The Salsa Surf Tour is sponsored by:
C-SKINS WETSUITS, SALTROCK CLOTHING AND RHINO BOARD BAGS

A grown man stood at the front of the bus, facing the other passengers, tears welling up in his eyes, reverberating through the buses hi-fi came the Ricky Martin, warbling on about living the crazy life. Our mans story of his traumas in Colombia came to a crescendo and the tears began to trickle down his cheeks. The bus continued onwards to the nation christened the crazy country by the worlds media In the past surfers used to just head out to a point on a map that looked intriguing and wait for a swell. Nowadays technology has killed off those carefree trips. Sponsors want results for their money and for that waves are needed. When James Thomas and Jonathon Howell arrived in Ecuador two weeks ago, the plan was too hire a jeep and cruise Ecuador's north west in search of waves. An internet swell check revealed that this was going to be a pointless waste of time and money, less than a metre was registering for the next week. However Colombia's Caribbean coast showed yet another swell about to hit. The decision was made and the race was on, could we cover the couple of thousand kilometres between us and the waves before the swell hit.

We tried booking flights, the Christmas holidays had just begun and we seemed to be fighting a losing battle to get a space on a
flight. That's how we ended up traveling by bus, at night through the mountains of south Colombia, the most dangerous area of South Americas most dangerous country, in the dark, not a good idea! We weren't to be put off though, their were waves with our names on them! We did eventually get a flight across the most dangerous section and on up to the Caribbean, however even this didn't go smoothly, our flights were cancelled and delayed four times before we made it to our final destination, (these delays did give us the bonus of a free night in one of Bogotá's more prestigious 5 star hotels.

Our first port of call was a national park near the town of Santa Marta, where we found a series of beautiful palm backed coves, in which the swell was just beginning to focus. I'd always thought of the Caribbean as a bit of a hoax surf wise, so I was pleasantly surprised to find that the 3-5ft swell was as powerful as anywhere else I've surfed. However despite checking around fifteen different beaches, we didn't really find any quality waves, the coast was largely fringed by a long barrier reef with no passes for good waves to form on. Where there was no reef, the waves tended to be closeout shorebreaks, plagued by drifting logs and tree trunks. The other problem was that all the spots were exposed to the often strong cross shore winds, so after a couple of days we decided to head up the coast in search of some shelter from the wind. We ended up in a strange sort of town, it's brown water and tacky pier reminding me of an English seaside resort, and the waves we found were about the same size as a summer's day in Blackpool!

It was three days ago that we reached this town, since then we've drifted aimlessly, unsure of where to head next. The marvels of technology have brought only bad news, strange swell and weather patterns off Central America are preventing those precious Pacific swells from reaching the north west of the continent. The Caribbean has also gone flat, although another swell is forecast for later in the week. The three of us now all have different ideas of our next move. We all want good waves and all want to complete what we set out to do, none of us though want to spend three weeks traipsing through South Americas least known surf zone with no swell forecast. Nerves are also beginning to play a part on the decision. We have still not met a single person, local or tourist who has been to Colombia's Pacific coast, for surf or any other reason. In fact most foreigners seem unaware that Colombia even has a Pacific coast. Colombian's are incredulous that we are even considering it, their smiles drop and a worried look crosses their faces. All seem convinced that we will be killed even attempting it, apparently whole villages have been deserted as the guerillas take control of the region. Over breakfast this morning, a Colombian guy we were talking too, told us we would be heroes if we went there - and came back!

I think all of us find the idea of exploring such a place exciting, but we all know that an empty wave is only worth so much risk, and when the chances of swell looks remote....... An alternative plan has been mentioned, remain on the Caribbean and explore this area of Colombia more thoroughly and maybe take a foray into neighboring Venezuela. Some members of the group are keener on this than others. As to what will pan out, none of us are any the wiser.

REPORT 3 THIS WAY>>>>

All words & photos © Stuart Butler 2000/2001