Colombia - The Rough Guide to South America on a Budget - page 528

5

Punta Gallinas
If Cabo is insufficiently remote, then
perhaps Punta Gallinas will suffice.
Consisting of a turquoise bay fringed
by what is perhaps Colombia's most
beautiful beach, home to a large colony
of pink flamingos and around sixty
Wayuu, Colombia's northernmost tip
is only reachable by organized tour.
Contact Kaí Ecotravel in Riohacha
( T 311 436 2830, W www.kaiecotravel
.com), a reputable operator that also
runs trips to Cabo.

the best beach is on Johnny Cay ,
the palm-shaded, iguana-inhabited
island visible directly across the water.
Numerous boats depart from San
Andrés beach for Johnny Cay in the
mornings around 9am; a return trip
costs around COP$20,000, with the
last boats returning around 5pm (make
sure you remember on which boat you
came). Visits to Johnny Cay can be
combined with a stop at Acuario - a
sliver of sand of the east coast of the
island, where the water is swimming-
pool clear - though on busy days you'll
find yourself fighting for space among
the other visitors, hawkers selling
stuffed crab shells and piña coladas and
stalls renting snorkelling gear; trips to
both places cost around COP$50,000.
If you rent a bicycle or scooter, you
can do an easy loop around the island,
following the coastal road. Along the
west coast, south of El Cove, you'll pass
Piscinita , a beachside restaurant and
snorkelling combo: for COP$2000 entry,
you can swim with the many fishes who'll
eat out of your hand. At the southern
tip of the island is Hoyo Sopladór -
a natural blowhole; when the tide
and wind conditions are right, a jet of
water shoots up to 20m up out of the
hole in the rock. On the east side of
the island, you're often likely to have
the white-sand, windswept beaches of
San Luis all to yourself.

San Andrés and
Providencia
A world apart from the rest of Colombia,
both geographically and culturally, the
San Andrés and Providencia islands sit in
the Caribbean sea near Nicaragua, with
Providencia atop the third-largest barrier
reef in the world. Visitors come all this
way for the fantastic beaches, the best
diving in Colombia, and the unique
Raizal culture; 300-year-old ties to
England mean that the residents of
Providencia in particular speak an
English-based Creole with a Caribbean
lilt. On larger, busier San Andrés the
Raizal culture is much more diluted,
and for many Colombians, one of the
island's draws is its duty-free status,
making it a much cheaper place to shop
than the mainland.

ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
By plane San Andrés airport, a short walk from San
Andrés Town, is served by numerous daily Avianca and
Copa flights from the mainland and is connected to
neighbouring Providencia by Satena flights. You have to
buy a tourist card (COP$47,000) on the mainland before
checking in for your San Andrés flight. Taxis from the
airport to the heart of San Andrés Town cost COP$10,000,
or else you can walk in 10min.
Destinations Bogotá (2 daily; 3hr); Cartagena (daily; 2hr);
Cali (daily; 2hr 45min); Medellín (daily; 2hr 30min);
Providencia (2-4 daily; 30-40min).

SAN ANDRÉS
Seahorse-shaped SAN ANDRÉS is a lively
island with gorgeous (if often crowded)
white-sand beaches, surrounding azure
waters, fantastic diving (see box opposite)
and other natural attractions. Budget
accommodation is concentrated in
San Andrés Town , the capital - a busy
whirl of unpretty concrete buildings,
duty-free shops and careering scooters.

GETTING AROUND AND INFORMATION
Buses Local, not terribly frequent buses leave from
near the Hotel Hernando Henry and cost COP$1300
per ride. The “San Luis” bus runs all the way to the
Hoyo Sopladór.

WHAT TO SEE AND DO
hough San Andrés Town has an
attractive main beach of its own,