Right up in the north-eastern corner of Colombia, bordering Venezuela and the Caribbean lies the Guajira peninsula. This is a region that nominally belongs to Colombia but remains sparsely populated and out of touch with the rest of the country due in part to its hostile yet intriguing desert environment. Make the trip here now as it is slowly becoming a travel destination for the more intrepid visitor.

I was staying with a couple of Colombians and a friend of mine came to visit us from Scotland. Keen to know everything about Colombian culture, she sat listening intently as our hosts unloaded hours of information about the country’s history of the country, and how things are now. Having explored what I thought was every corner possible, my friend suddenly turned meek. Sheepishly, she asked, "What about Starbucks? Are there any Starbucks here?" Laughter rung through the apartment.

Very occassionally a trip comes along that reminds you why you fell in love with travel in the first place: the sense of adventure, the overwhelming feel of amazement with the world and the excitement of encountering new cultures you didn't know existed.

The first time I went to Colombia, in 2008, I stayed with my friend Carolina and her family. It was December, and people were already gearing up to celebrate. In daily conversations with friends, the word "rumba" kept coming up over and over again in the context of going out at night, but I could never pin down what it actually meant. “Hay rumba?” “Vamos a rumbear?” Is there a rumba? Are we going to rumba? I tried asking Carolina: -Rumba is like fiesta? -Sort of....-It's going out dancing? -Well, kind of...