Destination Choco

Atrevido says on Dec 6, 2007, 15:16:

I haven´t done it but spoke to a Romanian in El Valle (Bahia Solano) who arrived that way, said it was a long boring trip.

dwmte7 says on Dec 6, 2007, 18:15:

i used to ship outta buena ventura a lot (merchandise)...never boarded a boat myself. but as for buena ventura, it's a real poverty hole. only one hotel worth staying at, el estacion. ask to stay in the old wing.

dwmte

Morrongo says on Dec 6, 2007, 19:10:

10/12 hours by boat....3/4 hours by lancha...this is not a usual type of tourist trip. You must be careful choosing the lancha,no you must be careful from Buenaventura on.This trip is not recomended unless you really know Colombia and I mean really well.Even then, to me its not worth the risk.
Lights out at 6 pm there in the capital,if i recall. No electric outside. This is a pretty dangerous spot, far beyond the excitement of visiting somewhere many fear not tread...the reason is ,its remote and f at cking dangerous

Sam Salmon says on Dec 6, 2007, 20:41:

Where in Choco?

Lanchas aren't taxis-you might find someone headed north to Nuqui or even Bahia Solano or you might wait in that violent shithole town for a while.

Best fly down to the coast.

' a la orden!'

Dolfi says on Dec 7, 2007, 00:50:

Best to take a plane to Turbo and continue by lancha, wherever you want to go.

SamGompers says on Dec 7, 2007, 04:22:

Ditto to what Morrongo says - - it is possible but not advisable unless you are really familiar with Colombia or have someone very valuable riding shotgun (so to speak). Buenaventura is like the wild west . . . though there are touristic spots up and down the coast. I wouldn't even bother flying to Turbo - - instead check into direct flights to Quibido or Capurgana or Nuqui/Bahia Solana from wherever you are in Colombia. Try a travel agent - - as these flights are often part of package deals to hotels along the coast and, once hotel, air, and meal costs are included, can actually be quite reasonable.

gorgonabob says on Dec 7, 2007, 06:08:

not the best travell information here im afriad....ive been to choco a lot of times.. gorgona three times, bahia solano four times and nuqui as well as a couple of times to quibdo. also had a few friends do the quibdo to turbo boat ride down the river... its not as dangerous as people think. thats just crap..the cargo boat from buenaventura to nuqui or bahia solano is a very pleasant 24 hour ride up the coast. i took a journalist from Outside Magazine up there last year. there are boats most days up the coast lugging cargo... they leave in the afternoon normally it seems... costing around 60.000-80.000 pesos.. you get a berth and food for that price... though i prefer to sleep under the stars up on the roof deck. pretty spectacular.. if youre in season youll see the whales.. youll meet a lot of interesting people... there are also the odd fast boats up the cost which are a lot quicker but a bit more dull, like a bus.. go for the cargo boat and the experience. upon arriving in buenaventura (arrive in the morning) get a taxi to the port.... arriving youll most likely be met by some homeless type guy,, just ask him if there are any boats heading up the coast, hell get excited and say yes yes and take you to the next one leaving.. give him a few thousand pesos tip and youre on your way.. personally id boat in and fly out.. dont boat both ways... in several years there will be a road to this part of the pacific coast and by that time things will be a little boring so go now.. theres an american/ colombian guy in Bahia Solano who knows everything there is to know about that part of the world.. has a homestay, a boat, runs diving trips and fishing trips etc... there is also a pablo escobar built hotel in the area which is quite a site... been bought by spanish investors...dont believe the doom merchants on this site..

dwmte7 says on Dec 7, 2007, 06:22:

nice to hear someone who knows what the f they're talking about, re the area. i just took care of business and stayed at the estacion. nice place in the old wing. been going there since the 80's. hasn't changed much. poor, dirty, aburida... some friends wanted me to go to some beach, once, i think to the south. but i've always been a nose to the grindstone kinda guy when i'm doin business and from the pit-appearance of b.v. i had no desire to get deeper into it. i always took my secretary with me so i wouldn't be alone...ahem....bad boy.

i got stuck in barranquilla once. my miami/medellin flight got diverted for some reason and we landed in bq. later that day, the guerillas ?? blew up the runway and i was stuck there for near a week. stayed at a real nice hotel which had private cabanas around the pool for about 200.00 a day. had my secretary come up and join me--by bus--again, so i wouldn't be alone. i really wonder what part of all this my wife didn't understand. oh well, that was about 18 years ago and we've lived through all that. i'm a good boy now. relatively speaking.

dwmte

Morrongo says on Dec 7, 2007, 10:04:

If you take the cargo boat yes, your in for a 16hr trip...but there are others which cut the journey time in half and lanchas 4 hrs depending if they break down or not.!!
I am sorry but i do not agree with gorgan advise...ask some homeless guy for the next boat leaving,i lived in Buenaventura for nearly two years,YOU do not ask anybody in the street for nothing,go to the kiosk at the port and enquire there.Asking advise in the street is a NO NO ,this is exactly what a fellow countryman of mine did and was taken to a berth and murdered ,two hundred yards from the main bridge to Centro.Buenaventura.

Quibido is not dangerous as enter at your peril ,but the surrounding areas are. I travelled there with no problems by my friends lancha and his advise i took very seriously,what to be aware of,which I was ignorant to...depending on the OP experience Flight is best or the cargo boat...

To say its not a problem there safety wise is misleading...Like visiting Buenaventura you have to be street wise(unless your just going to stay in Centro)

Choco is probably the main shipping route for Drug running by Farc,with help from the army and Police..its a very confusing setup.
Personally until its more settled,not worth it...if you want to explore the areas you are running greater risks.
As i said, I lived in Buenavetura and was really ignorant at first ,do and go where I wanted...fortunately seeing and hearing what does happen ,changed that very quickly.
Your not in Peru swanning up the Amazons..there are hidden risks which might not be obvious, which you must not ignore.
Never being a doom merchant in my life ..love to travel different places.that are not popular...
But to say go ,no problem,for me is bad advise ...you have to have good knowledge of Colombia and not knowing the posters experience feel totally justified in pointing out the negatives...
Recapping ....its not a death sentence travelling there ,you can enjoy a trip there..but there are factors you have to be aware of to make a happy trip.This is a trip you do not do wearing rose tinted glasses.
If you want to go by sea PM and I can put you in touch with someone I trust for the trip.

gatogris says on Dec 7, 2007, 10:18:

All good information. I think I would like to go by sea, to Bahia Solano, and if you can put me in touch with someone you trust, Morrongo, all the better. I have never been to the Choco, but I have lived in Colombia, and you´re right about the rose tinted glasses. I thought I wouldn´t stay in b.v., just arrive in the morning and head out in the afternoon,get into Solano the next day and maybe stay with the media gringo guygorgon mentioned.

So to recap, if Morrongo can put me in touch with his guy, I´m all for it.If not,head to the kiosk and book passage to Solano. And watch my back. And my secretaries´.

Sam Salmon says on Dec 7, 2007, 10:37:

"i took a journalist from Outside Magazine up there last year."

Well there goes the neighbourhood!

' a la orden!'

gatogris says on Dec 7, 2007, 11:12:

Gorgon, did the outside journalist ever write a piece?

Mr. Hollywood says on Dec 7, 2007, 11:18:

That piece was a real piece of crap if I'm remembering the right one. It was cast as a piece about the world's most remote bar or something like that. So the writer (and gorgona) took a circuitous route to a place that you can fly to directly. And then the writer pretended it was the end of the earth. A really weird way to treat a place as fascinating as Choco.

Morrongo says on Dec 7, 2007, 11:19:

Gato theres a bit more to it than go to the Kiosk,as varies boats go from varies locations.
I will speak with my friend this weekend and get the lastest info and get back to you.I know BVT is quite at the moment as I am there often.When are you thinking of going?

PS I never like being negative,once I stated on this board a trip to Popayan was a 'piece of cake' and got slated as if you were going to Bagdad ....certain trips need more foreplanning than others..thats a fact
nice photo SAM but I am sure the neighbourhood will get more positive reports when gato returns

gatogris says on Dec 7, 2007, 11:39:

Thanks Morrongo that's really cool of you. I was thinking of heading out on the 20th of December or so, for at least a couple of weeks, spending Christmas and New Years somewhere out there, plenty of time between now and then to make a good solid plan.

Morrongo says on Dec 9, 2007, 15:31:

nice to hear from someone who knows the f''' area, i think not.
Visiting an area a dozen times makes you partially knowledgable and speaking to operators from choco this weekend confirmed what I already knew,...gato when you are near ready to depart,(couple of days) let me know and i will pass on contact numbers.I will be in Buenaventura the week before Christmas so I might be on hand for personnal introductions.
Correction error of mine: bigger boat takes 16hrs not 12hrs as i stated

gatogris says on Dec 9, 2007, 15:36:

Excellent Morrongo, thanks for following up, you're the man, I plan to leave the 20th.

SamGompers says on Dec 10, 2007, 16:52:

Hey, I read that piece in Outside magazine - - about the remotest place on earth to get a cold beer. It was a nice travel piece, though obviously vivified for Outside (armchair adrenalists). Nobody is saying you can't to the Buena - Quibido route by boat - - only asking why do so when there are faster, more convenient ways to get to Choco. That is, unless you're an Outside magazine writer getting paid per word for hot copy . . .if that's so, I've got a very remunerative route that will take you around Isla Gorgona and then meandering through the Darien Gap . . .