The beginning of the end in La Guajira

Well, well, well, here we are....at the start of the end. What do I mean by that you ask? I mean that this journey, this post, is about the most northern part of our travels. After this, we're heading south, back to Chile, and ultimately back to England. That doesn't mean that there are no more adventures. No, I am sure there will be plenty more to come, but this part of our journey is an odd kind of adventure.

The most northern part of Colombia and of course South America is Punta Gallina on a peninsula called La Guajira, an incredibly barren, desert-like landscape. Everywhere you look, there are sand dunes, salt flats, mangroves, cacti forests. An incredibly harsh environment. But don't you worry... Chiquita (our car!) was charging past rocky routes, cacti forests and into salt flats covered in sand, racing along the dirt roads.

Another reason why Guajira is so harsh  is because there is no water. Everywhere we travelled, the indigenous people are so poor and are making road barriers and stopping people to ask for rice, coffee, water, sweets...anything really. They are so desperately poor - but the kids still had amazing smiles to share. They haven't had good rain in three years, and it didn't look like there was any rain coming! I felt so sorry for them, thinking how insanely difficult their life must be.

Once again, I felt how lucky we are to be doing this trip. It's hard to explain but for the most part of our trip, I keep on getting these mixed, opposite feelings of joy and excitement with sorrow or sadness. La Guajira definitely brought up these weird, extreme feelings. 

Despite its harshness, La Guajira felt wildly beautiful. There is nothing in sight apart from the sand dunes and the sea, it made me feel like I was at the end of the world! I feel so proud of our family for  making it up to here, through the ups and downs, and I am so excited to see what the future holds for us as we head south...

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