Our travels thus far in Colombia had taken us to mountain villages, coastal cities and Caribbean islands. Our next objective was to check out a Colombian beach town and Palomino was our target. Located four (according to the bus company) or six (in reality) hours east of Cartagena, Palomino sat on the Caribbean coast at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, the northernmost reach of the Andes range. Sitting between two rivers, the town consisted of a jumbled grid of dirt roads lined by guesthouses, bars and restaurants, and companies offering tubing trips on the Rio Palomino. If one were so inclined, surfing was available as well. Our guesthouse host, Alejandra, also indicated paddle board tours were offered on another nearby river, which was of particular interest to us. We asked her to arrange a tour for the following day, then set off for the beach. After lunch at a vegan cafe fronting the sea (Heather’s idea) we searched for a suitable beachfront purveyor of beverages (my idea). Bar San Sebastian seemed to fit the bill perfectly – thatch roof, cheap plastic chairs and a hand-painted sign offering 2-for-1 mojitos. For $3. And the beer was even cheaper. After ordering a mojito for Heather and a beer for myself we settled into our seats and took in the scene – Colombians enjoying the surf, sun-burned tourists strolling along the sand, salesmen offering sunglasses and roasted cashews (not together – these guys are specialists). We eventually struck up a conversation with one of the men offering cashews (he piqued our interest when he offered ‘happy hour’ pricing). His story was an interesting one. A former taxi driver from Venezuela, he had moved with his wife and child to Colombia seeking a better life. Selling just three jars of cashews a day (at $3 each) provided ample income to support his family. Humbling to think we would eventually spend about three days wages in an afternoon at the beach.

The next day we were excited for our paddle boarding adventure. Alejandra explained that we needed to walk out to the highway, flag down a westbound bus, ride for about fifteen minutes to a small village called Don Diego where we should wander the village looking for the office of the tour company. And no one would speak any English. No problema! With a bit of trepidation, we got out to the highway to find a bus waiting on the side of the road. The driver, seeing us approach, asked where we were headed. Understanding ‘Don Diego’, he indicated this was, indeed, our bus. Soon we were off and enjoying the scenery of jungle-clad mountains on one side and the bright blue sea on the other. As fifteen minutes elapsed, we started to think about where we should ask the driver to let us off. Noticing our anxiety, he motioned for us to relax, and he would let us know when we should step off. Within minutes we arrived in Don Diego and he indicated for us to get out. Now, if we could just figure out where in the little village we’d find our tour company. We needn’t have worried. A fellow standing at the bus stop asked us if we were looking for a boat ride, fishing or tubing. Since I didn’t know the Spanish term for paddle boarding, I just said “Paddle board”. “Ah, down this street, on the right” and pointed across the highway to a dirt road. As we set off in the direction he had pointed to, moments later he roared past on his motorbike, and, as we learned in a couple minutes, had alerted the tour office that their gringos had arrived. After two blocks another guy was standing in the street waving his arms to guide us in. As we found time and again throughout Colombia, the people are incredibly friendly and helpful.

Our tour began with a lancha ride up the Rio Don Diego, hauling our paddle boards and our guide’s kayak. Twenty minutes later the boatman pulled up to a sand bar and our watercraft were placed on the shore. Donning life jackets, our guide indicated if we had any paddling experience. “Muchas” we replied. With that he jumped in his kayak and headed into the current and was out of sight before we had a chance to adjust our paddles, secure our water bottles and flip-flops and get on our boards. Following the current we floated peacefully downriver through bamboo and leafy trees lining the waterway. Occasionally, over the next hour and a half, we caught glimpses of our guide as he waited to check our progress and at times indicate a particular channel of the river to shoot for. Along the way we passed a group of three people tubing, but otherwise had the river, and the views, and the birds, to ourselves.

Our trip took us all the way down to where the river emptied into the sea. A wide beach framed the river mouth and we found our guide, lancha and a palapa waiting there. Under the palapa a guy had set an old refrigerator on it’s side, filled it with ice each morning and stocked it with cans of Club Colombia and Aguila beer. Not ones to pass up a cold one after a morning on the river we indulged in a couple frosty brews with our toes in the sand and views of mountains and sea.

Day three of our visit would take us tubing down the Rio Palomino. We’ve got quite a bit of tubing experience, as the Yampa River flows through our hometown, and is accessed by a short walk from our home. In Palomino it was going to take just a bit more work to get to the river. About midday we made arrangements with one of the companies offering tours. While we donned life jackets (essential for getting through the police checkpoint) and picked a suitably-sized tube, our guide rounded up a couple motorbike drivers. We would travel on the back of the motorbike for about twenty minutes, first through town, then across the highway to another dirt road heading into the mountains, which would eventually narrow to a rocky, rutted path steeply climbing a hillside until the bikes could no longer navigate the trail at all. While holding a giant inner tube with one arm. We dismounted and continued by foot, first climbing (and perspiring heavily) and then descending for another thirty minutes, occasionally catching glimpses of the river through the forest canopy. Upon reaching the riverbank and our put-in point, we discovered another Colombian entrepreneur who somehow transports a cooler, ice and beer here each morning. Of course we purchased a handful of beers (for the outrageous price of $1.65 each!), but didn’t need to buy more then one each as we found a vendor at each sand bar we passed along the way.

As with our paddle board tour, this also ended as the river met the Caribbean Sea. This beach was a bit more crowded with two restaurants, chairs and sun shades and quite a few Colombian families enjoying the sand and surf. While our guide departed with our tubes to return to town we decided to linger over lunch and enjoy the rest of the afternoon before also strolling the beach back to town and our guesthouse. And one more stop at Bar San Sebastian for those mojitos.