Where readers are going in 2009: Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta and Guajira Peninsula, Colombia

The Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta is the highest coastal mountain range in the world. Snow caps only 27 miles from a sweltering Caribbean paradise of unspoiled desolate beaches in Tayrona National Park. Nearly every type of climate imaginable can be found in the “center of the world” as it’s known by the indigenous inhabitants. Neguanje, Playa Cristal, Concha, Cinto, Cabo, Arecifes, Cañaveral, Buritaca, Palomino are some of the amazing white sandy beaches backed by an intense jungle home of the Kogui Native Indians who have rejected developed civilization and stay true to their traditional ways.

At the foot of the Sierra is the city of Santa Marta, the oldest surviving European city in South America. Here three cultures combine to create a sumptuous blend. If Brazil lacks indigenous heritage and Mexico African heritage, this region of Colombia exposes all three and nowhere is it more vivid than in its music.

Completely different, the Guajira holds myths, legends and music, but of the more melancholic type. Vallenato is the star here, another of Colombia’s many folkloric rhythms. The main instrument of the genre is the accordion, with the caja (a type of drum) and guacharaca (a scraping instrument) forming the rhythmic backbone. The town of Villanueva, Guajira, is considered the home of the accordion in South America, which was brought by German immigrants in the early 1800s.

In this small corner of the world is where I want to be in 2009 -- to learn the history, feel the natural variety and climates, envisage the spiritual teachings, dance the deep-rooted rhythms, enthrall myself in magical realism and simply relax in this unknown paradise.