Afloat Adventure is one of a burgeoning number of tourist operators emerging in Bahia Solano on Colombia's Pacific coast. Beach accommodations cater to the homestay crowd, while boat-accessible coastal lodges offer a more private experience with a range of experiences.Afloat Adventures
I am the type of traveller who likes a few creature comforts – air-conditioning, food tours, wine-tastings, turn-down service while I’m at dinner.
And yet, there’s none of that in Bahia Solano on the Pacific coast of Colombia in the province of Choco. The region is a new adventure destination for people who like a bit of grit in their getaways. Now that rural Colombia is safer since the end of crime-related instability eight years ago, the once-overlooked Choco is opening up to ecoadventure and cultural tourism. While beach accommodations still cater mostly to the homestay crowd, boat-accessible coastal lodges offer a more private experience.
Afloat Adventure is one such option, a tour operator taking groups or families whale-watching, fishing and snorkelling, and out on such land excursions as birding, baby-turtle releasing and rainforest treks.
Afloat Adventure began as a fishing tour company and has expanded to include more nature-based jungle adventure on the coast.Afloat Adventures/Afloat Adventures
Afloat co-founder Simón Roldán picks our group up at the tiny Bahía Solano airport after a one-hour flight from Medellin. The 35-year-old tells us he’s been coming to the region since he was a young boy as he whisks us off by boat to Anigua Lodge, a simple yet sexy seven-room retreat almost at the tip of the Punta San Francisco Solano peninsula. What began as a fishing tour company – with a river lodge and a floating fishing camp in Vichada, Colombia – has now expanded to include more nature-based jungle adventure on the coast.
“Our fishing groups – who are generally mostly men – often asked what there would be to do if they brought their families to Colombia,” Roldán says. “So we thought – why not branch out a bit and indulge families or friends who want to spend disconnection time here? Because Anigua is situated strategically, you can go fishing and have an adventure in the same place.”
I can almost feel the tension that comes with a day of travelling melt off my shoulders as we head to the lodge by boat, catching sight of our first few humpback whales on the way. One decides to give us a real show. The jungle extends right to the water, with very little beach, almost like we’re in Jurassic Park. There’s just us and the small crew, the sun glinting off the waves and the whales – our own little world.
The next day, we visit Tortugas del Pacifico, a turtle nursery and hostel near the town of El Valle farther south. Owner Orfelia Bermudez, or “Mama Orbe,” supervises our release of a few hundred one-day-old Pacific ridley sea turtles at the shoreline. We watch these little matte-grey creatures scuttle into the sea, marshalling the ones who can’t quite figure it out, breathing a sigh of relief when the retreating waves reveal nothing but sand. Our task is complete.
Afloat Adventures has expanded its offerings to include experiences such as whale-watching, fishing and snorkelling, and land excursions taking part in releasing baby-turtles and rainforest treks.The Globe and Mail
Mama Orbe draws us onto the hostel veranda for a taste of viche, a sugar-cane based home brew with quite the kick. We then leave the way we came, hopping on motorbikes behind local kids. Whizzing down the empty beach back to the van, I feel a million miles away, like I’m playing hooky from real life.
The adventures continue at nearby Playa El Almejal in the late afternoon, where we pull on rubber boots with Mailer Henis, our guide for a nighttime jungle “herping” adventure – a search for amphibians and reptiles. Rushing along the shoreline to the trail entrance to beat the rising tide leaves us no time to worry about what’s in store. We slosh through the jungle, losing our breath to the incline, the quiet generating even more trepidation. We pause on a ridge along the side of the mountain to take in the twilight. Out come little head lamps for everyone.
Henis tells us how he used to be a hunting guide, before realizing that there was more interest from tourists wanting to explore the jungle, the night herping idea building from there. Like all good naturalists, he has an eagle eye for spotting things – extra points for doing it in the dark. We pass by enormous spiders, their webs glistening under the flashlight, and find rare and colourful harlequin frogs hiding under leaves. Henis also manages to find and gently caress the tiniest of snakes. We are so busy looking down that a rustling in the tree canopy gives us all a start. What we initially think is a monkey turns out to be a nocturnal kinkajou, a relative of the raccoon.
At Tortugas del Pacifico, a turtle nursery and hostel near the town of El Valle, owner Orfelia Bermudez, or 'Mama Orbe', supervises the release of a few hundred one-day-old Pacific ridley sea turtles at the shoreline.
Doug Wallace/The Globe and Mail
When the trail stops at Tundo River, we pile into a long, motorized wooden canoe, sitting on plastic lawn chairs with the legs cut off – it’s a little unconventional, but it works. Soon, our head lights find the eyes of little alligator-like caimans who watch us from the riverbanks. One even slithers into the water a few metres away, eliciting a yelp or two from the group. I find the scenario hilarious, a cartoon cliché come to life.
A night hike in the jungle wouldn’t be complete without – bats, about a dozen of them, clustered into the recesses of an overpass that we sail under, giving even me (who loves bats) one final shiver. Returning to the lodge a little soggy near midnight, I fall into a dead sleep, unscathed, all my fingers still attached.
The next day, we are on a boat bound for a morning of birding at Utria National Natural Park, followed by a snorkel along the reefs at nearby Isla Playa Blanca. Roldán says that his adventure program will soon include swimming with whale sharks as well. “They arrive with the sardine run from March to June. We go out on the yacht with a marine biologist who explains why they come to Bahía and how to snorkel with them.”
As lunch is planned at a café on the beach, Roldán just throws us our flip-flops, which we then use to hand-paddle right to shore. The café is busy with the local weekend crowd having the typical seafood soup, battered fish, coconut rice and fried green plantains. No one seems to care that I’m not wearing a shirt, just a pair of trunks and a towel around my neck. The bill is hand-written. This is a real slice of Choco life, and it is delicious.
The rustic rooms at the at the lodge have amazing views with ocean waves crashing away just outside.The Globe and Mail
Back at the lodge on our final night, the wine flows a bit more as we recap our adventures, sharing all of our best photos and videos. Later in the pitch darkness of my perfectly rustic room, the waves crashing away outside, I’m reminded that travel isn’t just about niceties. It’s the experience, not the thread count, that counts. Although, the sheets here are pretty nice.
If you go
Bahia Solano has an average annual temperature of 25 C, getting a significant amount of rain throughout the year, particularly from April to September. Whale-watching season is from late June to mid-October.
A private, three-night stay for groups of four to 12 people at Afloat Adventure Anigua Lodge is about US$3,000 a person, including meals with a private chef, beer and wine, all daily excursions, and bus and boat transfers. afloatadventure.com
Avianca Airlines flies from Toronto to Medellin via Bogota. Then it’s a one-hour flight from Medellin’s regional airport (EOH) to Bahia Solano (BSC) with Clic or SAtena airlines. Luggage restrictions apply. Avoid planning connections on your day of departure.
The writer was a guest of ProColombia. It did not review or approve the story before publication.