Colombia's Pacific whale watching coast — humpbacks calve in the open Pacific, jungle rivers run black with tannin, and the Afro-Colombian coast has almost no roads
Nuqui is a small town on the Pacific coast of Choco department — accessible only by small aircraft from Medellin (30 minutes) or by multi-day boat journey from Bahia Solano. Nuqui is Colombia's most important whale watching destination: from July to October, the Colombian Pacific is the calving and breeding ground for the humpback whale population migrating from Antarctic feeding grounds. Mothers with calves and competing males are visible from small wooden fishing boat launches off Nuqui's beaches, breaching frequently within 50m. The Afro-Colombian communities of the Choco Pacific (descenda…
The Choco has been inhabited by Afro-Colombian and indigenous (Embera and Wounaan) communities since the colonial period. The Pacific coast was the primary gold and platinum mining zone of colonial New Granada — enslaved African labour worked the placer mining operations along the Atrato, San Juan, and Baudo rivers. After abolition, freed communities established autonomous fishing settlements along the Pacific coast rivers, maintaining African cultural traditions (currulao music, marimba de chonta, traditional healing systems) in relative isolation. Approximately 83% of the Choco population i…