Since February this year we have been chatting back and forth with a man with deep ties to Colombia. His name is Carlos and he has dedicated the last few years in helping the youth in different areas in Colombia. He told us about this cool little surf town that could use our help. They had one surfboard between all the kids to use. This sounded like the magical recipe for us to make a pilgrimage there to bring some love and hope and surfboards.
My travel partner on this trip was Jeff Biege, a friend for 10 years and a very successful photographer from Jupiter, Florida.
He jumped on the trip to document the whole experience and bring the photos back to the states for us to share.
We had some expectations for the trip, like we always do but I think for sure we surpassed anything we could have imagined up.
We landed in Cartagena and met our hosts Denis, Lore, Karina and Jorge. Quickly we loaded up the three boardbags into the epic truck and off we went in the direction of Santa Marta.
The ride there was long and we were super stoked when we arrived and grabbed a bite and drifted off to sleep.
The next morning we packed up and headed to our final destination, Palomino. On the way there we stopped to meet and make a plan with the kids from Tayrona. We also got a little tour of Carlos surf club that is in the process of constructing.
It was neat to be on the grounds there and visualize it being done and kids running around and skating the bowl and having a blast.
From there we made another stop at Casa Grande to pick up a few kids, one was Marcelo, the indigenous indian surfer and Denis’ two kids. It was pretty much love at first sight when we saw Marcelo.
He wore a traditional Wiwa (Wiwa is his tribe) shirt with shorts that were about three sizes too big tied up with a string. Plenty room for growth☺.
Finally, we were in the last stretch to Palomino. We were all amping to surf so we decided that as soon as we arrived we would drop our stuff and head straight for the surf. The place we stayed was beautiful and rustic running solely on solar.
Photo by Jeff Biege
The waves were pretty small but we went anyway to wash the cobwebs off and get our blood circulating.
Photo by Jeff Biege
The next two days were spent with the kids from Tayrona and the kids from Palomino. We did a big beach cleanup with them where we picked up plastic from the very clean beach and put it into used bottles that we found. There is a local project that is using filled up plastic bottles to make walls for homes and buildings.
The bottles we filled will be donated to them for their projects. We also had a surf class for all the kids where I went over what Share The Stoke Foundation does to why it is important to protect our beaches and waters to every aspect of surfing that we could think of.
After all the lessons it was time to shred with the kids. Some of them were beginners while others had it dialed in and were tearing apart the waves. It was awesome to be out there with them seeing them so happy and smiling. About the time I thought I would die from hunger Jorge and Karina showed up with a nice BBQ for all of us. It was delicious.
The rest of the day we hung out at the beach with the kids and eventually said goodbye to the Tayrona kids before they were driven back to their home 45 minutes away.
The next few days were spent with Marcelo surfing, visiting Tayrona National Park and taking in the whole experience.
In Palomino, at the foot of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta Mountains you can feel something in the air. Something palpable. Something inexplicable that I can’t quite put words to. It is a magical place with lots of history, especially with the indigenous tribes.
Photos by Jeff Biege
Our hosts would tell us many stories about the indigenous and how they live up in the mountains and how they are not like us, how they are way more tuned into life and the earth and everything around us.
Indigenous Mamo from the Kogi tribe
Photo by Jeff Biege
We loved hearing these stories. It added so much intrigue and mystic to our surroundings. I couldn’t get enough info about the indigenous and was excited to get to a good internet connection so I could learn more. Here is a decent link with more info.
Finally, the day came that we had to leave. We decided to go to the beach to check the waves.
It was supposed to be flat. To our surprise, it was anything but. There were barrels all over the place and we were stoked.
Barrel shots by Jeff Biege
Lore and I surfed while Jeff shot photos in the water. It was the best waves so far of the trip, not the biggest but definitely the best shape. I got a few barrels and Jeff scored some shots of them.
Photo by Jeff Biege
We were hi-fiving in the car as he looked at the photos while I drove to where Marcelo was staying so we could say our goodbyes.
It was hard to leave but it was time to go back and tell our story and our experiences from an amazing stay in Palomino. Before we even got on the plane Jeff and I started planning our return. There is more to experience and a story that we want to share with you. Project Colombia 2015 is in the works. Thanks to all of our supporters for this trip, our hosts, Carlos for organizing an amazing, unforgettable experience that has left us in awe and intrigued.
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