Uribia Services

By Lorraine Caputo

Tourism Office

There is no tourism office at present but once the new Palacio Municipal on the corner of the plaza and Avenida Fundador is finished, the city plans to have an Oficina de Cultura y Turismo. The city’s website is: uribia-laguajira.gov.co.

Money

On the plaza, between Avenida La Marina and Avenida Hospital is a Bancolombia ATM (MasterCard, Visa, Cirrus, American Express, ATH); however, some travelers report it didn’t work when they tried to use it, others reported success. It is best to play it safe and stock up on pesos in Riohacha or Maicao. Apparently a store down in the market area changes U.S. dollars and bolívares fuertes.

Keeping in Touch

Thanks to the predominance of cellular phones, Uribia’s Telecom has closed. Plenty of shops offer local and national calls for $0.15 per minute. It is difficult to make international calls. Luckily, Compartel, the only trustworthy internet provider in town, has Skype ($1 per hour. Monday-Friday 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., 3-9 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m.-12:30 P.M., 3-9 P.M. next to ludoteca on the plaza, near the corner of the street to Hotel Juyasirian). Uribia has no post office, either.

Medical

Avenida Hospital leads straight to Hospital de Nuestra Señora del Perpetuo Socorro (Transversal 8 6-45, Tel.: 5-717-7033). There is only a handful of pharmacies in Uribia: Droguería El David (Diagonal 7 5-77) and Droguería Keyris (Diagonal 8B 8-32).

Camera

Foto Wayuu stocks only batteries and Fuji ASA 100 color film (Monday-Friday 7 a.m.-9 p.m., irregular hours Saturday and Sunday. Avenida Fundador, half block from the plaza, on the right-hand side).

Religion

As in all of Wajirra, the Catholic Church has its presence in the community; however, many Wayuu continue with their traditional beliefs. Sunday mass is given in Spanish and Wayuunaiki.