Colombia travel blog by Mark Berman -
May 2018
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Should you go to Buenaventura? Really, it depends if you want to or not, depends if your father asks you if you have been to the Pacific coast of Colombia and
your answer is no, so I came here. I knew Buenaventura was a place 'your not supposed to go, not really a tourist destination, dangerous etc', but this makes it a
little more intriguing in some ways. Buenaventura is actually starting to become a tourist destination with its boat excursions northward to nearby beaches. From
Cali traveling by bus firstly on Route 19, then onto Route 40 which is probably the best road I've traveled in Colombia with 2 lanes on each side and an amazing
series of tunnels cutting through the rocky mountains, the journey from Cali to Buenaventura takes 2hrs 30mins. Seaside Park & Lighthouse
The center of Buenaventura has many hotels that cater
to all price ranges. The central city streets are not so attractive, best thing to do is head down to the park (Parque Nestor Urbano Tenorio) with the lighthouse
beside the sea. This is a new development that is helping Buenaventura become safer, more attractive and more tourist orientated. Take the circular stairway up to
the top of the lighthouse 'El Faro' for awesome views of the city, coast and sea. The park has playgrounds for kids and sports facilities for young people to enjoy,
it's mainly concrete but has some grassy areas. There's a few historical buildings of interest in town but not much, they are around the cathedral 2 blocks up from
the park.
Boat To Juanchaco Beach
In reality what you want to do in Buenaventura is go to the tourist wharf at the side of the big seaside park and take a boat excursion to one
of the beaches nearby. You can go for a daytrip or you can stay the night. I chose to go to Juanchaco beach, 1hr by sea northward of Buenaventura. From Juanchaco
you can walk to other beaches, the most popular being Ladrilleros and La Barra. Juanchaco has the main wharf for boats arriving and leaving. Ladrilleros is around
2kms walk northward from here and La Barra is around 3kms walk northward from Ladrilleros. All 3 beaches have accommodation options but La Barra has less because
of its more remote location. I wandered around Juanchaco for a couple of hours, it wasn't a fantastic day, it didn't look like a fantastic beach, the village is
quite ramshackle and there was really nobody around at all. I suspect Ladrilleros is a better beach but, really why come here to go to these beaches? Maybe you want
absolute peace, quiet and solitude? Frankly I'd rather go to the beaches on the hot and sweaty
north coast of Colombia where there are plenty of babes and lots of
fun to be had. Or even better, the beaches on the north-east
coast of Brazil, that will rock your boat!
Coastal Resort Hotels
Between Buenaventura and Juanchaco along the coast
are a few resort hotels including
Hotel La Bocana with a pool, cabins, rooms and restaurant and
Hotel Maguipi for sea recreation and ecotourism. Between July and
November, whale watching tours are also available from Buenaventura! While traveling up and down this coastline you'll see local fishermen pulling in their nets
and boats transporting goods. You may also see paramilitary soldiers dressed in camouflage guarding tourist areas with machine guns.
Bus To Buga
From Buenaventura bus terminal I travelled inland on Route 40 to
Buga, 2hrs 30mins.
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4 pelicans fly above a lone fisherman off the coast of Buenaventura.
Hotel El Galeon stands between the sea and jungle off the coast of Buenaventura.
Boats on Juanchaco beach, an hour north of Buenaventura by sea, quite deserted.
Fisherman throws a fish into a bucket off the coast of Buenaventura.
