea.

What to expect

South America's northern tip: the Wayuu nation's desert meeting a turquoise sea, salt flats, flamingos, kite surfers at the world's windiest budget spot, and nights of total silence in the hammock.

First move on arrival

Climb Pilón de Azúcar at sunset — desert on one side, Caribbean on the other — then eat fresh lobster cooked by your Wayuu hosts for a few dollars.

When to go

December to April

One phrase to carry

Jamaya — hello, in Wayuunaiki.

Read before you go

One Hundred Years of Solitude — Macondo is down the coast; the Guajira is where Buendías came from.

Getting weirder nearby

Punta Gallinas, the continent's true northernmost point, another half-day deeper in.

One honest warning

Bring cash for everything and small gifts (water, food staples) for checkpoints of Wayuu children — and go with local drivers who know the track braid.

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